Another  common and costly leader mistake that can result in a loss of credibility and trust.

MISTAKE: Leading with answers instead of questions.

Jim Collins said it best in Good to Great:

Another  common and costly leader mistake that can result in a loss of credibility and trust.

MISTAKE: Imposing goals on team members.

I can’t stress enough the importance of making the goal-setting process collaborative. Imposing individual goals on someone is the fastest way to lose commitment. And, leaders should be leery about imposing their expectations through online collaboration tools. Technology can be successfully used to support the goal-setting process, but should never take the place of crucial conversations.

Another  common and costly leader mistake that can result in a loss of credibility and trust...

MISTAKE: Leading by email (or by texting, project management tools, online chat, or other technology) instead of Leading by Example.

There are two common and costly mistakes leaders make that can result in a loss of credibility and trust.

MISTAKE 1: Getting caught up in the Popeye Syndrome – “I am what I am.”

The implied message here is “I am the way I am and if you don’t like it, who cares?”

Have you ever respected any leaders whose words did not match their actions? Have you ever had respect for a leader who preached personal values, yet behaved differently?

The fundamental component of People-First Leadership™ is to Lead by Example. This is the core  — the component that will either establish your credibility or kill it. Just remember: Lack of credibility will prevent you from earning commitment and trust from your team members. Without that, there is no leadership.

As heard in one of my team coaching sessions last week from a participant...

"If two people agree, you don't need one of the opinions."

The Manager who approached me in Part 1 of this series had used his original question of 'Sal, why do I have to give people recognition for doing their job?' to set me up.

He was persistent and continued, "I don't give people recognition for just doing their jobs. That's what they get paid for."

The conversation went on, and he justified his position of not giving people recognition by saying that he had high standards. Hmmm. High standards, I thought. What does that have to do with it?

Recognition in the workplace is a critical element toward creating a cohesive team.  So, the next several posts will deal with the topic.

In this post we'll start with the business case - the "why" - for recognition.

Last week Dick Winters died at age 92.

He was described in a Wall Street Journal article as the leader of a valiant World War II paratrooper company that became famous a half-century later in historian Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers. I first read the book while I was on active duty, and then later watched the HBO miniseries (about 10 times).

We read about them every day – the charismatic, hard-driving leaders who have led their organization from the trenches into an amazing turnaround.

The leaders we don’t usually hear about are the humble, modest, reserved, gracias, mild-mannered, and self-effacing leaders that famous author and business Guru Jim Collins describes as Level 5 Leaders in his book Good to Great.