How many times do you see leadership change with an immediate up tick in results. Or, how many times does it go the other way? The results come from what I call a “Leadership Spiral.”

Inside an upward spiral, everything feels better and goes better. Performance is higher and less effort is required to create the results. Things are very sustainable. People feel inspired, supported and happy. They enjoy their work and want to grow with the company.

In a downward spiral, people feel defeated and hopeless, or even worse, resigned. They are surviving work and only faintly hoping things will get better. People fell disempowered, drained, and tired.

Great bosses create upward leadership spirals. But how do they do it?

Well, first, don’t create a downward spiral. Here are some common ways that bosses create downward spirals — Don’t do these!

• Pushing or pressuring people.
  You can push people for short periods with a specific, defined objective. But, beyond that, pressure will create a downward spiral. I’m not talking about being “easy” on results. You can be “soft” on people and still have high standards (”hard” on results). In fact, this is what the best bosses do.
• Having unclear objectives or being difficult to satisfy. Being hyper-critical.
• Making poor decisions and not listening to employees and others.
• Being angry, insecure, or fearful.
• Being uptight and uncomfortable.
• Being in a down, pessimistic mood. Expecting bad things to happen.
• Being manipulative or overly political. Keeping secrets.
• Being untrustworthy or having low integrity
• Thinking you know it all or are the smartest guy in the room. Refusing to learn or change your mind.
• Trying to use fear as a motivator! Bullying people.
• Being controlling or micro-managing people.
• Taking credit for a subordinate’s work.

It’s not that you have to be perfect! But, when you mess up, clean it up. Apologize! Do what’s there to do.

Next time, I’ll continue and give you ideas on how to create an upward leadership spiral.