More interstellar content, you say? We thought you’d never ask! In this article, we’ll talk about how to tell which leader from the interstellar war saga you are most like. Let’s dive in!
The Dark Lord
If you’re a dark lord, your team trembles whenever you enter a room. It’s almost like you’ve got your own foreboding theme music. People are afraid to speak up in your presence for fear of their thoughts being “choked” out of them. To put it simply – working for you is not a good time.
If you’ve ever had a boss who was a dark lord, you’d know immediately. They’re the worst kind of toxic leadership, and employees often need time to decompress after encountering them. Some days, working for a dark lord can feel like being forced into a trash compactor with a monster inside! They have no gratitude for your contributions.
If your boss is a dark lord, you need to know that anything would be better than working for someone like that. And if you’re a dark lord as a boss, don’t conflate terror with respect! It’s never too late to turn away from your powerful-yet-horrifying ways and become a wise master.
The Lazy Slob
If your leadership style is “the lazy slob,” no one knows how you got the role you currently have. You essentially enslave people to do the heavy lifting for you and then take all the credit. Perhaps you’re some CEO’s nephew, and they wanted you to learn the value of “hard work” before they’d give you any inheritance. Maybe you’ve got decision fatigue… about everything.
If you’ve got a boss who’s a lazy slob, they don’t seem to care about the company, and their disinterest makes you wonder why you should care. For hard workers, the lazy slob is extremely difficult to work with because the lack of enthusiasm spreads like a disease, and you quickly start to hear the entire company complain that “that’s not my job” while you say, “I just want you to do your job!”
The Wise Master
If you’re a wise master, you’re willing to take time with your team and hire the right people. You are always available to answer questions, but you also direct your team to trust their own abilities. You ask helpful questions back to them to help them discover that they have the answers – and you lead well because you regulate your emotions.
Even if your communication style differs from the rest of your team, you make it work. They can understand what you’re going for, and everyone is focused on achieving goals that will help the company, even if their ideas on how to do that are a bit different.
As a leader, you are fantastic at nurturing other leaders who can work just as well together as they can independently. You don’t hold your company too tightly, and you value the contributions of others while developing multiple leaders within your organization. A wise master is a thinker at their core.
The Bounty Hunter
If you’re the bounty hunter, you’re a lone wolf. It’s really difficult for you to outsource things. You’re so used to doing it all alone (perhaps as a solopreneur) that you’re afraid to let go of the reins. Consequently, you find yourself going on every little quest yourself. Need a website? You’re sure you can figure it out. Gotta take care of the budget? Nothing an Excel spreadsheet refresher can’t help!
The thing is that it’s incredibly difficult to keep that going at scale without getting into trouble. Soon you may find yourself in a pit, devoured by a monster (usually of your own making). If you’d developed a team, you never would have gotten into this mess!
The Clone Leader
If you’re the clone leader, you like to blend into the background. You’ll take the lead on things, but you do things exactly as your leaders do and exactly as the people under you. You don’t add much to the company because you do as you’re told without developing more innovative solutions. You believe that “good soldiers follow orders.”
If your boss is a clone leader, they may discourage anything you do that goes against the overall persona of the company, even if you have good ideas. Clone leaders make it very difficult to push against the status quo and don’t look too hard into new solutions you might offer. It’s an “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” company culture. They’re not lazy – but they wish to maintain order at all costs, even if looking at a new solution may be more efficient in the long run.
The “Damaged” Clone Leader
If you’re a “damaged” clone leader, you need to know you’re not actually damaged – you work well with a team because you realize that our differences (when united toward the same goal) are quite powerful. The only person who thinks a “damaged” clone leader is damaged is the one who wants to create a sea of clone leaders.
As a damaged clone leader, you do things differently than the wise master and hang out with a more no-nonsense crowd. You’re less about provoking deep thought in your entire team and more about inspiring them to take action. You’re an excellent leader, but sometimes your desire to do the job quickly can lead to issues that wouldn’t have happened if you’d considered the problem from all angles.
If you have a damaged clone leader as a boss, your team is enthusiastic and excited about carrying out the vision for the company. You’re all different, but rather than downplay or discourage those differences, the differences are embraced. You get things done, and it’s a forgiving company culture (because everyone breaks things once in a while)!
Get More Fun Leadership Tips from Matcha Design
Being a great leader isn’t easy. Unfortunately, it seems that there are more dark lords, clone leaders, lazy slobs, and bounty hunters out there than there are wise masters or “damaged” clone leaders. If you saw yourself in some of the more negative leadership styles, there’s still hope! Read our blog and apply our leadership tips, and you’ll be a better leader, even if you’re a dark lord.
