A leader who is preoccupied with his own survival isn’t willing to stick his neck out.
She doesn’t risk casting a compelling vision of where the company is headed, because she’ll be held accountable if the company doesn’t achieve that vision.
He doesn’t collaborate with other leaders in meaningful ways, because it will be easier to assign blame if he had nothing to do with their work product.
She finds fault with every proposed project brought to her so she doesn’t have to be a champion or allocate resources.
The CYA leader leaves everyone else uncovered. Their people are left afloat with no wind in their sails and no direction to point their rudder. They are tossed around by waves and exposed to the effects of storms.
And seeing their leader safely on the shore–unconcerned by the plight of others–makes people bitter.