Charles W KingBBA / MAOMNegative LeadersDefinition:Have you ever had a person in your organization that exerted a negative influence on their co-workers? How long did it take you to identify them and how much damage did they do to moral and productivity before you found them?Change will bring out the "negative leaders" in the unit. That is why if there is a change of leadership or there is a change in policy or procedures the unit leader MUST be prepared to deal with those "negative leaders".A "negative leader" is not the same as a "bad boss"; those are another separate problem for the leader of a unit. The "negative leader" is usually the employee that has been employed for an extended period of time and is fairly comfortable in their skill knowledge of their position. It is because of this familiarity that they resist change. It is resisting change that will cause them to tell other co-workers to ignore the boss and not embrace the change. It is this resistance that allows the "negative leader" to effect their own moral judgment on the unit. The "negative leader" is an inciter of rebellion. They have an unhealthy attitude believing it was not necessary to comply with the wishes of management. The "negative leader" is able to sow seeds of discontent in the minds of their co-workers. This is an insidious "gift" that will poison a unit if not identified early and dealt with. We will address these items in the next blog.