Has this happened to you? A person you work for or with makes you or other people feel guilted into performing some action.

These are the types of people who make you feel bad by turning the tables on you and having you feel like the situation that transpired was all your fault.

These leaders make this a habit in the following ways:

• They ask you why you made a certain decision
• They frame questions to make other’s think someone else is to blame
• They manipulate emotions to serve their own motives
• They force answers to be asked that purposely cast doubt on someone’s ability or intentions
• They use these certain sayings from bad leaders to leverage an emotional response

These leaders also make you feel guilty for the following reasons:

• They’re impatient
• They fail to understand factors that don’t suit their preferred outcome
• They need a scapegoat to take pressure off themselves
• They want to feel better about their shortcomings and what better way than to point out others’ flaws

These type of leaders are gutless leaders. They don’t stand up for what is right, or stand to take responsibility for themselves and the team. Rather, they would prefer to “throw others under the bus” and do so through the above mentioned methods.

What the most credible leaders are is called a “guilt-less” leader. Guilt-less leaders don’t make people feel guilty. They have a remarkable emotional intelligence about them, and ensure that they elicit only the best in emotional intelligence from their people. When this is accomplished at the high level of communication, then they can be “guilt-free” of manipulation and know they have achieved a team credibility. Everyone can rest assured that the team is aligned and values are matched up.

Be a “guilt-less” leader, and know that you’ve edified your team to greater heights!!

(image: morguefile/hotblack)