9 Undeniable Reasons Managers Crash and Burn
9 Undeniable Reasons Managers Crash and Burn
Occasional failure is useful if you acknowledge it, fix it, learn from it, and move on. Persistent, recurring failure is not an option.
Consistently do only one of these nine behaviors and you’ll eventually fail as a manager. Do several of them and you’ll quickly crash and burn.
9 Sure-Fire Ways to Fail:
- Fail to build trust and integrity.
- Focus on the wrong things. Managing is about results. Things that matter are things that directly or indirectly fuel results.
- Don’t model or build accountability. Point fingers or make excuses.
- Fail to consistently reinforce what’s important. Do you have a core performance message?
- Overrely on consensus. Are your decisions delayed or watered down because you overemphasize consensus?
- Focus on being popular. Does a desire to be liked have a negative effect on results?
- Get caught up in your self-importance. Do you have a high need to gain admiration, be in the spotlight, and get public accolades?
- Put your head in the sand. Do you react poorly to bad news, hide it, or dismiss it?
- Fix problems not causes. Do you tend to fix problems with Band-Aid solutions rather than seek and eradicate root causes, even if they lie in another area?
**********
Email may be a reason you focus on the wrong things.
5 Ways to Make email work:
- E-mail should bring closure to work, not create more work.
- Turn off audible signals that an email has arrived.
- Pretend the recipient isn’t going to open the email. Get to the point in the subject line or within the preview pane.
- Don’t CC the world.
- Sending an email doesn’t transfer responsibility.
- Don’t spend more than five minutes dealing with any email.
Which of the 9 reasons managers fail do you find most challenging?
How can managers overcome one of these critical failure points?
Your points are strong. I especially like the question, “do you have a core performance message?”
I also believe that the strong use of email as a business communication tool is damaging our business culture. Your points on ways to make email work are spot on. I believe a leader should set the table on how (and when!) email communication should be used. Too many people are having too many irrelevant and unproductive simultaneous discussions/conversations via email.
Keep it up!
Blair
Another great post, Dan. Bottom line: if you’re not working as diligently on behalf of your team and the organization as you expect others to be, then you will fail. Be efficient (get the most out of resources), effective (work on the things that get results) and empathetic (stay in touch with how others think and feel). Those three Es, combined with personal integrity, will take you a long way.
Greg, you said it all. *
These negative examples of leadership are right on target. A good example of many of these pitfalls is playing out in the media right now with a prominent politician. I like the fact that “Fail to build trust and integrity” is #1. These are the bedrock of successful leadership.
Love this list, thanks.
I would add a #10: “Believe that this list isn’t about you”
One of the problems I often see when having discussions with leaders/managers about these kinds of topics is that everyone nods and agrees with the ideas, and then talks about all the people they know who “should attend this training.” For many, it never seems to enter their minds that they could be the ones doing these things!
I would bet that almost everyone is guilty of at least one or two of these leadership “sins” at some point, and the faster we can acknowledge that, the faster we can start dealing with it (see #9).
I think a lot of managers over-rate their acting ability. They think they can fool people through saying the “right things” and aping the behaviour of other managers but they neglect to acknowledge that human beings are inherently good at spotting incongruence.
If you’re body language is saying something different or if you’re inconsistent over a period of time, people will start to notice and they will distrust you.
I firmly believe in “principle centred leadership”, that way you say what you mean; mean what you say; will remain consistent and will be honest, both with yourself and with your colleagues.
Be yourself first and foremost.
Well, I certainly can’t say what Tim G says because it is a list of what I struggle with all the time. In my line of work, because I am the only one on staff, these all become issues that need dealt with.
Fantastic post Dan, It’s interesting how easy it is to recognize the signs when you look back. But I think the key to avoiding them in the first place is to set up triggers to alert you when these behaviors are coming into play, and develop a plan to get back on track.
Makes you wonder what could be accomplished with all of the emotional, mental, and physical energy burned up practicing these destructive behaviors.
Hi, Dan- great list and this books sounds pretty interesting.
I’ve had to learn most of these the hard way, but number 5 “Overrely on consensus” really resonates with me. Early in my leadership career, I had three particular drivers pushing me toward always getting “buy-in” before taking action:
Young and inexperienced – I was unsure of myself and needed validation for my thinking and my hesitant decisions. I was so inexperienced that I believed I had to know everything and this prevented me from seeking support from an appropriate source: my peers. So I was left with wanting those I led to agree to my leading.
