In "Anna Karenina," Tolstoy wrote that "happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Tolstoy may have been right about families, but leaders are exactly the opposite. There are many ways to be a great leader, but the worst ones are usually very similar.

On Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth provided a master class in failed leadership. Speaking before almost every American general and admiral as he conveyed his vision for the newly renamed Department of War, Hegseth embodied three of the most common failures of leaders who are, by both temperament and skill, simply not up to the job.

The first tell: Leaders who are out of their depth often prioritize the superficial over actual substance. At its worst, that can mean harming their........

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