I often observe many leaders who think they are the exception to the rule. Maybe in some regards they are, but not across the board. Furthermore, not all exceptions are equal or worthy of consideration. There are some obvious rules of personal and business behavior that we should all respect or at least take heed of:
- Working excessively and neglecting your family will have personal consequences.
- Constantly multitasking and not focusing on any one thing will hinder your ability to concentrate effectively in the moment, potentially leading to missing something important.
- Wearing too many hats due to a lack of investment in talent will eventually catch up with you.
- Paying people less than market value will decrease employee morale and increase turnover, usually at inopportune times.
- Using debt to pay for things that the current economic model cannot provide will lead to financial problems for the business.
- Failing to pay your vendors on time and engaging in financial games with creditors typically has a limited time horizon before you are exposed and suffer the consequences of damaged relationships.
- Believing that asking for help is a sign of weakness can leave you vulnerable to unknown situations.
- Playing your key people against one another could lead to unhealthy individual competitive behaviors if you are not careful.
- Relying too much on your gut without some level of reasonable business analysis (especially on critical issues) will lower your hit rate and increase your risk.
- Failing to innovate and change your products and services because you’d rather leave well enough alone will just create opportunities for your competition.
- Providing your customers with minimal feedback regarding your product or service development efforts can lead your business to deliver solutions that the market doesn’t need or want.
- Ignoring your personal censor button and saying whatever is on your mind whenever you want to say it will create more adversaries than allies.
- Handing down mandates for everyone else to cut costs and be more efficient while you are practicing more spendthrift ways yourself will only build resentment and chase away talented staff who have other opportunities.
- If you believe that the only way to grow your business is through acquisitions, it will create internal and external challenges that become increasingly difficult to navigate.
- Putting your family members in positions they are ill-equipped to handle will only limit their credibility with other key people and minimize their chances of future success.
- Expecting different professional behaviors from your employees than you are willing to exhibit yourself will hinder your credibility with them and others.
I could continue expanding this list, but I’m sure you understand the point. Some leadership fundamentals are good common sense. You don’t need a Harvard MBA to figure out the risk-reward analysis of the behavior. Of course, some individuals can overcome the challenges, but the majority of us will not fare as well in the same circumstances. A leader’s job is to increase the probability of organizational success through sound business judgment and empowering behavior. He or she should also inspire people to perform at higher levels, both individually and collectively, than they thought was possible. If you aspire to stand out from the crowd, strive to elevate the standard for positive, constructive actions instead of giving in to easily refuted rationalizations.