12 Fatal Flaws That Derail Leaders

Nobody’s perfect, but there are some flaws that are sudden death to good leadership.

As you work through your strengths and weaknesses, capabilities and limits, make sure you’re steering clear of these dangerous habits:

1. Not setting the example. When you set yourself apart and fail to “walk your talk,” people disconnect. Everything starts with you.

2. Not having a strong vision. Without a vision you understand and can articulate clearly, you can’t impart a sense of purpose and direction to others.

3. Not building people skills. It’s great to be smart, but if you can’t be honest and open, if you can’t control your emotions or connect with others, you leave a trail of doubt and stress behind you.

4. Not communicating. If you can’t clearly say what you need from people and why you need it, you’re never going to get the results you want.

5. Delegating badly or not at all. If you try to do it all yourself, you create bottlenecks and frustration. And if you delegate carelessly, you create chaos.

6. Forgetting your mistakes. If you can’t open yourself up to learn from your missteps, you’re destined to make the same errors again and again.

7. Not fostering emotional intelligence. If you don’t bring empathy, understanding, and camaraderie to your relationships, they will suffer.

8. Ignoring your team’s development. If you fail to invest in your people with opportunities to grow and learn, you’re throwing away your greatest resource.

9. Losing your inspiration. Disconnect from your vision, become complacent, and you’ll find yourself with a team that’s in it just for the paycheck.

10. Lowering your standards. If you settle for mediocrity and become willing to ride the status quo, that’s exactly what you’ll inspire in others.

11. Resisting change. If you don’t open up to new ideas, you limit innovation and change. If you don’t adjust to changing realities, you can’t carry your vision and your team into the future.

12. Letting integrity and honesty slide. Your message, your leadership, your influence is built in part on your flaws. You can try to cover them up with dishonesty and blame, or you can diligently work to improve yourself in everything you do. Whichever one you choose will become your legacy.

Knowing these 12 fatal flaws can help you stop the derailment of your leadership.


N A T I O N A L    B E S T S E L L E R

THE LEADERSHIP GAP

What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

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Lolly Daskal is one of the most sought-after executive leadership coaches in the world. Her extensive cross-cultural expertise spans 14 countries, six languages and hundreds of companies. As founder and CEO of Lead From Within, her proprietary leadership program is engineered to be a catalyst for leaders who want to enhance performance and make a meaningful difference in their companies, their lives, and the world.

Of Lolly’s many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc. magazine. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others. Her newest book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness has become a national bestseller.

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