Poor management displays four key characteristics, new research has found.
Global HR consultancy, BlessingWhite, has compiled the four signs of dysfunctionality as follows:

1. Silent dissent: "Everyone always agrees with me, and that makes me uneasy."

2. Facts not meaning: "All I get is data, but not much insight."

3. Lack of passion: "We focus so much on competence that the senior team never gets emotionally charged up."

4. Inertia: "All we talk about is achieving results, but we don't change the way we do things."

Tom Barry, UK managing director for BlessingWhite, said that lack of candour among senior teams can be a real problem. "The managing director may be so charismatic, or dogmatic, that no one else is comfortable contributing, or sounding a discordant note.

"In addition, many leadership teams become so focused on results and data that there is a tendency to overlook fundamental person-to-person issues. A perceptive MD will understand the effect of their own style on the performance of their senior team and initiate a shake up if required."

According to Barry, another frequent problem is a lack of emotional engagement by team members: "The great MDs are the ones who don't wait for that lack of engagement to affect business performance, but intervene so that all the top people are truly involved on a visceral level. Authentic, values-driven leadership right from the top provides the anchor to help turn a dysfunctional team around."

The warning signs were identified through extensive interviews with senior business leaders and managing directors as part of BlessingWhite's ongoing research into leadership effectiveness.