Impact Today™

While the self-help section of the library has numerous volumes on leadership and how to do the right thing, sometimes knowing what the wrong things are and how to avoid them can be just as valuable.

Here is our list of the “seven deadly sins of leadership.”

1. Assuming your employees know the company’s objectives and purpose.
So you and your management team have a great strategic plan in place. Who will implement that plan? Even the best plan is worthless unless it is understood and embraced at all levels. Your workforce is the engine that powers your plan. You should integrate your strategic workforce planning with your business planning.

2. Approaching selection and hiring in a haphazard manner.
Best case scenario: 14 percent of the time you will get a good employee. Worst case scenario: most of the time you will get a less-than-stellar worker and worse, you might get sued. Good hiring practices at all levels improve overall performance and help deter lawsuits. Rigorous interviews and background checks can help employers form an accurate picture of past behavior, but pre-employment screening for a potential employee’s attitudes toward integrity, substance abuse, reliability and work ethic is a better predictor of future behavior.

3. Assuming your people are trained.
Failing to develop your people’s talents through appropriate training is a massive waste of resources. Many companies spend more time and money negotiating and paying for maintenance contracts on their equipment than they do training their staff. And yet, they claim their employees are their number one asset.

4. Failing to evaluate and measure.
It is easy to fall into the habit of “business as usual” performing tasks by rote or doing things the same way simply because that is the way they have always been done. You should continually assess your business’ activities. Are they necessary and relevant? If so, then these activities should be tracked to assess effectiveness as well as efficiency. If you can’t measure it; don’t do it.
5. Failing to provide appropriate feedback.
Fear of conflict can cause leaders to avoid mentioning unacceptable behavior or requiring accountability. Whether through performance reviews or conversations during the course of daily activities, meaningful, constructive feedback is necessary to produce good performance and to help employees’ career development. In a recent study conducted by Salary.com, of 2,000 employees and 330 HR professionals, two thirds of companies believe their performance reviews are effective, but only 39 percent of employees agree.

6. Assuming you are doing a good job and your customers are happy.
Have you asked? Assuming your customers are satisfied simply because you have not received complaints is not necessarily an accurate barometer. Your business should have mechanisms in place to encourage customer feedback. You should listen to, and act on that feedback.

7. Not marketing (failure to understand the relationship between marketing and sales).
Even businesses with an excellent sales force should actively market themselves. Marketing and its disciplines of Public Relations, Research and Advertising are critical strategies to identify new markets; communicate to prospects and clients and to establish your brand and message among all of your constituents. Failure to actively pursue these strategies handicaps your business’ ability to compete.

One more

As if seven deadly leadership sins were not enough, we will leave you with a bonus.

8. Treating employees as a commodity.
Any company who has experienced the high cost of employee turnover understands its toll: replacement costs, loss of productivity and decreased morale. Treat employees like a commodity and they will respond in kind: by leaving you as soon as possible for the next best offer.

MaxImpact is able to help you excel in all 8 areas. Contact us today!

© 2007 Max Impact.

Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, all of the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water.

After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth.

Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked. Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana.

Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done around here.

That is how many company policies begin! How often do you hear "it's the way we've always done it" phrase? Imagine how much time and money is wasted in business simply because we do it the way we've always done it.

The monkeys provide a lesson for all of us.

© 2007 Max Impact, Rochester Hills, Michigan. All rights reserved.

Labels: Anecdote, Change, Story, Strategy

One of the most common email errors is hitting “send” before attaching a required attachment. Many people have started using a new technique to eliminate this electronic faux pas.

Labels: Communication, Tips