This driver went away with age, experience, and maturity (which are three different things:).
Background and training – as a school-trained counselor, my orientation was to let the other person take the lead and gently guide, rather than act from a management orientation. While this was not wholly bad, it did get in the way.
On the one hand, staff discussions were inclusive and complete – no railroading of the bosses ideas here:) On the other hand, getting to closure was just as elusive as it often is in a therapeutic setting.
The Times – The culture was shifting from the idea of boss as boss to boss as facilitator or co-leader. This shift, combined with the perception that everyone has worth (good) and all ideas are valid (not so good), along with everyone can lead (bad) created an atmosphere where using your authority to simply tell someone to do something was considered poor management.
Culture reflects the times and a swing toward extreme individualism and personal worth was necessary to counterbalance the previous “corporation man” image and :mechanistic approach to management.
Culture changes and with time, lessesn its impact on the individual. We gain enough self-confidence to make our own decisions and apply our knowledge to each situation.
Thanks for sparking my thinking this sunny morning:)
John
Dan, I’m sharing this with some of my leadership coaching clients. Good information. Like John, in the spirit of true confessions, early in my career #’s 5,6, & 7 were more present than was healthy. Wanting to be liked/loved led to wanting to build consensus, and wanting to be admired and get recognition (spotlight). Fortunately, they were present in enough quantity or frequency to hold me back. But what a waste of time. Shifting to making sure that people had a chance to be heard became more valuable and shortened decision-making. I grew up and found that being liked/loved was important, but over rated, as was the spotlight.
Thank God for progress. In my work today I see a lot of focus on the urgent not the important, and solving for symptom rather than root cause (the two are sometimes tied together). Two others that I would add to the list are: failure to learn from your mistakes, and the inability to establish relationships.
Point number 5 is well stated and important. Its also been a weakness of mine. Experience, pain and some failure bolstered my willingness to make the tough call that serves the best interest of the enterprise. Overall, I think its a terrific list with helpful reminders.
I love it! This is very applicable with some things that our Management Development Team has been discussing.
Great post, Dan. This topic really spoke to me based on my current situation. I will be sharing this list with my peers in management. Also, the tips on email were a pleasant surprise. I believe that email is either “overlooked” or “overused”.
Thanks, Dan!
I love point #3 – if you do things for others in a timely manner, you will see that same behavior returned when you delegate something to them. Something that has helped my career is discussing the accountability or turn around time for tasks and projects. One person’s “timely” is another person’s “will she ever get back to me”…so I pride myself on giving a realistic timeframe for results if I am not able to do something right away. For example: “that’s a great question Julie. I should be able to work with you on that as soon as I wrap up a few things I’m working on. Would you have time to chat later this afternoon?” is a much better response than “great idea, let’s talk about that later” which is open ended and at 11:30, Julie is feeling neglected. And…when something isn’t done on time, instead of pointing fingers, I usually begin by asking myself: -did I give the person a ‘due date’? -did I give them enough time based on project size and current workload? -what could I have done better or explained more clearly to help this person exceed my expectations?
Thanks for blogging – I haven’t had much time to read the blogs lately, but they’re all here for me and I’m glad I made some time to read today’s post!
~Crystal
I agree with nearly everything and most of the comments except….drumroll….’Don’t spend more than five minutes dealing with any email’.
Might be just my inability to get to the point(!) but I think carefull consideration of both reaction and correctly weighted and adroitly expressed responses can make a difference. Depends on the audience/scenario but I spend a lot of time considering both the one liners I send my team members to get the reaction I’m after as well as those weighty tomes I send clients, seniors etc. to persuade, justify or sell something…
Fells like we need something akin to the slow food movement for work sometimes to preserve both values and flavour…
I agree. E-mail by its nature lends itself to shoot-from-the-hip responses, so it’s way too easy not to spend enough time considering how your message might be recieved. Also, being concise takes some effort. Was it Ambrose Bierce who said, “I’d have written something shorter but I didn’t have the time.”
Love the list. I’ve got a Board Retreat coming up in 2 weeks and I can use all the list and leadership advice I can get.
sushigal_karen
For me, number 4 is most important (communicating a core performance message). Looking back, I realize that I haven’t always communicated my vision and goals very well. I’ve often assumed telling my leaders once was enough…and it turned out it wasn’t enough by far.
In general, I wish trust and integrity were higher on everyone’s agenda…It makes me really tired sometimes to hear of yet another scandal regarding money, sex, etc. It gives leadership such a bad name and it makes people distrust leaders in general…not good!
