Leadership Qualities I Avoid Like a Plague

Being a leader means being able to motivate, inspire and cultivate a positive and emphatic environment amongst your team members. Bottom line is, leadership takes guts, passion, dedication and an extreme amount of self-awareness. That being said though, there are certain aspects of being a leader that I generally don’t agree with and find could be rather worrying in the workplace.

Not Holding Yourself Accountable

Leaders wear a lot of different hats in the workplace. After all, it is your duty as the captain to steer the ship in the right direction towards success. But what happens when your ship hits a rock? Do you go blaming your crew for their mishap? Or do you blame yourself for not foreseeing said rock in the first place?

Owning up to your mistake is often overlooked but one that I find incredibly important to have as a leader. Taking responsibility adds tremendous value to both yourself and your team as it starts a culture of holding everyone accountable. If you’re looking to build a great company, then it has to start with you.

Belittling Your Team

Your team is your greatest asset and it is your job to ensure that everyone’s opinion is heard and respected. Many tread a dangerous line by leaning towards a dictatorship under the guise of being a ‘leader.’ You’re here to lead, not to boss people around and micromanage. According to a research conducted by leadership consulting firm, DDI, 57% of employees quit not because of their company, they quit because of their boss.

Therefore it is absolutely vital for leaders to drop the ego they possess for the betterment of everyone. Effective leaders actively listen and are committed to the growth of each of their employees. Invest the time and energy to be involved and always communicate in a way that isn’t condescending or belittling. Once again, I think this all boils down to a lack of self-awareness.

To quote the renowned billionaire tech mogul and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, “sometimes the best thing [to] do is get out of the way.”

An Unwillingness to Learn

This goes hand-in-hand with the previous point. Growth isn’t possible without accepting change. And as such, it is absolutely crucial for leaders to be open to accepting ideas from anyone in the hierarchy, regardless of status. Learning is a lifelong process and it takes a great amount of humility to be able to take in feedback from people.

As the saying goes, “if you’re the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.” Hiring a diverse group of people is a surefire way to accelerate growth within a company and engaging with this group is equally important. A strong group will become the foundation to your company in the long run, so always be open to listen and learn.

If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this is this: Yes, being a leader is hard, but nothing worth doing is ever going to be easy. And what separates a good leader from a great one is empathy. Being empathetic will skyrocket your business in ways you’d never imagine. Just be kind and watch things happen.