The Problems with Absentee Leadership

There are all types of leadership styles out there. The micromanager, who tends to require being involved in every aspect of their employees’ day-to-day, is one such type. The other extreme is the absentee leader, who is almost nowhere to be found. Both types are detrimental in their own ways. In today’s post, we’ll discuss the issues that come along with the later—the absentee leader. It might be easy to fall into this type of managerial behavior, but there comes with it a lot of negative impacts. Let’s dive in.

According to a Harvard Business Review article, “Absentee leaders are people in leadership roles who are psychologically absent from them. They were promoted into management, and enjoy the privileges and rewards of a leadership role, but avoid meaningful involvement with their teams.” An absentee leader can take many forms. Some might opt to avoid meeting with their direct reports. Some may only offer hollow praise, regardless of how the employee is performing. Communication, to put it bluntly, is not one of their skills. Let’s recap some of the qualities that make up an absentee leader and why they are so detrimental:

The Bad Behavior: Delivering Hollow Praise 

A manager may not realize the issues that arise when they deliver praise that’s not warranted. It’s a common tactic with absentee leaders—they either have no idea what’s going on and just assume their staff are doing a great job, or they’re perfectly aware of their employees’ mishaps and are too fearful (or incompetent) to confront them. Delivering unwarranted praise just reinforces poor performance. It’s not helpful to the employee, nor is it helpful to your business. Which ties us in nicely to…

The Bad Behavior: Not Offering Feedback or Direction 

Delivering feedback to your employees—be it positive (and warranted) or negative—is critical to an employees’ success. As with any relationship, communication is key. Feedback and direction are a very important part of developing a harmonious workplace. It helps to reinforce good performance and bring light to poor performance. But avoiding the delivery of feedback on a regular basis is something absentee leaders do all the time. Without feedback, employees are left rudderless. How can that benefit your business?

The Bad Behavior: Being Completely Disengaged 

Many folks may have experienced leaders who don’t show up to meetings or hold regular 1:1s with their staff. They may come in late, sign off for hours at a time with no notice, or never answer their messages. “Is so-and-so here?” may be a phrase folks are used to hearing when referencing an absentee leader. This puts a lot of pressure on the team to act as a “stand-in” for their leader, making decisions they may not have the experience to make by essentially acting as a proxy. Not to mention, if an employee is standing in for their boss, they’re certainly not getting paid enough to do so. A disengaged leader also tends to have no idea what’s going on within their team or organization.

Management styles are wide and varied, and some may find they need to change those styles depending on the employees they manage. One person might be better with a boss who is available at all times and needs to be involved in each decision; still another might get infuriated with this behavior, believing their manager doesn’t trust them to do the right thing. Same goes for those working under absentee leaders—some may love it, some may despise it. For more management tips geared toward small business owners, make sure to check in with the Financial Pantry every week. We cover everything from marketing tips and tricks to financial advice, and we’re always here to answer any questions you may have when it comes to short-term loans. Learn more today!