Listicle:

Flawed leadership: Sauron’s five worst management mistakes

Written by Mark Rowland Tuesday 24 January 2023

Forget the one ring – Mordor’s downfall in Lord of the Rings rests with its poor management structure. These are the five biggest management mistakes that Sauron makes that led to the collapse of his organisation

Autonomy is important, but so is accountability – especially for motivation. Yet just 14% of employees feel their performance is managed in a way that motivates them, according to research from Gallup.

When I think of the 86% that aren’t getting the motivating accountability that they need, I can’t help but think of the situation in Mordor.

Upper management is woefully hands off. The guy at the top constantly has his eye trained on external issues, and never at his own organisation; other senior leaders spend most of their time on the road looking for acquisition opportunities (mostly ring-based), and so aren’t available to review performance and keep Mordor’s considerable orc workforce focused on its goals.

These are the five biggest management issues that led to the collapse of Sauron's organisation:

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