In this week’s BusinessWeek, reader Goran Milić posed the question “What is lousy leadership?” to Jack Welch (the former CEO and Chairman who increased GE’s market cap by over $400bn) and his wife Suzy Welch in their weekly column The Welch Way. According to the Welches, there are two main kinds of “Bosses Who Get It All Wrong”:

Cardinal Sin #1: The Know-It-All Boss

The first and perhaps most frustrating way that some people blow leadership is by being know-it-alls. They can tell you how the world works, what corporate is thinking, how it will backfire if you try this or that, and why you can’t change the product one iota. They even know what kind of car you should be driving…. They don’t listen, and that “deafness” makes it very hard for new ideas to get heard, debated, expanded, or improved. No single person, no matter how smart, can take a business to its apex. For that, you need every voice heard.

Cardinal Sin #2: The Emotionally-Distant Boss

…Emotionally distant bosses are more comfortable behind closed doors than mucking it out with the team…. If possible, all the messy, sweaty people stuff would be delegated to HR managers on another floor…. They don’t engage, which means they can’t inspire. That’s a big problem. Leaders, after all, need followers to get anything done. And followers need passion for their fuel.

And a few other major infractions include bosses who are just plain jerks, bosses who are too afraid of rocking the boat to make real decisions without everyone’s consensus, and those who are unwilling to prioritize projects and give real performance reviews, cutting projects and, if need be, people, when they are not delivering on their intended purpose.

Watch the Welches’ “Bosses Who Get It All Wrong” for more.