“Your collective leadership is only as good as your weakest leader."
I first heard this statement over 15 years ago at a leadership development conference, and it hit me like a brick. At the time, I was part of a leadership team of about 8 people. One leader stood out—not for the right reasons. He was technically brilliant but struggled as a people leader. You know the type—high turnover in his department, employees who were micromanaged and afraid to speak up, and peers who dreaded meetings with him because of his argumentative nature. Yet, we tolerated it because of the “value” he brought and the results he delivered.
That statement was a wake-up call. I had been puzzled by our lower-than-average engagement scores, thinking, “It’s just one weak leader.” But the reality was—he was bringing down our collective leadership team and impacting our culture in ways we hadn’t acknowledged. People saw that we tolerated his leadership style, and they assumed we didn’t care—or worse, that we would allow more leaders like him to emerge. That was my lightbulb moment.
I realized we needed to help him by raising his awareness of his impact on others. Hoping that once he fully grasped it he would want to work to improve his leadership, and if not, we may need to make a difficult decision.
But this wasn’t just about him. I had to take a hard look at myself, too. What about my own leadership and reactive behaviors had allowed me to avoid addressing this for so long? How was that impacting my effectiveness? That reflection led us to engage in a structured leadership development process, including the Leadership Circle 360 Assessment for our team. We got serious about leadership—not as a vague concept, but as a true business enabler.
Becoming an effective leader doesn’t just happen, it’s ongoing work. I regularly catch myself in reactive thoughts, some of them early enough to consciously shift my behaviors, and others, not so much – but I am always working to develop that muscle.
One of the core reasons I started Crothers Consulting was to help leaders gain clarity—clarity about their own leadership, their teams, and the cultures they are building. Because at the end of the day, leadership isn’t about individual success; it’s about how we elevate those around us.
Sometimes leaders aren’t clear on the impact they are having on everyone around them (positive and negative). And by everyone, I don’t just mean direct reports, but how they are leading across teams and with peers, how they are leading when interacting with their own manager, and how they are leading themselves.
Many times a leader’s effectiveness differs by category. Imagine how much more impactful they could be if they knew this, and if they had a roadmap with the area to focus on which would give them the biggest lift. Our work on leadership development through training, assessments and leadership coaching helps with this roadmap.
Want to talk more about leadership clarity? Let’s connect.
From a client and friend:
"Laura, right on target. The cost of poor leadership is high and most often goes unaccounted for until there is a problem that can't be ignored. Leadership effectiveness through development is a competitive advantage for every organization. Effective leaders create better results and people thrive. Thanks for what your organization does." Bill Adams