20 Habits of Highly Unsuccessful and Ineffective Leaders - by Gordon Tredgold (Paperback)

About the Book

What if your leadership habits were the problem--and no one around you felt safe enough to say it? "20 Habits of Highly Unsuccessful and Ineffective Leaders" is a brutally honest, occasionally uncomfortable, and surprisingly useful guide to the behaviors that sabotage teams, frustrate talent, and quietly wreck careers. From micromanaging and blame-shifting to chasing shiny objects and avoiding feedback, these habits are more common than most leaders would like to admit. This isn't your typical leadership book. It's not a lecture. It's a mirror.
Whether you picked it up yourself or someone on your team gifted it to you, you're holding a practical roadmap for spotting the habits that hurt your influence--and learning what to do instead. You'll also get practical tips on how to recognize these patterns in yourself, what to do if your boss has them, and how one bad habit--left unchecked--can undo all your strengths. Written by global leadership coach Gordon Tredgold, this book is based on the viral article that struck a nerve with readers in over 20 countries--and became one of the most-shared leadership pieces of the last decade. It's direct. It's practical. And it might just save your career.

Book Synopsis

We've all had that one boss. The one who talks over people in meetings, micromanages every decision, or praises performance only when it reflects well on them. The boss who kills momentum, drains morale, and leaves their best people quietly updating their résumés. But what if that boss... is you and no one around you felt safe enough to tell you?
"20 Habits of Highly Unsuccessful and Ineffective Leaders" is not your typical leadership book. It's not about vision statements, strategic models, or motivational quotes. It's about the blind spots--those everyday behaviors that smart, capable leaders fall into that quietly erode trust, frustrate teams, and limit long-term results. From global leadership expert Gordon Tredgold, this book is a field guide to what not to do--based on decades of real-world experience, hard-earned lessons, and a viral article that resonated with millions of readers around the world. Whether you're a seasoned executive, a new manager, or someone who was just "gifted" this book by your team (take the hint), this is your chance to take an honest look in the mirror.
Inside, you'll learn:
- The 20 most common toxic leadership habits--what they look like, why they happen, and how to fix them.
- How one bad habit can undo the good you're trying to build.
- What to do when the leader with these habits isn't you--but your boss.
- Why well-meaning behaviors like "speed," "urgency," or "high standards" sometimes backfire.
- How to ask for feedback in a way that actually gets you the truth.
You'll also get the now-infamous "Checklist of Leadership Habits Your Team Wishes You'd Look At," designed to help teams safely call out bad leadership behaviors--without risking their jobs. This book isn't here to shame leaders--it's here to save them because many bad habits aren't born from arrogance or ego; they come from good intentions gone sideways. From pressure, blind spots, and modeling bad examples. Gordon Tredgold has worked with teams across 30+ countries, coached thousands of leaders, and made more than a few of these mistakes himself. His no-fluff approach to leadership has been featured in Forbes, Inc., and Entrepreneur and translated into 23 languages. He knows what leadership failure looks like--and how to turn it around.
If you're serious about becoming a better leader--or helping someone else become one--this book is your starting point. It's honest. It's practical. It's funny in places. And it just might save your team, your culture, and your credibility. Because in leadership, what you don't see can hurt you--and your team probably already sees it.

About the Author

Gordon Tredgold is a globally recognized leadership expert, executive coach, speaker, and author with over 30 years of experience leading high-performance teams, delivering complex transformation programs, and helping organizations unlock breakthrough results. He has led international teams across five continents, managed multimillion-dollar projects, and helped companies save hundreds of millions through smarter strategies and better leadership. Gordon has worked in industries ranging from telecom and finance to health care and manufacturing--often stepping into high-pressure, high-stakes environments where results mattered most.
Gordon's leadership style is built around clarity, simplicity, and focus. Over the course of his career, he's learned that great leadership isn't about charisma or complexity--it's about creating trust, building momentum, and doing the small things that make a big difference. However, just as important is avoiding the small things that slowly destroy your culture, your credibility, and your team's motivation. That idea became the basis for his viral 2016 article, "20 Habits of Highly Ineffective and Unsuccessful Leaders," which struck a nerve and inspired the creation of this book. Since then, Gordon has helped thousands of leaders around the world see their own blind spots and make lasting changes.
He has written over 2,000 articles on leadership, performance, and personal growth, many as a featured columnist for Inc., Entrepreneur, and Business Insider. Gordon has been named one of the Top 10 Global Leadership Experts by "Global Gurus" and was a finalist for the Management Book of the Year.
Gordon has delivered keynotes and leadership programs in over 30 countries, from boardrooms in New York to conferences in Nairobi. He has also given a TEDx Talk in French and once led a multi-month project entirely in German. He has lived in the UK, Holland, Belgium, the U.S., Spain, Germany, and the Czech Republic--and has led diverse teams in almost every cultural context imaginable. Additionally, he has learned that good leadership is rare but not complicated--and that some of the best leadership lessons come from watching what not to do. He wrote "20 Habits of Highly Unsuccessful and Ineffective Leaders" for every team member who's ever wanted to tell their boss the truth and for every leader who's brave enough to ask, "Is it me?"
When he's not writing, coaching, or speaking, Gordon is a husband, a father of four, a long-suffering sports fan, and a passionate advocate for common sense in leadership. His goal? To help develop a million leaders--and to make leadership better, one habit at a time.