It can be challenging for business owners and executives to improve their interpersonal skills. We tend to believe the habits that have helped us rack up achievements in the past will continue to foster success in the future.
It’s natural for successful people to believe that what contributed to their past accomplishments will continue to work for them. They also assume that they can – and will – succeed, no matter what.
The most common bad leadership habits aren’t personality flaws. They’re challenges in interpersonal behaviour - the egregious annoyances that make the workplace substantially more noxious than necessary. These faults do not occur in isolation; they involve one person interacting with another.
According to executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful!, you might be interested in reviewing a list of negative business owner and executive habits...to see if they might apply to your workplace behaviour.
These faults do not occur in isolation; they involve one person interacting with another. Goldsmith compiled the following list of 20 negative habits after years of working with top Fortune 500 executives. This week I will outline 10 of the habits and next week another 10 negative habits, plus how to change those habits:
- Winning too much. The need to win at all costs and in all situations—when it matters and even when it doesn’t, when it’s totally beside the point.
- Adding too much value. The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion.
- Passing judgment. The need to rate others and impose our standards on them.
- Making destructive comments. The needless sarcasm and cutting remarks that we think make us sound sharp and witty.
- Starting with “no,” “but” or “however.” The overuse of these negative qualifiers, which secretly convey to everyone, “I’m right. You’re wrong.”
- Telling the world how smart we are. The need to show people we’re smarter than they think we are.
- Speaking when angry. Using emotional volatility as a management tool.
- Negativity (“Let me explain why that won’t work.”). The need to share our negative thoughts, even when we haven’t been asked to do so.
- Withholding information. The refusal to share information so we can maintain an advantage over others.
- Failing to give proper recognition. The inability to praise and reward.
Luckily, these bad habits are easy to break. The cure for failing to express gratitude is remembering to say “thank you.” For not apologising, it’s learning to say, “I’m sorry. I’ll do better next time.” For punishing the messenger, it’s imagining how you would want to be treated under similar circumstances. For not listening, it’s keeping your mouth shut and your ears open.
Next week, I will introduce another 10 ‘bad habits’ and how to change those bad habits…
With thanks to Coach2Coach newsletter, February 21, 2009
