Examples of Negative and Positive Leadership Characteristics
March 23, 2023
By Mark David
Here are 15 leadership characteristics that are negative and positive in nature. When I’m referring to negative and positive characteristics think of them this way; The negative weakens your team’s energy levels. The positive strengthens your team’s energy levels. As an inspirational leader, you want to continually increase everyone’s energy. It creates outstanding results.Use this list to compare how you relate to them. The positive side needs constant focus and attention. You never get to do any of them perfectly. That’s why you’re always working to strengthen them. The negative side needs to be eliminated, shored up or fixed.
Review this list of negative and positive descriptions with your team. Ask them to share with you their perception of how your leadership overlays with these 15 statements. Ask them for their feedback on how you can improve your leadership behaviors.
You will be amazed at what you will learn from doing this exercise. Also, use these characteristics to have fun and learn along the way:
Leadership Characteristics
| Negative | Positive | |
| 1 | Weak sense of purpose | Strong sense of purpose. |
| 2 | Gives up easily | Very persistent |
| 3 | No self-awareness | Self-acknowledge |
| 4 | Doesn’t acquire new skills, information | Always seeking new learning. |
| 5 | Bored, apathetic, in relation to work | Sense of pleasure, joy inrelation to work. |
| 6 | Unable to attract others | Magnetic, draws others to them. |
| 7 | Treat others with minimal respect, caring | Mature in human relationships. |
| 8 | Fearful of the new, the unproven | Takes risks; Likes to experiment |
| 9 | Depressed, discouraged by mistakes | See’s mistakes as opportunities |
| 10 | Self- ambitious; focused on own wants | Seeks to serve needs of others. |
| 11 | Ambiguous expectation | Sets clear expectation |
| 12 | No consistency in holding individuals accountable | Accountability is the glue that holds the culture together. |
| 13 | Kicks the can down the road and fearful about the future | Knows the buck stops with them; Fearless and aggressively faces all negativity head on |
| 14 | Being at work is a job; a grind | Thinks work is a self-expression of making the world more beautiful. |
| 15 | Always want to be right and therefore others are wrong | Looks through the lens of finding solutions to support the many. |
Conclusion: Today’s successful leaders go to work every day focused on raising their energy levels and their people’s energy levels. The doorway that you must walk through to consistently achieve this positive state is “IMAGINATION”.
Appreciate the Day,
Mark David
