We know that people prefer to work for leaders who give a sense of security, who distribute responsibilities, who show a genuine interest in their direct reports, who care, who have integrity, who listen.

Yet, very few leaders do any of that.

And that could be for three reasons.

They might be not skilled enough. Many top performers are promoted into leadership roles and they simply have no experience creating an environment where people can develop and feel secure. The idea is that if you are good at making things happen, you will eventually figure that out. Of course, it rarely happens.

They might believe that those things will come when _______ (fill in the blank). When the recession is over, when the urgency of the moment has passed, when the company will grow, when the next campaign will fix everything, when the new year will come. It’s never a good time for them to take ownership.

They might be genuinely interested in themselves more than in anything else. They move from one role to the next, from one company to the next, achieving above average results, and then leaving fear and destruction behind.

There are certainly other reasons, and other types of dysfunctional leadership.

But the main point for you is that you are not going to change that. You will not convince your team lead that they need training, that the time is now, or that putting their needs second will actually serve them in the long term.

None of that is going to happen.

All you can do is decide what type of leader you want to follow and where you draw the line.