The 3 behaviors you must avoid as a leader

From the late Steve Jobs’ tendency to micromanage to the executive presence of young CEO Mark Zuckerberg—every leader has opportunities to develop and become more effective in their respective roles. Outside of general developmental areas, however, there are certain behaviors that could practically derail any leader.

Drawing on thousands of 360 qualitative interviews, the Harvard Business Review identified 3 behaviors that must be avoided at all costs:

• • Interrupting and interrogating
• • Being inconsistent
• • Judgmental, non-verbal body language

Regarding this latter point, Harvard Business Review had this to add:

[note color=”#B6D6F0″]

No one, especially your successful colleagues, can tolerate perceived condescension. Research studies show that somewhere between 75 to 90 percent of our impact comes from our non-verbal communication, and tone is a key ingredient of this. Do you make comments to others in a way that sounds evaluative, harsh, or condescending? Often, this is not our intention but an in-the- moment reaction. Other non-verbal offenders include scowling, furrowed brows, quizzical looks (as if to say, ‘are you stupid?’), rigidity, and sarcasm. While seemingly small, each of these subtle darts creates a considerable amount of relationship damage.

[/note]

For more information on these derailing behaviors, please see the Harvard Business Review.