This document discusses common leadership mistakes and how to avoid them. It identifies six main mistakes: 1) Not celebrating people, 2) Going it alone and being disconnected, 3) Not having growth plans, 4) Poor time management, 5) Going to extremes in leadership style, and 6) Letting bad attitudes prevail. For each mistake, it provides strategies and recommendations for effective leadership, such as affirming and praising employees, delegating tasks, setting shared visions and goals, prioritizing tasks, finding the right leadership style, and not tolerating bad attitudes. The overall message is that effective leaders celebrate their people, connect with others, plan for growth, manage time well, adapt their style appropriately, and promote positive attitudes

2. Leaders
mistakes
make and how to avoid them!
1. Not Celebrating People

3. People Need
20 Positive
communications
to Offset 1 negative.

4. • Saying a cheerful hello
• Praising their risk-taking
• Displaying a great sense
of humor
Organizations Become
Shadows of Their Leaders .

5. Affirm Your People
• Kudos/encouraging emails
• Personal hand-written notes
and positive voice-mails
• Public praise in meetings and
in team/org publications.

6. Affirm Your People
• Letters of commendation
• In performance appraisals
“There are high spots in all of our
lives and most of them have come
about through some encouragement
from someone else.” –George Adams

7. “The best way to cheer
yourself up is to cheer
somebody else up.”
–Mark Twain

8. Give a Personalized Review
• One-on-one’s at least monthly.
• MBWA
• Gifts/awards customized to
the performer
• Simply saying thank-you

9. Take any chance you get to
Celebrate!

10. Ask more
QUESTIONS
than making
statements
?

11. Leaders
mistakes
make
and how to avoid them!
“Don’t do leadership to people;
do it with them.” –Ken Blanchard
2. Going it alone;
Being Disconnected

12. People are lonely because they
build walls instead of bridges.

13.  Asking a team member what would they
do about it, when they pose a problem.
 Employee surveys with specific questions
 Speaking last in a team meeting
 Connecting with the other key players

14. Coaches
Consultants
Look Back Counselors
Look Ahead
Mentors
Look
Down
Look
Inside

15. “Establish yourself with men
of good quality if you esteem
your own reputation.”
–George Washington

16. “Alone we can do so little;
together we can do so much.”
–Helen Keller

17. Delegation
 Think through the tasks to be delegated.
 Think through who can handle what tasks
up front.
 Clearly outline your intent and outcomes
of the task.
 Give responsibility and authority.
 Set up a follow-up system.

18. People get suspicious and
distrusting when they don’t
see their leader.

19. Inspire/cast a shared vision
 Connect with your own fire in your belly
vision for your organization.
 Find out your why your team believes in
what they are doing.
 Link those two together with a shared
vision that they can buy into.

20. Inspire/cast a shared vision
 Cast it with a guiding coalition then
company-wide.
 Resource them to make it happen.
 Be open to adjustments and be ready
for the nay-sayers. But don’t let them
de-rail the vision.

21. Leaders
mistakes
make and how to avoid them!
“Speed of the boss—speed
of the team” –Lee Iacocca
3. Not having growth plans

22. This is a marathon,
not a sprint.
Don’t cheat your family.
Take care of yourself;
no one else will.

23. “Every day do something
that will inch you closer
to a better tomorrow.”
–Doug Firebaugh

24. Never believe anything
you’ve done is successful;
challenge it every second.

25. Growth Plans for Your Organization
 Strategic planning for 1-3 years out
 SWOT analysis
 Vision-setting and gap analysis
 Thematic goals
 Clear job descriptions with pillar
responsibilities that get the org to its mission
 Goal-setting in those areas
 Regular Coaching
 Appraisal on those goals

26. Leaders
mistakes
make and how to avoid them!
4. Poor Time Management

27. Put the Big Rocks in First
 Planning
 Relationship-
building
 Taking
Inventory/evaluation
against your
goals/action plans
and of people and
their progress

28. Develop a working personal
organization system
 TRAF paper: Toss, Refer, Act on, File
 Manage email.
 Make a task list. Determine your most
important priorities overall and then
tomorrow’s 3 top priorities before
leaving today.
 Calendar your tasks/priorities by
making appointments with yourself.

29.  Do you need the
meeting?
 Do they have an
agenda?
 Do you stay on track?
 Do decisions
get made and
followed-up on?
Time/task analysis to show what
you are doing every 15 minutes.

30. Leaders
mistakes
make
and how to avoid them!
5. Going to Extremes
in Leadership

31.  Capitulate to people
 Don’t stick to their guns with what
is right/best
 Don’t make the tough calls
PLEASERS

32.  Cancers spreading
 Status quo management
 All-stars getting frustrated
 Getting everyone spread too thin
 Shaky organizational footing
Resulting in:

33.  Overcontrol/micromanage
 Clutch information
 Display a callous attitude toward
people
 Are proud know-it-alls who don’t flex.
 Shun transparency
Dictators:

34.  Productivity suffers in the long
run through sabotage
 Satisfaction/morale suffers.
Creativity suffers.
 Frustration/fear at being held
hostage.
Resulting in:

35.  Are firm without being harsh
 Are decisive according to values of
self/org and with good research/data
 Take into account others’ feelings
 Are humble servant-leaders
Just Right Leaders:
“When a man realizes his littleness,
his greatness can appear.” H.G. Wells

36.  A reputation of integrity
 Getting the job done, and done
with better relationships
 Believability in leadership
Resulting in:

37. 6. Letting Bad
Attitudes Prevail
Leaders
mistakes
make and how to avoid them!

38. Dealing with a Bad Attitude
 You don’t have the right to
bring a bad attitude to
work when in leadership.
 No action is an action.