Alexis Khazzam on The Three Sins of Leadership

When it comes to leadership,there are things you can do right and things you can do wrong, and then there are the three sins of leadership. What are they? Personal arrogance, inflexible position and a belief in self resolution of problems are three of the worst behaviors a leader can display. Although these three attributes constitute a wide range of behavior, they are similar. Let’s explore each further in detail.

Personal Arrogance

The first sin of leadership is personal arrogance. Another way to describe arrogance is pride. Sometimes pride can be a good and helpful attribute but it can also be a handicap to effective leadership. At the heart of unhealthy pride is when a leader sees himself as superior to others. Pride can also be a liability because people have a hard time seeing it or admitting it. When it comes to leadership development, excessive pride in a leader can create executive isolation and insulation that disrupt lines of effective communication.

Inflexible Positioning

Many leaders become dogmatic with their personal biases and become inflexible in their positions.It is important for leaders to understand that one size does not fit all. People are individuals and each situation is different. A leader must treat each as such. Rigid thinking and inflexible positions typically shut down lines of effective communication. Instead, a leader needs to keep lines of communication open between them and their employees.

Belief in Self Resolution of Problems

When a leader is under the impression that problems will resolve themselves without any help, they are immediately less effective. Leaders must face reality as it is as not as they may have constructed it. Efficient and effective leaders must have the courage and ability to recognize problems when they occur. They need to acknowledge the problem and then work diligently to fix them. Most problems grow over time and very few problems fix themselves. So when a leader believes that problems will resolve themselves, they are setting themselves and those that they oversee up for failure.

Do you create an open, positive environment for your employees? Are you willing to self-assess your effectiveness? Give it a thought and see if there are any changes to your behavior as a leader that you want to make!