Leadership Habits – Pick your TOP THREE to work on
There is a difference between success that happens because of our behavior, success that happens by luck, and success that happens in spite of our behavior.
Marshall Goldsmith is one of the most successful of corporate America's celebrity coaches -- he typically makes upwards of a quarter-million dollars for a year or so of work with each individual client -- and is also one of the best. The Wall Street Journal ranks him among the top 10 executive educators.
Goldsmith's primary insight is that good manners is good management, that bad habits keep highly successful people from succeeding even more. What differentiates the one from the other, he observes, has nothing to do with one's abilities, experience and training -- and everything to do with behavior. Simply put, Goldsmith explains, successful people often limit themselves with behavioral tics that they don't even know they have. Likewise, successful people tend to assume that the behaviors that got them this far will, in time, get them further still. They are delusional on this last count, failing to realize either that their success has come in spite of their behavioral flaws, or that their behavior is preventing them from realizing their potential, not only at work, but also in life.
Everyone has a few Bad Habits: Twenty Habits That Hold You Back:
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1. Winning too much: Goldsmith notes that the hypercompetitive need to best others "underlies nearly every other behavioral problem."
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2. Adding too much value: This is when you can't stop yourself from tinkering with your subordinates' already viable ideas. "It’s extremely difficult," Goldsmith observes, "for successful people to listen to other people tell them something where we believe we know a better way or can improve on their idea. The fallacy is that, while it may slightly improve an idea, it drastically reduces the other person's commitment.
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3. Passing judgment: It's not appropriate to pass judgment when we specifically ask people to voice their opinions ... have you found yourself rating their answer? Goldsmith recommends "hiring" a friend to bill you $10 for each episode of needless judgment.
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4. Making destructive comments: We are all tempted to be snarky or even mean from time to time. But when we feel the urge to criticize, we should realize that needless negative comments can harm our working relationships. "The question is not, 'Is it true?' but rather, 'Is it worth it?'"
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5. Starting with "No," "But," or "However": Almost all of us do this, and most of us are totally unaware of it. But Goldsmith says if you watch out for it, "you'll see how people inflict these words on others to gain or consolidate power. You'll also see how intensely people resent it, consciously or not, and how it stifles rather than opens up discussion." This is another habit that may take fines to break.
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6. Telling the world how smart we are: Driven by our need to win, we let people know “I already knew that” or “I’m five steps ahead of you”. Being smart turns people on; announcing it turns them off.
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7. Speaking when angry: When you get angry, you are usually out of control. And you may justify it as a “management tool.”
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8. Negativity or "Let me explain why that won't work": Goldsmith calls this "pure unadulterated negativity under the guise of being helpful."
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9. Withholding information: This one is all about power. "We do this when we are too busy to get back to someone with valuable information. We do this when we forget to include someone in our discussions or meetings. We do this when we delegate a task to our subordinates but don't take the time to show them exactly how we want it done."