Leadership is Dead – So Why Do We Keep Talking About It?

Scroll through LinkedIn, and you’ll see endless posts about leadership—what makes a great leader, what to do, what to avoid. And yet… where are all these great leaders?

If leadership is such a hot topic, why do we still see terrible leadership everywhere? If companies truly valued good leadership, wouldn’t we see real change? Instead, we see organizations filled with uninspiring, ineffective, and sometimes outright toxic leaders. So what’s going wrong?

The Leadership Paradox

Despite all the talk, leadership in many organizations remains a title, not a responsibility:

1. Promotions Reward the Wrong Skills
   Most leadership roles go to those who play the corporate game well, not those who can actually lead. A great salesperson becomes a sales manager, even if they lack the ability to develop people. A technical expert gets put in charge of a team, even though they struggle with communication. Leadership is treated as a reward, not a skill.

2. Companies Value Compliance Over Competence
   Real leaders challenge outdated processes, push for innovation, and advocate for their teams—but many organizations prefer managers who simply enforce policies, hit short-term targets, and avoid making waves. The result? Stagnation, low morale, and high turnover.

3. Leadership Advice is Mostly Performance
   The worst leaders often post the most about leadership. They talk about emotional intelligence, mentorship, and empowerment—while their teams suffer under micromanagement, poor decision-making, and toxic cultures. If leadership advice worked, why don’t we see more actual leaders?

4. No Real Consequences for Bad Leadership
   How often do toxic managers get removed? Almost never. If they hit their KPIs (even by burning out employees and creating a miserable work environment), they stay. Employees leave, but the system keeps rewarding the same ineffective behaviors.

So, What’s the Real Issue?

If leadership is so important, why hasn’t the quality of leadership improved?

👉 Is leadership just corporate theater—good for LinkedIn but ignored in practice?
👉 Are companies too comfortable with bad leadership because it keeps the machine running?
👉 Is the leadership industry (books, courses, seminars) just another self-feeding cycle of advice that rarely translates into action?

Now Over to You

• Have you ever had a terrible leader? What do you think allowed them to rise and stay in power?

• If you’re in leadership, what are you actively doing to challenge this problem and be different?

• What’s the real reason companies keep failing at leadership?

Let’s have an honest conversation. Drop your thoughts in the comments. And if you were about to post another generic leadership quote… maybe sit this one out. 😉