Good leadership is the centerpiece of successful organizations. This axiom is proven true over and over again as business, churches, sports teams, and other organizations rise and fall. And whether we are willing to acknowledge it or not, at some point everyone plays the role of a leader.

In part one of this article my goal is to expose you to 4 habits that will deteriorate your success as a leader. These habits are behaviors that can easily develop in a leader’s life if they do not monitor themselves closely. In part two I will discuss 4 habits that will increase your success as a leader. But we’ll need to weed out the bad habits first before we can plant seeds for the good ones.

Bad Habit #1 â€" Indecision

I was standing behind the cash register at the restaurant I manage when a couple strolled through the door. The man ordered first. “Two pieces of fish, cheese curds instead of fries, and a root beer,� he said decisively. I barely had the order entered into our system when he turned to the woman with him and asked, “What are you going to get babe?�

She seemed flustered by the simple request. She began scanning the menu board with unnecessary urgency and stammering, “Um, I think I’ll have a piece of fish, wait, I mean, a piece of chicken. And I think I would like some shrimp too. How many of those can I get in a side order? Scratch that…never mind the shrimp. I’ll take two orders of clams and a root beer float. I mean, a pop, please.� As they went to sit down all I could think was, “How does that guy get through 10 minutes of the day with someone so indecisive?�

If you want people to follow you then you will need to let them know where you are going. This means communicating clearly and make firm decisions in a timely manner. It means understanding what the vision/mission of the organization is and making decisive calls on the tough issues that threaten to kill momentum, morale and forward progress.

One of the most vital roles of a leader is to make the calls that keep the organization on mission. When indecision sets into a leader’s behavioral pattern everything grinds to a screeching halt. Projects don’t get done. New initiatives don’t get funded. People’s confidence in the leader is eroded. It is like a straight jacket is put on the entire business. And eventually people will stop following or trusting the leader and they will start moving in their own direction.

It is mission critical that leaders know what they want to order when they come to the menu board of decisions and that they make those decisions decisively.

Bad Habit #2 â€" Control

One of the opposite reactions to indecisiveness is control. Instead of not making any decisions, some leaders flip all the way over to authoritarianism and they make ALL the decisions. This is an equally dangerous leadership habit.

I have always enjoyed puppets. In my house we have a pet chipmunk puppet. My kids love it when I put my hand in its back and make the chipmunk talk. Sometimes he is a crazy chipmunk who attacks the kids with tickles. Other times the kids chase him around the house as he yells, “Leave me alone! All I want is an acorn!�

Puppets are fun to play with but I don’t ever want to be one. And the same is true for the people you lead. They don’t want someone sitting high above them in the office pulling all the strings and making them dance. Organizations that are lead by puppeteers will never achieve the long-term success of organizations where employees are free to move with individuality and freedom.

Google is a company that understands this. In fact, they encourage their employees to spend 20% of their company time every year working on individual projects that employees are interested in. Obviously these side projects ultimately must benefit the company, but the philosophy is that employees who are given freedom to create and work on projects that are of individual interest to them will produce greater results than employees who are simply working like puppets.

Good leaders know that employees need to be given some leeway to make decisions. The also know that there is much greater buy-in to the organizations mission when people feel like they are valued instead of being manipulated like puppets.

Behavior #3 â€" Playing Red Light/Green Light

When I was growing up I went to church almost every Wednesday night. And each time I was there I looked forward to playing Red light/Green light during game time. Do you remember how the game is played?

One person stands at the front of the room with their back turned to the other players who are anxiously waiting at the starting line. When the front person says ‘Green light’ everyone runs wildly towards him/her. Then, at their own initiative, the front person spins and says, ‘Red light.’ Anyone who is caught moving during a ‘Red light’ has to go back to the starting line. The first player to touch the front person is the winner and they become the new front person.

Organizational leaders play a form of this game from time to time. Red light/Green light leaders have many of the same traits as those leaders struggling with the bad habit of indecision but there is one crucial difference. Unlike indecisive leaders who never move because they can’t make a decision, red light/green light leaders get things going and then abruptly stop them. Occasionally they may try to start things up again but usually it is too late for any sort of meaningful gains to be made.

Red light/Green light leaders leave their employees suffering from a case of whiplash. Just as new initiatives get going and people start to buy-in and work hard on accomplishing the new tasks, red light/green light leaders pull the rug out from under them. This habit is extremely detrimental to company morale and mission accomplishment.

This is an especially dangerous habit when it is executed time and time again because eventually people will simply stop believing in anything the leader promotes. They might not show it during strategic planning sessions, but around water coolers they are talking about why their best efforts should be put forth when history has shown that the project will probably be stalled anyway.

Employees get exhausted when they continually run forward only to be sent back to the starting line time and time again.

Behavior #4 â€" Forgetting to Follow Through

It is a marvel and treat to sit with someone who has lived a long life and to listen to them recount story after story of the things they have experienced. Conversely, one of the saddest things to watch happen to people as they age is the gradual loss of their memory. Eventually it will happen to most people.

Sometimes I feel like I have already begun the process. I misplace my cell phone or my car keys and I go nuts trying to find them. My wife will ask me to change a light bulb or carry a laundry basket into the bedroom and before I can scream ‘Tackle him!’ at the TV I have forgotten. One day last week I drove all the way to work before realizing I had left my keys in the building the night and that now I had no way of getting in.

Forgetfulness is something everyone experiences in different doses. Good leaders, however, recognize the importance of communicating and remembering details and making sure things get followed up. It is discouraging to employees when their leaders forget their suggestions and needs. True, it is not always the leader’s fault; sometimes the needs are communicated at bad times and through ineffective means like post-it notes. But in those instances where it is the leader’s responsibility remembrance and follow through are essential.

Imagine it is a busy day in the office. As a leader you are swamped with phone calls and emails that need to be done. One of your employees walks in and suggests something minor. You nod in agreement and respond by saying something about the idea sounding good and your company trying it in the future. In your head you are thinking ‘that might work, I’ll need to think it through some more when I have time’, but what your excited employee heard was ‘that is a great idea and I’ll make it happen right away.’ Remembering to follow through, even if it just with an email or the scheduling of a meeting with that employee to discuss the proposal makes all the difference. If nothing ever happens, a previously excited employee could become disgruntled.

Just like a good parent, a good leader doesn’t make promises they can’t keep. Avoid the habit of forgetfulness and no follow through by setting up clear boundaries. One leader I respect has even had voice mail removed from his cell phone so that people can’t leave requests and work for him there. This is a good idea. Some other strategies include: asking for requests to be formalized in writing, not making decisions off the cuff in busy environments, keeping notes of conversations, and getting into the habit of always following through right away on things that can be handled immediately.

If you suffer from amnesia as a leader your entire organization will suffer. Remember to remember, and then follow through.

Send This To A Friend