Sometimes the best way to understand something is to study it’s opposite. If you want to understand great leadership, ponder these 3 deadly mistakes as they provide a visual of what you don’t want to do or be as a leader.
#1: Motivated by Self Interests. The most detrimental mistake a leader can make is to put their self interests ahead of the interests of the organization they lead. Self-absorbed leaders take too much of the credit when things go well and too little of the blame when things go badly. They use their power and influence to benefit themselves, not their people.
When leaders use their position to feed their desire for power, money or fame, they have stopped leading. They might still have the title, but they have lost the heart of their people. Real leadership is having power with people not power over people.
#2: Thinking you have all the answers. Leaders that confuse authority and competence don’t lead for long because eventually all their best people leave. Nobody likes (or follows) a know-it-all. When leaders fail to consult their people, they limit the insight so necessary for making the best decisions.
When the consultation process informing decisions is limited to their own experience and perspective, leaders never glean the wisdom of their people and they decrease commitment to execute because the law of engagement stands: “no involvement, no commitment.
#3: Focus on the short term. When leaders get caught up in the thick of thin things, the organization gets stuck. When leaders spend all their time and energy managing crisis and fighting fires, they simply have no time or energy to pay attention to the long-term. When nobody is focused on the long-term vision, the organization is blind.
The underlying cause of leaders getting too involved in the day-to-day is usually a lack of trust in their people. Great leaders have enough smarts to hire the right people and enough humility to let them do their job without getting in the way.
Shareable Quotes
The most detrimental mistake a leader can make is to put their self interests ahead of the interests of the organization they lead. Click To Tweet Self-absorbed leaders take too much of the credit when things go well and too little of the blame when things go badly. Click To Tweet When leaders use their position to feed their desire for power, money or fame, they have stopped leading. They might have the title, but lost the heart of their people. Real leadership is power with people not power over people. Click To Tweet Leaders that confuse authority and competence don't lead for long because eventually all their best people leave. Click To Tweet When leaders fail to consult their people, they limit the insight so necessary for making the best decisions. Click To Tweet When the consultation process is limited to their own experience & perspective, leaders never glean the wisdom of their people and they decrease commitment to execute. The law of engagement stands: no involvement, no commitment. Click To Tweet When leaders get caught up in the thick of thin things, the organization gets stuck. When nobody is focused on the long-term vision, the organization is blind. Click To Tweet Great leaders have enough smarts to hire the right people and enough humility to let them do their job without getting in the way. Click To Tweet
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