I am focusing on #9 now with our leadership. We are working root cause analysis and getting away from the blame game to fixing the causes.
I agree with #6 as far as likability shouldn’t be your focus. However, I do find that you can still be likable and lead effectively.
Great post! I totally agree with #8 & #9. It is too easy to put a Band-aid on a problem, or to ignore it. After covering your organization in Band-Aids, it will likely become ‘infected’ to say the least. I have seen this happen all to often and the members within the organization no longer believe in the leader and morale and productivity take a turn for the worse.
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All the points are real and relevant. I have seen the most challenging for managers is to create trust and transparency in the system because they fingers others and create environment that promotes managers success. They also fail to own accountability and blame others for their mistakes. I think, the most challening for managers is to change their attitude and intention. Trust and transparency stems from attitude and intention. And foutunately, they can overcome their critical failure points by incucating values and encouraging ethical behaviour.
Managers should foster the practices that discourage rumor mongers and adulators. Managers often fail to create sound culture based on ethics and trust, because they listen to wrong people and avoid right people. They should instead encouage and reward dissent to improve culture. Managers should believe that others success is more important than individual success. And this belief is the key to all success.
Great article. Driving a consistent message is vital to being a successful manager. Pick one or two priorities and be brilliant at them. Consistent and relentless focus and messaging of key priorities will help Managers be successful.
I tend to relate to problem #9 – “9.Fix problems not causes. Do you tend to fix problems with Band-Aid solutions rather than seek and eradicate root causes, even if they lie in another area?”
I seem to find myself putting out fires almost daily.
no. 9 is a difficult one especially differentiating what is really a problem and what is just part of the process. maybe will get lucky and win a copy. 🙂
Those are really good points! Wow! Great accountability checklist of decision making! (hopefully I can get a free book)
I think that most of the case manager try to fix problems rather than root cause.
First because everyone is pointing and rushing to get that issue solved, but also that most of the time people see that it’s a quick solution and that they will address the root cause when they have more time.
But often they neglect the cost of not solving the root cause, since that root cause may be the source of many other problems and trying to think about all effects is really complex.
I don’t say we should always try to solve the root cause, but we need to be aware and think enough about it to do an informed decision and find ways to keep an eye on these unwanted situations.
Being a manager is difficult. Leadership is a moving target, and creates the challenges listed, as well as many others. Having resource books like this, help us as we lead our work groups.
Thanks for the opportunity you provide for learning
Thank Dan for another great post.
I see #4 is one of the most important. Teams can overcome most roadblocks if they know where they are trying to go, and know what is most important.
The email hints are great. I think they could have been in their own blog posting!
I think the accountability and pointing fingers one is one that a lot of managers, leaders and even followers have a problem with. It is very prevalent when working on “group” projects or even just in a regular office setting. It is worse when procrastination is involved. I’m not saying that I haven’t ever done it, but I do know that it is something I struggle with and hope to overcome so that I can become a more effective leader in the future.
I like the one about fixing problems and not causes. This is so true of some managers. They go after the branch instead of the root. As managers we must be root oriented.
1 Building trust and integrity. These are a result of your values. Your values determine who you are (Character). People respond not to what leaders/managers say or direct, they respond to who you are. This in turns produces results.
2 through 9 reflect your character. Who you are. And the results that these generate are directly proportional to the quality of your values.
Since these are a byproduct of character, I rather focus on the root of the problem not the result of the problem.
Several points here about focusing on the wrong things. Discernment about the right things to focus on is huge. I can so easily get sidetracked into thinking about and acting on the wrong things. I notice it is much easier to find and focus on the right things once I get my eyes off myself.
Really able to take some pointers from this. Too many leaders have some of the characteristics mentioned. Will definitely share this post . I would add avoiding problems altogether and or waiting too long to do anything about them to the list.
Email is to business is what texting is to teenagers – an overrated distraction and sad waste of time. Can’t wait to read the book. Thanks for the great post.
“Don’t spend more than 5 minutes on any email” isn’t always feasible. Sometimes you must spend more than 5 minutes just to understand what the writer is trying to convey! If it is from any superior, it’s worth investing the extra time to ensure you understand what it is he/she is saying or requesting; asking for clarification if necessary. You also may need more than 5 minutes to respond properly and clearly (and sometimes professionally; leaving out your initial disbelief or disdain).
