Identifying and Addressing Bad Leadership

The reasons for bad followership stem from difficulties in identifying bad leaders due to biases against change, feelings of powerlessness, and a lack of awareness. The concept of leadership is viewed as a system composed of the leader, followers, and the contexts they operate within. To address bad leadership, followers need to be empowered to recognize their ability to act against bad leaders and provided with the necessary tools for doing so. Uprooting bad leaders is challenging and risky in various settings, including the workplace, politics, the military, and schools, but delaying action makes it even harder to remove them.