How reckless leadership drains energy among employees
Dr Philimon Chitagu
In today’s workplace, leadership plays a defining role in shaping employee morale, productivity, and overall well-being. While effective leadership inspires and energizes teams, reckless leadership does the opposite. Characterized by impulsive decisions, disregard for employee input, poor communication, and inconsistent behavior, reckless leadership becomes a silent drain on organizational energy. Over time, it erodes motivation and undermines the emotional capacity of the workforce. This article explores how reckless leadership draws out energy from employees and weakens organizational performance.
Uncertainty and Instability Create Chronic Stress
Employees thrive in environments where expectations are clear and decisions are consistent. Reckless leaders, however, frequently change priorities, abandon plans, or introduce new initiatives without proper planning. This creates constant uncertainty, which forces employees to remain in a state of heightened alertness.
Chronic stress consumes mental and emotional energy, leaving employees feeling exhausted even before the real work begins. Over time, this uncertainty reduces employees’ ability to stay focused, proactive, and creative.
Poor Direction Leads to Cognitive Overload
Reckless leadership often involves a lack of structure and strategic clarity. When leaders fail to communicate goals effectively, employees are left to interpret expectations on their own. This ambiguity leads to cognitive overload, requiring staff to expend unnecessary mental energy making decisions that should have been clarified by leadership.
Employees waste time redoing tasks, navigating conflicting instructions, or guessing at shifting priorities. This not only drains energy but also hampers performance and productivity.
Emotional Contagion Amplifies Negativity
Leaders set the emotional tone of the workplace. Reckless leaders may display anger, impulsiveness, inconsistencies, or disregard for professional boundaries. These behaviors create a negative emotional climate, which spreads quickly across teams.
Employees then invest emotional energy trying to manage their reactions, avoid conflict, and adapt to the leader’s unpredictable moods. This emotional labor is psychologically draining and diminishes enthusiasm and engagement.
Erosion of Trust Reduces Motivation
Trust is a cornerstone of effective workplaces. When employees witness reckless decision-making—such as ignoring data, dismissing concerns, or making irresponsible commitments—they begin to lose trust in their leaders and in the system.
A decline in trust translates into reduced motivation. Employees are less likely to put in extra effort or bring forward new ideas when they believe leadership is unreliable. This lack of engagement contributes to a broader loss of organizational energy.
Increased Workload From Poor Decisions
Reckless leadership often results in decisions that create unnecessary work. This may include unrealistic deadlines, overpromising to clients, or neglecting to consider risks. Employees are left to compensate for these poor decisions through overtime, crisis management, or scrambling to meet sudden demands.
This cycle of overwork and damage control is both emotionally and physically draining, leading to fatigue, burnout, and declining commitment.
Breakdown of Psychological Safety
One of the most damaging effects of reckless leadership is the erosion of psychological safety—the sense that employees can speak up, express concerns, and make mistakes without fear of negative consequences.
Reckless leaders often silence dissent, dismiss feedback, or react harshly to constructive criticism. In such environments, employees divert their energy toward self-protection instead of innovation, teamwork, or problem-solving. The fear of repercussions becomes a constant mental burden.
Feeling Undervalued Diminishes Emotional Engagement
Reckless leaders tend to overlook recognition, fail to acknowledge effort, or disregard employee well-being. Feeling undervalued or invisible drains emotional energy, leading to disengagement.
When employees sense that their contributions do not matter, they naturally withdraw discretionary effort—the very energy that drives creativity, collaboration, and productivity.
Increased Conflict and Miscommunication
Reckless leadership creates fertile ground for misunderstandings and interpersonal conflict. Poor communication, inconsistent instructions, and lack of coordination often lead to disputes among employees.
The time and emotional energy spent resolving preventable conflicts contribute further to overall fatigue and frustration within teams.
Conclusion
Reckless leadership drains employee energy through a combination of uncertainty, emotional strain, cognitive overload, and mistrust. It creates an environment where employees are focused more on managing chaos than performing meaningful work. Over time, the cumulative effect of these factors leads to burnout, disengagement, and a decline in organizational performance.
Organizations must recognize that leadership behavior directly influences employee well-being and energy levels. Investing in responsible, empathetic, and strategic leadership is not just beneficial—it is essential for sustained productivity, retention, and a healthy workplace culture.
Dr Philimon Chitagu is an Executive and team Coach (MGSCC-USA), Global Leadership Coach (MGSCC-USA), Gallup Certified Strengths Coach (Uk), Chartered HR Practitioner (IPMZ), Author of Leadership and HR Books, Keynote Speaker, Strategy Facilitator, OD Specialist, Leadership Coach and Mentor.