Unfortunately, email, the useful tool that it is, tends to hender our productivity rather than enhance it because we let it run our day. Some emails will always have top priorities, but others can and should wait.
I veiw my business as a house made of bricks and my employees are the bricks. my job r to keep those bricks strong and sturdy by leading and keeping positive moral, because they are what holds the house (my business) up. If I start to show bad leadership skills, blame them, throw employees under the bus in front of other employees and my companys moral drops. The bricks r gonna start falling off which will bring down the house. Bottom line when my company does good I make sure they feel its all because of them and when my company is doing bad I take the blame. Whether it was my fault or not , That’s just how I keep my bricks strong and my house continues to grow by using that philosophy
Hello,
#4 is something that I try to utilize in my work with college student leaders. Each year, I have a theme that I keep repeating, repeating, repeating until it sinks deep into them. With all the busy-ness that surrounds college students, it is vitally important to stick to your key messages.
Thanks for the post!
(P.s. This looks like a great book. I would love to read it and share it with my college student leaders.)
I would say I personally struggled with email in the past. My communications were wordy and definitely didn’t get to the point right away.
Right before I read this blog entry I sent about 5 emails, and each was direct and only about 2 sentences long. So I’m glad I learned and this book serves to reinforce the importance of that lesson.
Great post Dan.
Congrats Bobby!
To me #2 is such a key and something I need to consistently keep in mind – “Things that matter are things that directly or indirectly fuel results.” While I’m not a manager per se – in working toward building a business of my own on the side – this one is so critical for me.
I can relate to number 6. I had a supervisor who tried to make all his decisions popular. This had the opposite effect and he went down in flames. Sometimes you just need to make the best decision and not worry about how everyone will feel.
As a young manager with no formal training information like this is critical to prevent as many mistakes as possible. I have a feeling I could work more on most of the items on this list. Really enjoy learning from valuable lists like this one and from people with real experience!
This book looks great! I would love to read it.
number 2 says it all – focus on results, quit wasting time talking and get results
I totally agree with the idea that email does not transfer responsibility. I worked with a director who thought it did and it ended up in many communication failures.
As a partner in a start up water treatment company, I’m grateful to have learned these 9 bullets to avoid NOW.
I will be emailing these out to our operational team, as well as our advisory board later today- so that we can have discussion at our next round table.
I would say that focussing on the root causes would be our weak link #9 really drives the message home!
Also -Thank-you so much for posting the ’email’ land mines!
Brilliant
This list should be right beside the computer of every manager. It’s a must read and a great reminder for anyone who pursues excellence in leadership.
Great tips. I especially like the email tips. While I’ve heard them before, I forgot many and have gotten back into old, bad habits. Many aspects of leadership need to be continually reviewed, so they’re not forgotten. That’s what I hoping to see in this book.
Ron,
I agree completely, we need reminders about leadership fundamentals.
Best,
Dan
Simply put … If you make a decision, own it!
Great reminder on some of the mistakes that managers (and others!) make over and over again. As a baby boomer, I’m a little concerned that some spend more time dodging responsibility (with ready excuses, blaming others/finger pointing).
I really enjoyed your points regarding e-mail…I’ve read “Never Check E-mail in the Morning” and while I’m not ALWAYS successful, I find I get a sense of satisfaction by concentrating the first 30 minutes to an hour of my workday on my top priority of the day – it may not be complete, but I usually make a good size dent. After that, I’m good to go with the e-mails!
Love the email guidelines. As a pastor I get plenty of pot shot emails. Will respond with “I don’t think that email is the appropriate forum to discuss complicated or emotionally charged issues. Call me and I will be glad to meet face-to-face.” rarely do I get called. Either way it ends better than replying in email. Simple questions or information items it is the way to work. Discussion, not so much.
Am I in trouble if the ways resonate with my work. Problem is I’m not a supervisor so I can’t change my leader.
Those nine reasons are pretty awesome – they bring it to the point. It is like looking at performance and success from the other side, which is very eye-opening
Awesome article! Would love to read the book!
“Fail to build trust and integrity” is the chief lesson for any of us…and you need both working in tandem. We’ve seen numerous examples over the past several years where the Bernie Madoff’s of this world were able to gain someone’s trust but lack of integrity eventually caused the crash and burn. And on a bit less damaging level, but still contibuting to a downfall, are those with great personal integrity (which goes a long way!!!) but with an inability to or with a lack of intentionality to connect with people in such a way to build relationship and trust.
Love the list of 9! Good for self reflection and evaluation!! I also appreciated the little quick-list of keeping email under control!! Looking forward to diving into the book!!!
