Top 10 Ways to FAIL as a Leader
We are scheduling a Brand New Conference for fall of 2010 on the theme of Work and Honor. While scheduling this conference with Byron Johns of Mission Hills Church in Colorado, I ran across his blog. His most recent post is worth the read. I cut and pasted it below:
If you want to sabotage your team just follow these simple guidelines:
- 10) CONSERVE AFFIRMATION. You don't want your team members to become arrogant. Use affirming remarks sparingly.
- 9.) HAVE A CLOSED-DOOR POLICY. Openness to feedback is a slippery slope. One day you're listening, the next day you're on the verge of a teachable spirit.
- 8.) MAKE SURE NOBODY APPEARS SMARTER THAN YOU ARE. Nobody has more knowledge or experience than you do. That's shy you're in charge, right?
- 7.) FOSTER AN ATMOSPHERE OF PARANOIA. Nothing puts a better positive filter on incoming information than a renowned fear of your response to bad news.
- 6.) MAKE SURE ALL IDEAS ORIGINATE WITH YOU. Good ideas come from the top, not the team. Shared credit is for couples with debt problems.
- 5.) EXERCISE HIGH CONTROL. Remember, you're the team leader, and it's your way or the highway.
- 4.) LOOK OUT FOR #1. When in doubt, ask yourself, What's best for me and my interests? Don't underestimate the value of manipulation.
- 3.) DON'T TRUST ANYONE. If you refuse to trust them from the start, you don't give them the opportunity to disappoint you.
- 2.) ASK SOMEONE TO DO A SPECIFIC JOB, AND THEN DO IT YOURSELF. Micromanagement is on of the surest ways to fail as a team leader. If you want it done right, you've got to do it yourself.
- 1.) FILL YOUR TEAM WITH PEOPLE JUST LIKE YOU. Could there be a more ideal team than on made up of multiple versions of you?
Excerpted from an article in Idea Depot.
Jim's thoughts: I've made some of the mistakes listed above. I've been an intuitive leader for most years of my life. It has served me well but when it has failed, it has failed greatly. I have learned that intuition and godly discernment are not always the same. I desire to be a man who examines his intuition with godly discernment. In order to do this I must ask myself, "Why do I believe this or that to be true?" I have found this question quite helpful protecting me from what is most comfortable for me.
You can follow Byron's blog at: Leadership Influence
