Great leaders look to replicate themselves in others; they seek to develop the leadership capacity of those they lead. This is a very important role because organizations are designed to work as a system and not hinged on the whims of a single individual. As an institution, a business ought to be like an assembly line that churns out leaders which all but guarantees its succession and its status as a going concern. However some leaders do not have this consciousness because by their actions and inactions they stunt the growth of their direct reports and by extension the organisation.

These errors are usually mistaken for mere personality traits of leaders, cause carnage to the fabric of the organizations they manage. The collateral damage amongst other things is that the pipeline that was supposed to churn out newer hands gets bunkered, the organization cannot maximize its returns on its institutional knowledge and general growth is threatened – if not hampered significantly. Where there is effective corporate governance, these excesses will be reined in but where it’s virtually non-existent – anarchy will run riot and reign supreme.

Leaders should always examine their actions in the light of best practices, where such behaviour seem to limit the potentials of their subjects and the growth of the organisation, the reset button should be pressed.