It is a shame that someone can spend countless hours building a company, and then have it all come crashing down because of some easily avoidable mistakes. I'm talking about the 5 deadly sins of the CEO; those 5 behaviors that cause contempt, dissension, distrust, apathy, and ultimately failure within an organization. Regardless of whether you are the president/CEO, chief "whatever", or just a leader somewhere within a large organization chart...you can learn to avoid these mistakes and contribute to building a world-class, people-building organization.
Let's dive into the 5 sins you can avoid and how you can counter them with more effective leadership skills.
1. Stop Listening to Your People
When you stop listening to your people, it's incredibly destructive to an organization. Your people will stop trying to give you valuable information. This disconnects you from what's really happening with your customers, with your products and services, and with your staff. You can't lead people who you are disconnected from. Not listening also communicates that you don't value them. You will have a difficult time leading people who don't feel valued by you.
So, what should you DO? Listen, Listen, Listen, and keep on listening. Don't get defensive or argue, or be disagreeable either. Instead, just listen. Even if you disagree, say "I can tell that you really care about this issue. Let me spend some time thinking about that and I'll get back to you". If you come back later and say you've thought about it...but disagree, at least you have communicated that you seriously considered what they had to say and will continue to do so. Final tip: if you say you are going to think about it...actually think about it. Don't just wait an hour and then say no. Think about what they said and be open to considering it or open to changing your mind about something.
2. Let Your Ego Grow
There is no better way to generate bitter contempt within your organization than to act bigger and better than everyone. When you make a point to say or show that you are more important, smarter, faster, more effective, and just plain better than them, they will....get ready for this....they will despise you. You may in fact be ALL those thing. You are the CEO and not just anyone rises to that level. But, is your ego so big that you still need to lord it over people? Do you seek to serve yourself?
Do you seek to be praised and receive accolades from others? Are you constantly trying to feed and grow your ego? Do this...and you will completely isolate yourself from your people. You will create a ME versus everyone attitude that people will see a mile away. Again, you can't lead people who secretly despise and don't respect you. Oh, and here is a hint: You may believe that due to your incredible gifted-ness, work ethic, and abilities that people will naturally respect and follow you. Think again. Put your ego on a pedestal and you will lose ALL respect.
So, what should you DO? Be humble. It is ironic, but if you will simply humble yourself, seek to praise others, give accolades to others, and point out the achievements of other people...YOU will rise up in the eyes of your people. You will be well thought of. You will be respected. People will WANT to follow you. Think highly of others FIRST, and others will think highly of you.
3. Say But Don't Do
People don't readily follow a leader who has a "do as I say, not as I do" mentality. It creates an atmosphere or culture which is immediately divisive. An example would be a leader who demands that his/her employees cancel vacation plans to meet a deadline, but is the first one to later claim that you need to maintain a good work/life balance. And more importantly, when their vacation time comes up, you had better believe that they'll take it regardless of how hard you might have to work to compensate.
So, what should you DO? For starters, don't ask anyone to do what you aren't willing to do yourself. If you need people to work late to get something done, join them. If you want people to prepare like crazy before an important presentation, how hard are you willing to prepare before one of your presentations? If others should focus on the details, you should focus on the details. You get the idea; do what you say, and do first, what you expect others to do.
4. Lie or Show Distrust of Your People
Many leaders feel that lying to their people is appropriate. Whether it's about upcoming layoffs, or a division that is being closed, or cancellation of Christmas bonuses...the easiest route seems to be lying or deliberate avoidance. It takes much more character and integrity to just be honest. An honest statement like "Yes, times are tough, and yes we're going to be making some significant reductions...we must do these things to survive as a company" will sting, but trusting your people with the truth will create more willing followers. When you lie or avoid discussing tough situations, you are really expressing distrust that your people will be able to handle it. My experience suggests that when people are given the truth in a straightforward manner, they handle it more professionally and positively.
So, what should you DO? Give truth a try! Place trust in your people and respect them enough to be straight with them. They will see you as a leader with integrity if you do.
5. Intervene and Override Your Followers Decisions (often)
For people who have created a company from scratch or who have risen through the ranks, it's sometimes tough to let go of what you used to do. To move up, you hire or delegate lower level tasks to a competent replacement. If you let go and let the new person try/fail/learn (repeat), they will come out more confident and more competent in the end. But if you continually intervene or override their decisions to avoid the negative consequences of a bad decision, you end up deflating their self-esteem, slowing down development, and creating a dependence that will not soon fade. People will become apathetic because they will be waiting for you to swoop in and save the day before they need to act.
So, what should you DO? Let people fail and learn and grow. People will learn much more by making a bad decision, than from you telling them what the right solution is. It is a time tested method for fast-track development.
Being a leader is serious business. It takes a strong leader to listen, to be humble, to have congruency between your words and actions, to be honest and straightforward, and ultimately to lead and get out of the way. But if you will learn to avoid the 5 deadly sins, and counter them with more effective leadership habits, you will catapult yourself and your organization to world-class status.
by Brad White
ezinearticles.com
14 years ago
