15 Leaders Who Worry Me

None of us is a perfect leader. I’m certainly not. For that reason, I’m always hesitant to critique leaders. Nevertheless, leadership is so important that I want to list fifteen types of leaders who worry me: 

1. The “My way or the highway” leader – When a leader thinks he’s always right, he’s not only wrong; he’s also an idolater. 
2. The “What’s the point anymore?” leader – Burnout is real, but leaders who’ve given up sometimes leave good teams hanging.
3. The “Maybe I shouldn’t say this” leader – A leader who does not control his mouth – whose speech is ungodly even when he’s knows it’s wrong – is probably out of control in other areas of his life.
4. The “I did xxxxxxxx yesterday” leader – Those leaders who are always reminding people about their past tense achievements tend to struggle with pride.
5. The “What? I have a family?” leader – Leaders who never talk about their family typically aren’t the best family leaders; in fact, their families often feel neglected and distanced.
6. The “Don’t tell anybody this” leader – If a leader is sharing somebody else’s confidence with you, you really can’t trust him with your confidences, either.
7. The “I just heard about this program” leader – Programs are important, but leaders who change programs with every shift of the wind wear out a congregation.
8. The “Ahh, everything’s great!” leader – If a leader always says everything’s great, he might be so uninvolved that he really doesn’t know what’s going on anyway.
9. The “I remember leading someone to the Lord in the year 2000” leader – Leaders whose evangelism stories are all past tense don’t lead congregations to do the Great Commission.
10. The “Hey, brother [or sister]” leader – Sometimes, the familial sound of “brother” or “sister” is not just a Christian greeting; it’s evidence that the leader has no clue about the names of his own team members.
11. The “Be superb, but do it on your own” leader – The leader who holds his team to high expectations but then provides no support or training sets them up for failures.
12. The “Oh, yeah, you’re right; let’s pray” leader – Leaders who must be reminded to pray make me wonder if they pray much at all.  
13. The “It’s not my fault” leader – Leaders who never take responsibility for failure probably aren’t building a very strong team. They’re certainly not creating loyalty.
14. The “We need to maintain peace and unity at all costs” leader – These leaders often tolerate ineffectiveness – even sin sometimes – in their team.
15. The “What was that again?” leader – Leaders must be hearers, and too many have forgotten how to listen. They thus make decisions (often poor ones) without necessary input.

What other leaders would you add to this list?