There are two main categories of MisLeadership, the first being unwitting MisLeadership which results from leadership that is missing, misguided, or misinformed. Missing Leadership is where appropriate and necessary leadership simply does not take place, possibly because there is no leader present, or the leader has their mind elsewhere or does not see a problem exists. Misguided Leadership is effective in what it does but either targeted at the wrong objectives or the approach adopted is unworkable, thus the results achieved are not what was intended. Misinformed Leadership is where the leader is unaware of important information, skills, techniques or consequences, or misunderstands their importance or how to use them.
The second category is what most people think of when they first hear the term ‘MisLeadership’: a deliberate attempt by a leader to achieve hidden personal objectives, termed Machiavellian, after the author of The Prince, a book first written in the early 16th century as a guide to the deceptive ways in which those in power can keep and use it:
