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Leaders get tested every day. Decisions must be made, problems must be solved, and action must be taken.
Of all the tests we face, however, the most critical to success revolve around the people we lead, and how we lead them.
And there are plenty of trap doors that lurk around every corner. I call them the seven deadly sins of leadership. Commit one, and we lose a key element of our team dynamic. If we commit them all, the team completely falls apart. Therefore we must diligently heed each one of them.
Wrath – If we are quick to anger, and take that anger out on our teammates, they cannot learn. They will only fear. And you will lose their best work in the dust bin of impatience.
Greed – If you want more out of your teammates than they can give, and compound the sin by failing to reach out and help, they will burn out. And you will lose them to resentment and exhaustion.
Sloth - If we are not diligent in assuring that the work is done right, and all the pertinent details are being addressed, then they will stagnate, and the errors will multiply. And you will lose them to mediocrity.
Pride – If we stubbornly persist in keeping substandard performers, or believe we can change people that cannot be changed, then the results will surely suffer. And you will lose your best people to frustration.
Lust – If we continually wish to be where we think the grass is greener, at the expense of where we are, then that desire will poison your team dynamic, and you will lose them to ambivalence.
Envy – If we suppress the great talent below us in matching or surpassing us, then they will seek other opportunities. And you will lose them to another company.
Gluttony – If we take on too many things ourselves and multitask too often with our Blackberrys, our focus will be impaired, and we will miss great opportunities to teach and inspire. And you will lose them to disrespect.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post, Terry!
I was impelled to send a similar message a few weeks ago on my blog, entitled “Pallbearers of the Soul” at “Pallbearers of the Soul” a new post at http://wp.me/pVUDj-ac on “RenaissanceRules”, and also discuss the “flip side”!
Excellent! Quick, simple, too the point and oh so accurate!!
Terry, totally brilliant!
I am in the leadership program at my company and we have been doing a lot of reading, and having a lot of discussion about some of the above topics. I love how you just associated and summarized some of the biggest, if not THE biggest problems in leadership, into such lovely “sound bites”. I might just print that out and bring it to class.
It amazes me all the time how complacent people really are.
This is getting a bookmark for my future reference!
Thanks!!
Maya
Hi Randy, Greg, and Maya, thanks for stopping by!
Randy, I finally had a chance to read your post – I really liked the “flip side” view and the analogy off the pallbearers. Funny we were thinking of the 7 deadly sins at nearly the same time! Thanks for sharing.
Greg, thanks for the kind words!
Maya, I’m so glad this post will be helpful for you – I actually was thinking of making a poster out of the “7 sins” myself so I could hang them in my office.
All the best to all of you!
Terry
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