Whereas poor leaders avoid choosing competent members of their inner circle to avoid losing control, superior leaders establish the most talented and effective inner circles as possible. The manager in this case had the benefit of several subordinates who were capable of becoming part of her inner circle. Instead of inviting their contribution, she deliberately maintained the maximum possible distance from them and insisted on always reviewing their decisions after the fact. Meanwhile, her own decisions were always hers alone and simply announced to the entire team together. Instead of allowing her supervisors to relay her decisions, the manager routinely announced them to supervisors and line employees together, further highlighting the complete non-involvement of supervisors in any meaningful decisions.

Finally, the manager made absolutely no attempt to identify leadership qualities in her subordinates, mainly because she feared any competent leaders as rivals. Effective leaders realize that it is essential to take a genuine interest in helping subordinates develop professionally to their maximum potential.

Identifying and Solving the Problem through Alternative Course of Action

The problems attributable to poor leadership in this case could have been avoided by: (1) delegating decision-making authority in a genuine and meaningful way to supervisors; (2) building trust and establishing integrity by demonstrating a willingness to admit mistakes, give credit to others, and apologize when necessary; (3) establishing an effective inner circle; and (4) taking an interest in employees and promoting their individual career development.

Potential Barriers to Successful Implementation

The main potential barriers to achieving these solutions, is simply that not all managers are necessarily good leaders. Some of the most important aspects of effective leadership require psychological styles and communication abilities that are not necessarily characteristic of all managers; they are also harder to teach in academic settings than other aspects of business management.

First, supervisors would be able to establish the necessary authority and respect of their teams to supervise them effectively. Second, subordinates would have the security and confidence to take initiative and to contribute to the organization in as many ways as possible. Employees would expect to be acknowledged for their contributions and instructed or corrected in an educational and productive manner instead of punitively and condescendingly. A culture of mutual trust could develop among and between supervisors and supervisees. Third, the leader would have the benefit of an inner circle capable of contributing positively to decision-making processes. Fourth, employees would consider their organization to be a professional environment that valued their individual development and had a stake in their personal success as professionals. Ultimately, all of those benefits would be much more conducive to organizational success, and ironically, also to the individual success of the manager.
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