7 Mistakes Leaders Should Avoid Making

Bad leaders are rarely born. Rather they slowly edge their way towards the edge. Before you know it, you’re there.

Image by Ed Yourdon

Image by Ed Yourdon

No leader wants to venture into the badlands. Great leaders want to build great teams, complete their visions, and more. But they can’t do that if they’ve been pulled into bad leadership traits.

So that’s what we’re going to talk about. Mistakes leaders make and what they can do to avoid it.

1. Gossiping: Gossip is a weed that spreads like wildfire through an organization. Left untamed it will leave your company in ruins. Don’t buy into the gossip. Stop spreading it and stop those who are.

When you hear gossip, nip it in the bud. Confront the one who’s sharing the “juicy” tidbit. If necessary, let the team member go. Gossip is toxic!

The Pen Is The Path To Becoming A Thought Leader

I’ve never thought of myself as a leader. I’ve never been a CEO or even a manager. I’ve never coached sports teams, led youth groups or conducted worship services. I’m just a teacher, a writer, and a dreamer. Does this sound familiar?

Image by Nic McPhee

Image by Nic McPhee

The majority of us are followers, and chances are good that you’re one of us. Sure, you may aspire to be a leader and perhaps you’re acting as a leader to a specific group of people, a team. But what if I told you there’s a kind of leadership other than face-to-face leadership? What if I said you can develop leadership skills over time that could influence thousands, even millions of people?

You can. And you can do it from your living room, your office, or even the local coffee shop. How? Through the consistent act and art of writing.

How Far Your Leadership Influence Really Extends

As a leader, I often wonder how far the influence of my leadership will reach. Has it touched those I’m working with today? Will they remember me tomorrow?

Image by JJ Hall

Image by JJ Hall

The questions come and go in my mind. I know I want to leave a legacy of touching others and leaving them better than when I first met them.

The problem is we don’t always see the change take place in the people we lead. This can lead to frustration as a leader. We may even want to quit because of we never see the change.

Today, I want to encourage you to get rid of this thinking. It’s not good for those you’re leading. It’s not good for you.

Searching For Sugar Man

A recent movie has really cemented my thinking in this regard. The movie was Searching For Sugar Man.

What To Do When Leading Sucks

Leaders know there will be days when they no longer want to lead. Leadership is difficult and ungrateful at times. But what can we do about that?

A fellow leader brought this up during a recent coffee outing. He’s finding himself frustrated with his leadership position. There are feelings that things are going no where and he can’t change them.

Upper management doesn’t want to take on new ideas to increase their influence. Those he’s leading aren’t performing up to standard.

This is when he said “Leadership sucks. I’m not liking this.”

I think any leader that’s been around long enough has felt this way. They know there are leadership struggles every leader will face.

So what makes these leaders continue on the leadership journey? Are they superhuman or have some sort of magical power?

Top Posts And Commenters For May 2013

Another month bites the dust and we’ve moved from May to June. Can you believe how fast the year’s been moving? I don’t know about you but it seems every time I turn around another month has passed us by.

Image via Wordle.net

Image via Wordle.net

And that means it’s time for the monthly recap of JMLalonde.com. Within this post you’ll find out what posts were the most popular, who commented the most, site statistics, and site news. I hope you’re ready because I’m ready to let you have it!

Top Posts

1. 10 Facts You Should Know About Modern Day Slavery – This post reached the top due to the search engines. I see many visitors everyday to this post because people were brought to the site searching for information about modern day slavery.