The Stuffed Shirt might be an intelligent person. The might have an affable nature. They might even have both of these qualities. But if you spend any amount of time with them, you'll notice that certain leadership qualities are missing.
Effectiveness
A former associate used to work for a Stuffed Shirt. He made the following observation about his boss.
"This place doesn't succeed BECAUSE of him. It succeeds in SPITE of him."
The stuffed shirt may be knowledgeable in the ways of the firm. They might be a smooth talker in meetings. But they're not the first person that you would call if you absolutely, positively needed to get something done.
Decisiveness
Stuffed Shirts don't like to make decisions.
Every decision carries a degree of risk. If the decision results in a negative outcome, the person who made that decision will face criticism.
Stuffed Shirts abhor criticism. They avoid risk. When faced with a decision, the Stuffed Shirt will look to the team for a consensus. If the decision turns out to be a mistake, they'll be able to place the blame on others.
Focus
The Stuffed Shirt enjoys planning office events and outings. They're probably the right person to run the office pool for the Super Bowl or the College Basketball Playoffs. They already know everybody, and any excuse to focus on something other than deliverables and deadlines comes as a welcome relief.
Work Ethic
The Stuffed Shirt doesn't like to work late. They'll probably blame their family for a regular early departure, but their light scheduled is dictated by their own lack of motivation.
When asked by their superiors to participate a nighttime or weekend project, they'll seem distracted. They'll pass their time at the desk of a chatty colleague. Or, if the pressure is on to make a decision, they'll hover near the alpha employee who effectively runs their team.
Corporations are diverse systems. There are lots of distinct personalities in this arena. It's fascinating to watch them interact, to see who steps up and who stays in the shadows, to see who acts rationally while others want to act rashly.
The Stuffed Shirt will never amount to more than a cog in the wheel. He's a leaf floating down the river with the current. He goes where the current takes him, because he knows that he doesn't have the qualifications that he would need to redirect his trajectory.
