Twenty Habits away from Transformational Leadership
Common flaws prevent most organisations from experiencing true authentic leadership and often correcting these flaws is more about stopping what we are currently doing than adapting new more positive habits or having a personality makeover.
We are not talking about flaws in skills, intelligence or personality but in interpersonal behavior, behaviours that make our workplaces toxic and far less productive.
According to Marshall Goldsmith, it may be that the very characteristic that you believe got you where you are - like the drive to win at all costs - is the one that is holding you back from getting you where you want to be.
Which of these 20 habits is most significantly impacting your ability to attain a higher level of success?
- Winning too much: The need to win at all costs and in all situations—when it matters, when it doesn't, and when it's totally beside the point.
- Adding too much value: The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion.
- Passing judgment: The need to rate others and impose our standards on them.
- Making destructive comments: The needless sarcasms and cutting remarks that we think make us sound sharp and witty.
- Starting with "No," "But," or "However": The overuse of these negative qualifiers which secretly say to everyone, "I'm right. You're wrong."
- Telling the world how smart we are: The need to show people we're smarter than they think we are.
- Speaking when angry: Using emotional volatility as a management tool.
- Negativity, or "Let me explain why that won't work": The need to share our negative thoughts even when we weren't asked.
- Withholding information: The refusal to share information in order to maintain an advantage over others.
- Failing to give proper recognition: The inability to praise and reward.
- Claiming credit that we don't deserve: The most annoying way to overestimate our contribution to any success.
- Making excuses: The need to reposition our annoying behavior as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it.
- Clinging to the past: The need to deflect blame away from ourselves and onto events and people from our past; a subset of blaming everyone else.
- Playing favorites: Failing to see that we are treating someone unfairly.
- Refusing to express regret: The inability to take responsibility for our actions, admit we're wrong, or recognize how our actions affect others.
- Not listening: The most passive-aggressive form of disrespect for colleagues.
- Failing to express gratitude: The most basic form of bad manners.
- Punishing the messenger: The misguided need to attack the innocent who are usually only trying to help us.
- Passing the buck: The need to blame everyone but ourselves.
- An excessive need to be "me": Exalting our faults as virtues simply because they're who we are.
And if you think it’s just a simple case of self-diagnosis and correction, think again!
Whilst the chances of getting a little nudge of self-recognition are high, the chances that you’ll admit it’s a problem are less high, and the chances that you’ll take corrective action to mend your ways without the assistance of coach or mentor are even slimmer.
If you are serious about being a more impactful, influential and self- aware leader, we can help. Give us a call on +64 21 284 3623.