21 Things Leaders Don’t Need to Do
Leadership is challenging enough. Don’t make yourself miserable by doing things you don’t need to do.
Every morning you’re consumed by a to-do list. Today is a good day to remember some things you don’t need to do.
21 things leaders don’t need to do:
- Fix everything.
- Be right all the time.
- Lead all the meetings.
- Be involved in everything.
- Make all the decisions.
- Stand up front.
- Pretend to know when they don’t.
- Talk first, most, and longest.
- Cling to authority.
- Protect their image.
- Feel superior to others.
- Answer all the questions.
- Take the credit.
- Have title or position.
- Avoid feedback.
- Micromanage.
- Blame.
- Hoard information.
- Ignore the needs and opinions of others.
- Push people.
- Always stick to the plan.
Pressure goes up and satisfaction goes down when leaders do what they don’t need to do.
What’s on your list of things to avoid doing today? Scroll down and tell me what you think.
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John Maxwell’s Hatchet Committee
“Truly great book. A concise account of honesty, humility, and congruence. These are the best gifts this book offers to readers!” Reader’s comment after finishing our new book, The Vagrant: The Inner Journey of Leadership.
Try to figure it all out before starting something.
Oooo, good one.
I have a manager who must have a copy of this list but hers is entitled “Thing TO DO today.” I was feeling pretty smug and superior to her when I came across a couple of them that stared me in the face and demanded my unabashed and truthful acknowledgement that they kinda describe me. I won’t say which ones, but trust me when I tell you that I don’t think they serve me at all. Thank you for the straightforward reminder that growth is good – no matter how late in the game it occurs.
Thanks Elizabeth. Perhaps painful self-reflection is useful (as long as we don’t beat ourselves to death).
Don’t need to know every detail.
The need to know everything is such a stress inducing bottleneck.
Maybe not specifically leadership related, but I need to learn to avoid responding to emails IMMEDIATELY. And expecting the same of others.
Yes, good point. Someone recently told me the best leadership advice they had received was never to say yes or no immediately in person for big decisions. Both this and your comment have to do with giving yourself enough space to slow down to think before committing.
This is a great reminder! Thank you!
I love this blog.
A little off topic, but this got me thinking, is there anything out there for supporters of leaders? I work in a busy 911 Center, under a director that I consider the best boss I’ve ever had (from my time in the military through my 27 years in Dispatch). What are the things I can do, and encourage others to do, to support Leadership?
Dani I believe the trick is to check in with your leader and ask them what it is that you could do to make their life a little easier. I ask for feedback – what could you start doing, improve or stop doing to support them. Good leaders will respond positively to this.
Part 2 is to regularly (not every minute but maybe weekly) provide an update on those things you are doing, decisions you are making etc which builds trust and confidence. Not war and peace, but a concise update on the main items. This can be face to face (if time permits) or simply a weekly message (email, text) that the leader can read offline.
Then continue to check in to see what else you can start/improve/stop doing as the relationship evolves.
Ummmm. Present! Yes, the list is a little too familiar…currently working on reducing the number of items that remind me of ME!
I agree with the list because a leader can not do everything. Best to divide when possible, set up expectations, and reflect.