Smart leaders know that leadership is about responsibility, not power. You have a responsibility to avoid the fatal temptations of leadership, but that means recognizing them before you succumb to them. From the book The Five Temptations of a CEO, by Patrick Lencioni (Jossey-Bass), guard against these common temptations:
- Self-protection. Some leaders become obsessed with maintaining their status and protecting their careers. To avoid this, you need to continually take risks—intelligent risks—and put the good of your staff and your organization ahead of your own ego. Challenge yourself to help your department double last month’s sales, for example, or to bring a new product to market more quickly than before.
- Popularity. Everyone wants to be liked, but in the long run, neither your employees nor your superiors will like you if you don’t achieve results. Aim for workers’ long-term respect by making tough but necessary choices. For example: Terminating an employee who isn’t producing may alienate some people, but in time your employees will recognize the benefits of working with top performers.
- Harmony. A workplace without disagreements is quiet, but it can quickly become sterile. In order to grow, an organization needs exchanges of ideas even if they lead to conflicts and controversies. Urge employees to share their opinions with each other. Brainstorming meetings are a good way to start doing this.