There are several “deadly leadership sins”, but the ones that I notice causing the greatest difficulty are:

1) Playing Favorites

What makes it deadly? When a leader plays favorites, resentment towards the “teacher’s pet” builds and spreads like a wildfire. This is a sure way to kill morale and productivity.

How can you avoid it? This is the one time when I believe that rules are needed. If you have a solid and consistent set of policies which state exactly the behavior you expect and what is not tolerated, you can (and you should) enforce those policies across the board, regardless of who your favorites might be.

What should you do if you’ve already committed it? Apologize to your team and let them know that from this day forward, you are going to be treating each person fairly and consistently across the board.

2) Gossip

What makes it deadly? For starters, gossip can ruin the life and career of someone in your company, and at the end of the day, as a leader, this fallout will fly in your direction and land squarely on your shoulders. As a leader, when you gossip, your words may also be interpreted as a character sketch of your own behaviors and actions. As an example, if you say “John is such a pain in the neck,” the listener will often think the same of you…that you’re a “pain in the neck”. And…needless to say (but I need to say it,) if you are gossiping, your followers will eventually no longer trust you, and once trust is gone, your followers will no longer respect you enough to listen to one thing you have to say.

How can you avoid it? Hire a coach! I believe there are times when all leaders need to vent and get things off their chest. A coach can provide you with a confidential setting to air your grievances and get things off your chest.

What should you do if you’ve already committed it? As hard as this will be, I recommend that you implement a zero tolerance for gossip in the workplace, and this action starts with you. Once you have implemented the policy, you will need to enforce a strong accountability system to keep everyone honest.

3) Shooting the Messenger

What makes it deadly? If your employees do not feel psychologically safe to bring you bad news, it can dramatically affect the emotional well being of your entire company. When the emotional intelligence of a team or group is low, people often live in fear and doubt and will start jumping ship with the knowledge you have empowered them to deploy. Many leaders who “shoot the messenger” are suffering from what I call the “yes man syndrome”, meaning, they surround themselves with people who only say what the leader wants to hear, which is a recipe for disaster. If you are not hearing both the good, the bad and the ugly, you are probably missing the most important information you need to drive your company forward.

How can you avoid it? If you are living with the “yes man syndrome” it may be time to redesign your team to include a wider variety of people…both fans and critics. Invite your team in weekly to tell you EVERYTHING they are hearing and allow it all to be said…not just the great things but the criticisms and complaints.

What should you do if you’ve already committed it? As hard as this will be, call each person in who you’ve “shot”, apologize to them and then listen to what they have to say. Thank them for their input and take their input back to your team to discuss what to do with this information. Look not only at the complaint but the bigger issue at the core of the complaint (i.e., is something broken, is your customer service lousy, are people not feeling appreciated, or is your company living in fear?) If this is an issue in your company, you may also find the town hall meeting format to be successful. During the meeting, you give all employees the chance to speak out and ask tough questions, no matter how painful it may be. If you cannot open yourself up enough to hear what your employees have to say, it may be time to pass the baton to someone who can.

If you are a leader who is being challenged by any of these issues, I encourage you to pick up a copy of EDGE! A Leadership Story. Read the book and then contact me (Bea Fields) at (910) 692-6118 for a complimentary consultation. If I cannot help you, I will find someone who can.

I want to take the time to personally congratulate President-Elect Barack Obama for his determination and outstanding campaign. I look forward to watching the next four years and wish him the best.

Watch the acceptance speech here:

EDGE! A Leadership Story

According to a great article in the Wall Street Journal, businesses around the world are finding multiple uses for the tool Twitter.

“Doctors are using Twitter to update patients about office hours. Local groups such as the Los Angeles Fire Department are using it to share details about service calls with interested residents, occasionally with graphic descriptions of the victims’ conditions. And dozens of major companies, like computer maker Dell Inc., use Twitter to share deals and product news with people who sign up for the service.”

Get the full article here.

This article is just one of several from a top-notch series of articles from the Wall Street Journal for Monday, October 27, 2008:

Time to Leave the Laptop Behind

TV + Social Network=?

Mining for Gold: Sean Kelley discusses how Deutsche Asset Management sorts through the clutter of information to gain an edge

Pick up a copy of EDGE! A Leadership Story today

I think she did a great job…really cool and collected. She looks great on camera and is very polished.  And…you can see the rap video on the same show last night here.

I was talking with a client yesterday, and it dawned on me in the middle of the conversation that he was building a case for an employee to fail.  He delivered the case of a lifetime, and I almost bought into it.

I then asked him to shift by saying “How could this scenario with this problem employee become your finest hour?”

My client wanted to argue with me, but as he talked, he began to shift into what could be possible.  You see, I believe he had been speaking to me through a belief system that told him “This employee is not working” as opposed to “This employee has some amazing potential that has not yet been tapped.”

I believe that the majority of humans live with a belief system that keeps them comfortable and as soon as they are asked to change, the pain sets in, and they slip back into that warm, comfortable and cozy space…like an old, worn out bathrobe that has seen its last days but is so easy to slip on.

The question for you today is “What belief system is driving your life, and on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest score, how much is that belief system serving you?”

Now that you have answered that question, is it time for a change?  If your life or business are not working, what is keeping you in that stuck place?  Is it the safety of comfort or the fear of the unknown?

We would love to hear your comments on this question.