Five Bad Habits to Lose on the Road to Success

In  “Five Bad Habits to Lose on the Road to Success“,  John Baldoni highlights several bad habits — from Marshall Goldsmith’s newest book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There — that leaders need to abandon:

•  Stop winning too much. We all want it our way, but sometimes it does not add value to the task, it devalues the team or individual who “loses,” and may have a total cost that exceeds any benefit.

•  Stop starting with “No,” “But,” or “However.”  Goldsmith suggests that these words are subtle clues that say “I’m right, and you’re wrong.”  Stop qualifying.

•  Stop withholding information.  Withholding information is a very fast way to get people to NOT trust you.  Payback for this self-serving behavior is being left out in the future.

•  Stop clinging to the past.  The past is gone.  Learn from it and move on.  

•  Stop failing to express gratitude.  Learn to say thank you.  It’s simple.  It’s decent. And, it does not cost you anything!

Each of these bad habits, when stopped, result in new leaderly practices.  They are things worthy of being worked on.

Have a great week.  .  .  .  .     jim