[July 17, 2026] Six years ago this month, I wrote an article titled 10 Major Reasons for Leadership Failure. I thought I’d taken a pretty good shot at identifying what are common traits among failed leaders; from personal experience. The response, at the time, was low and the article attracted almost zero attention.
This article is another attempt, using more up-to-date “research” on leadership. Of all the top 10 leadership traits, here are the most lacking that cause failure. They are listed roughly in order of importance. When I was thinking about the traits, my best guess was that “vision” would be first. Here it’s second, but high. Communication, I thought, would be number two; nope, number eight.
Leaders fail primarily from missing core traits. Here are the top 10, with brief explanations.
- Self-awareness: Blind to flaws and feedback, leaders repeat errors and alienate teams. Without it, growth stalls.
- Vision: Lacking clear direction, organizations drift. Leaders fail to inspire or align efforts toward goals.
- Decisiveness: Hesitation in crises paralyzes action. Indecisive leaders lose momentum and opportunities.
- Integrity: Erosion of trust follows broken promises or ethics lapses. Teams disengage without moral consistency.
- Empathy: Ignoring emotions breeds resentment. Disconnected leaders fail to motivate or retain talent.
- Accountability: Blame-shifting destroys credibility. Owners of mistakes build stronger cultures.
- Adaptability: Rigid in change, leaders become obsolete. Inflexibility dooms strategies amid volatility.
- Communication: Poor messaging causes confusion and misalignment. Clarity fosters execution.
- Courage: Avoiding tough calls leads to mediocrity. Bold leaders confront reality and innovate.
- Humility: Arrogance blocks learning and collaboration. Humble leaders value input and sustain success.
These deficiencies compound. Self-awareness tops the list as foundation for recognizing others. Vision without decisiveness fails implementation. Integrity underpins all trust. Empathy retains people; accountability sustains it. Adaptability navigates uncertainty, communication executes vision, courage drives progress, and humility prevents hubris.
Historical examples abound. Modern failures like corporate scandals highlight integrity gaps. Studies confirm: Gallup and others rank emotional intelligence (empathy, self-awareness) and clear purpose (vision) as predictors of success.
Leaders ignoring these invite collapse. Cultivate via feedback, reflection, and deliberate practice. Prioritize self-awareness first—it unlocks the rest. Strong leaders balance them for enduring impact.
There we have it. Your thoughts are appreciated.
————
Please read my books:
Leaders! Read this with caution. Some day, you will snag your leadership on one of these 10 reasons and fail. So be aware!
A thoughtful and timely piece on leadership failures, General. True leaders thrive by embracing self-awareness rooted in honest self-reflection and biblical humility, steering clear of the arrogance that plagues so many today.
Vision grounded in timeless conservative principles—like individual liberty and moral order—unites teams and inspires enduring success rather than fleeting trends. Decisiveness, drawn from a strong sense of duty and faith, empowers leaders to act boldly in defense of what is right, much like our military heroes. Integrity remains the bedrock of trust, reminding us that broken promises erode societies just as they doom organizations, a lesson conservatives have long championed. Empathy balanced with accountability fosters resilient families and communities, rejecting victimhood for personal responsibility. Adaptability without compromising core values allows leaders to navigate change while upholding tradition and the Constitution. Clear communication, free of bureaucratic doublespeak, builds alignment and counters the confusion sown by modern elites. Courage to confront hard truths and stand firm against cultural decay separates great leaders from those who fade into mediocrity. This article reinforces why cultivating these virtues through deliberate practice and Stoic wisdom leads to lasting impact for leaders who prioritize God, family, and country.
Stupid leaders fail. Now there, solved the ranking problem. If they fail, let them swim with the fishes. :-))
ROLF
Good one sir. Thanks for the update and looking forward to more in the future. I’d also write one of the top 10 qualities of a great leader. To quote Gen. Satterfield “A good leader is someone who can get others to do things they would not ordinarily do. A great leader is to get someone to do that and make them want to do it.” Or something similar. Great works.
General Satterfield, your latest piece on leadership failure is a timely and practical reminder for anyone in a position of responsibility. I particularly appreciate how you ranked self-awareness as number one—it’s the quiet foundation that either strengthens or quietly undermines every other trait. Your military background shines through in the emphasis on decisiveness and courage; hesitation in combat or in the boardroom can cost lives or opportunities alike. Vision without adaptability is like a battle plan that ignores changing terrain, a lesson I learned across multiple deployments. Integrity and accountability remain non-negotiable; once trust erodes, no amount of communication can fully restore it. Empathy and humility round out the list beautifully, reminding us that leading people means truly seeing them, not just directing them. Your call to cultivate these through deliberate practice and feedback resonates deeply with stoic principles of self-examination. Readers would benefit from the real-world examples you hinted at in the comments, especially from your Iraq tours and senior command roles. This article complements your earlier one well and avoids the fluff so common in leadership writing today. Leaders who ignore these ten reasons risk not just personal failure but dragging their teams and organizations down with them. Thank you for continuing to share hard-earned wisdom on TheLeaderMaker.com—it helps the rest of us stay vigilant. Looking forward to Part 3 or those expanded case studies from your career.
🤠 Well, sir, your generalship ( 😁😁😁😁 ), I finally got a chance to read your old article, and frankly, I liked it better because it was straight to the point. 🎯 This one is good too but better for me if you combined them into a single article and more focused on the top 3 to 5 reasons why leaders fail. 👓 We can see it in those who lack “humility” (not mentioned here) and brains. 🧢 Love your website. ✅ Love the way you put your articles together and how the contrast from one another from the individaul psychology to the grand strategy. 👀 God Bless you, sir. 🤠
Good list. Now, I’d like to get a short series on actual examples from your experience, Gen. Satterfield. Show us HOW that makes them fail. Thank you sir.
Yep, and exactly why6 I keep reading this blog.