Steve
Great stuff. #1 really is #1 in my opinion. I see it played out both ways in my organization. Where ther is trust, there is loyalty. Distrust breeds discontent and a lack of teamwork and results.
My personal default decision making process is to rely on consensus. I tend to over-rely on this in order to get people on board and bought into the decision. The result is that at times I’m under some pressure to develop the more tactical plans because the strategy takes a while to unfold.
Since moving into coaching & consulting, I’ve found that making recommendations in collaboration with clients is far easier. As an “expert” in my field, a certain amount of weight is automatically added to what I say making consensus building far easier and much more efficient.
These 9 reasons are absolutely right on. I would humbly add, shut up and listen. Most problems encountered in business have solutions available in the people closest to the problem. But sometimes even they don’t know the solution is right there. Truly listen and probe for insight and many answers – and new ideas – emerge.
so Dan, could we add failing to learn from failures as another reason managers fail or is that too much of an infinite loop? I suppose it somewhat fits with #8.
Regarding your email tips, ouch, way to close of a magnifying mirror for me! Thanks for the reminders!
Trust is by far the most important one according to me. Trust enables you to cope with the other reasons. Without trust, no commitment. Without commitment, well your employees will not try their best. Basics: with straight forward communication and honesty you will build trust. Have a look at Finish management style, from Swedish point of view it’s to taugh, but the best managers I’ve had and fully trusted are Finish managers.
I wish I had known points 5 and 6 in my first managerial position. I wanted everyone to like me so much that I sacrificed performance and productivity.
Thankfully, I learned that lesson, and now, I can make the unlikable decision a LOT easier!
Thanks for the post!
Number 9 is so incredibly necessary. The problem often is that leaders may not recognize the real problem. It takes times of reflection and trusted advisors to help get to the root of some issues.
I think that #5 (the over-reliance on consensus) is an increasingly dangerous pitfall with the workplace becoming more technological, virtual, and complex.
Most managers no longer have the luxury of working with one, discrete, focused team. Work is more and more matrix-based – people are staffed across products and functions. While it may be tough to accept, not everyone’s voice matters in every context. Managers need to recognize and prioritize who is critical to a given objective. Looking for consensus from all constituencies can mask the best ideas from taking hold and is a time and energy drain.
I like #1 – As our new business begins the process of team-building, we will meet regularly in a non-business environment where we can freely discuss what works, what doesn’t, and how we can change things for the better. We will build and then fulfill our mission and vision together. One goal for these meetings is to hold each other accountable, to make sure that our road is paved with honesty, integrity and good core values. People who are part of a strong team will become inspired to work together to build a strong organization that benefits the company and our community.
My comment tells of my leadership. The major point of advice I would give, is that we have to stay sooo completely focused on this ques “Why Do I Do What I Do?” If it is some surface reason, you will always be on the “1-9” list. If you have a true purpose of & for human development & compassion, then you will ALWAYS prevail. Also, Discerning the mediocrity of others who are jealous of your focused excellence.
Being not a manager in the traditional sense, but nevertheless deep in politics, I found it very interesting *all* of your points are consistantly missed by statesmen – especially the absense of a core performance message with some recognisable impact on bettering people’s lifes is a main reason for state failure.
“No more than 5 mins on an email” might work for a “real” manager – or if it’s only about answering mails. A mail asking me e.g. to compile a shadow report for the United Nations can’t be done that fast, as I’m doing much of the work myself, having no emloyees in order to stay financially and politically independant.
As a young and relatively inexperienced manager in an educational setting, this list is a fantastic guide – I have printed it out and attached to the inside of my organiser to keep all these points on focus.
The toughest ones for me at this stage are definitely #5 and #6, particularly in light of the fact I am managing people with many more years experience than myself!
Another point that I would add is the use of ‘effective feedback’ to colleagues. This is critical to ensure productive working relationships that evolve with time.
Thanks for the tips, will be using them on a daily basis – my focus will be on the right decision for our pupils, not popularity for me!!
Very nice post. Me I’m not a manager nor the manager type (at least not for larger organisations). If I was a manager I think most likely I would fail on 5, 6 and 8. As for the rest I think even I would have a pretty “sober” attitude (although as I said I will never get in this situation)..
I also liked the email tips, especially 3, 5 and 6.
As a leader in Toastmaster organizations in my area, I strive to strengthen my abilities and encourage leadership in my teams. Thanks for the heads up to failures. I enjoy following your tweets stoked with good info.
