Bad Leadership

INTRODUCTION

Webs OF Significance

THIS BOOK IS ABOUT the dark side of the human condition. It paints leadership in shades of gray—and in black.

In spite of all the work on leadership that assumes it by definition to be good, I describe how we exercise power, authority, and influence in ways that do harm. This harm is not necessarily deliberate. It can be the result of carelessness or neglect. But this does not make it less injurious, and in some cases calamitous.

Often a leader is assumed to be all-powerful. But we must remember that leaders acting alone are not responsible for bad leadership. Thus, the web symbolizes the many different strands that always constitute the leadership process.

What are the webs of significance—the webs of leadership? ...