Leadership in Eclipse

Abstract

Yoda said, “Beware of the dark side.” He gave a fair warning: Leadership can have a dark side or, to put it in terms that matter outside of the realm of science fiction, leadership can be ineffective or destructive. In my experience, I’ve seen leadership become dark—that is, shedding no light for others to follow—due to styles of management that create an environment where leadership can’t take root. The results of these inappropriate management practices leads to what might be called an eclipse of leadership, and it can affect or afflict you, or, heaven forbid, your boss. These styles creep up on leaders like shadows, sometimes dancing around an otherwise strong leader and affecting his or her judgment. Effective leadership then becomes eclipsed by the shadows cast by bad management styles.