It’s not only about you – and you don’t have to add something just because you can. I love emails as a tool to keep record of decisions and progress – but they can become the millstone around your neck very easily.
In an era of total technology connectedness we are completely disconnected from one another relationally.
I am a Pastor who has no office and my staff has no office space (limitations on space), thus we telecommute and virtually collaborate. However, there are times when we need to go face-to-face and email is insufficient. In our arena the cost of a cup of S-Bucks beats the cost of miscommunication.
Virtual life cannot replace the relationships we have. Walk down the hall, head to the breakroom, have a cup of coffee, and chat face-to-face…
As an IT guy, I really appreciate your advice on email for leaders. The number one mistake I see educational leaders make usually involves the handling (or mishandling) of email. Everything from emails that are simply too long to a lack of response to important emails, many people simply don’t get it. Thanks!
Hi Dan,
I would add #10 ~ Don’t make a decision because it might be unpopular. My philosophy is “Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.”
I would also agree with not spending more than 5 minutes on an email and will really work to improve this. The idea of putting the message essence into the subject line is intriguing.
Many Thanks!
There are some very important messages being shared, in writing as well as through some hidden messages. This is something worth sharing, especially with the way my generation relies on technology.
Great lessons. Good insight to look for failure before it occurs.
Great info for managers!!!!
Speaking of five minutes per email I believe that direct communication works best.
If you need more than five minutes to structure a coherent response to an email, it is better to meet with your counterpart.
If you can not meet directly, at least make a call. You will obtain and provide more and better information that will allow your team make better decisions.
New managers/leaders you are where you are because you made the right decisions. Yes it is a little more difficult now that you are in the position, but, go back to that as often as you need and never forget you earned it in most cases. Lead them it really is what they want!
Great list, the reminders about having a core message and not over-relying on consensus particularly resonate with me. The email thing is so right as well. I find you get a better response if you put as much information into the subject line as possible.
The desire to be popular is a killer. As a school leader, I have found that making the unpopular decisions helps to gain respect in the long run, if it is the right decision.
Your email tips are right on.
When I turned off the little envelope that alerts me of new messages I can get a lot more work done.
Wow! I’m being forced out of an organization right now (literally, today). As I read these 9 things, they nearly everyone apply to the leadership team that is in place in my organization. I know, this should be a self-reflection exercise and I’ve done that on each of these nine to try to see why I failed. I have worked hard not to do any of these nine things, which appears to be why I can’t stay here. Appropriate timing for me. Thanks.
#9 is the one I can easily get caught up in. I’m a fixer first and easily get sidetracked doing that instead of investing the time in looking for the cause of the problem.
Loved the email tip that it should bring closure to work! Thanks!
I really like these tips. I am naturally impatient, but have been brainwashed lately into thinking it’s a bad thing. I am becoming a teacher librarian and I need to be able to lead, and impatience is not necessarily a bad thing when working with others and trying to get things done around a school.
Another great post Dan! Thank you!
The majority of the time, my impatience is what makes things actually happen. Impatience is a virtue too!
thanks
I love reading all of the insites that is posted on being a leader! I would also love a copy of “Can You Hear Me Now” I am trying to develop into a great leader! I am taking all the advice and inspirations I can get and impliment them into my daily work as a leader.
I agree with over relying on consensus. It’s important to know when to utilize consensus, but along with this, being transparent (or as transparent as the leader can be) goes a long way to help people understand why the decision was made quickly and/or without their input.
Although I thought this post was great, what really struck me was the last line in the post on impatience – learning who you really are and working with it is much more productive than simply trying to change who you are. I’m looking forward to reading his book!
Building an open and honest relationships with your team keep them creative and results in better production. I can’t wait to recieve the book.
I appreciate the thought that went into your powerful list. it carries THE quintessential qualities that lead either to success or failure.
I had a hard time looking at them in the negative. In fact, I don’t think I did.
In order to take it in (and I want to burn it into my being), I turned each into what should be done to evaluate where I am on the scale.
I’m replying to myself. here is the list of 9 Undeniable Reasons Managers Rise and Shine:
1. Build trust and integrity
2. Focus on the right things
3. Model and build accountability
4. Consistently reinforce what’s important
5. Rely on collaboration and honest back and forth
6. Focus on engaging and being authentic
7. Get caught up in others’ importance
8. Find the hidden elephants in the room and ask them to join you
9. Fix the roots of the problems