The higher a bad leader climbs, the more people below see exactly what kind of ass they truly are. – Ancient office proverb

Leadership is one of those topics everyone claims to understand, yet very few actually demonstrate. What’s fascinating, and occasionally exhausting, is how often people assume that a bigger title automatically means deeper insight, stronger judgment, or some kind of mystical executive wisdom. In reality, it’s often just the Dunning-Kruger effect.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that leaders tend to fall into three broad categories:

The Relationship Hire – these leaders arrive at (or promoted to) senior levels not because of demonstrated capability, but because they have a close relationship with someone at the top. They’re the “trusted friend,” the “former colleague,” or the “person who was promised a role someday”. Their authority comes pre-packaged, and their confidence often comes from the assumption that proximity to power equals competence.

The Credit Scavenger – this group survives by attaching themselves to successful programs and collecting credit along the way. They’re present at just enough meetings to be visible (or sometimes attends all meetings), they repeat just enough talking points to sound involved, and they position themselves just close enough to the work to claim ownership when things go well. The uncomfortable truth is that the program would have succeeded with or without them.

The Battle-scarred Practitioner – these leaders earned their roles the hard way. They walked through every steppingstone, learned the pain points firsthand, and carry the scars of real experience. They understand the work because they’ve done the work. They know what’s reasonable, what’s not, and what it actually costs a team to deliver under pressure.

The problem is that the market is saturated with “Relationship Hires” and “Credit Scavengers”, and they tend to share a few predictable behaviors:

• They project confidence, often more than their experience justifies. They have the confidence and audacity to make commitments on behalf of the team without consulting the team.
• Their priorities revolve around their perception towards upper management, not realities faced downloads.
• Their communication is vague, their direction shifts frequently, and “leadership” speeches feel more like placeholders than actual guidance.

Leader: I empower you to make the decisions.

Me: are you going to send out an email communication to the broader organization? Or create an org chart showing the empowerment structure and share with the team?

Leader: no

Me: empowerment that no one knows about besides you and me is kind of meaningless, don’t you think?

Battle-scarred leaders behave differently because they understand the consequences of their decisions. They’ve lived through unrealistic deadlines, shifting priorities, and poorly thought-out executive mandates. They know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of leadership that doesn’t understand the work.

As a result:

• They’re cautious about making promises, especially ones that impact the team
• They advocate for the team because they know what overwork and demoralization look like in practice
• They’re hands on when needed, offering guidance, coaching, and clarity
• They communicate expectations in a way that aligns both upward and downward

These leaders don’t rely on titles to establish credibility. Their experience does that for them. They understand that leadership isn’t about sounding authoritative, rather it’s about making decisions that respect the people doing the work.

Summary

Watch out for “Relationship Hires” and “Credit Scavengers”, they’re usually full of shit and you can spot them from a mile away. My politically incorrect advice is to call them out, and if they give you shit, expose them by making the matter visible to other audiences. One important precondition to this is that you need to be a performer and know your shit… because if you ain’t, it’s on you and it’s going to be your ass.

Just remember that they have much more to lose than you do, they’re position/title and perception is everything. But if you’re just being a dick, then it’s on you.