5 Ways to Sabotage Your Own Leadership (Part 2)

I love to develop myself as a leader through books, podcasts, and videos. No matter what good intentions I have for personal growth, I believe there are also simple things I can do on a daily basis to sabotage my own leadership.

In Part 1, we discussed the first three ways we can sabotage our own leadership. They were to 1) Say one thing and do another; 2) Offer no encouragement; and 3) Triangle.

Here are the final two ways:

4. Go negative.

One of the most detrimental things to the morale and culture of an organization is negativity. It’s like a cancer and quickly spreads across departments. John Maxwell said, “There is only one thing more contagious than a good attitude, and that’s a bad one.”

As leaders, our teams are looking to us as examples–positive or negative. Simon Sinek said, “So goes the leader, so goes the culture. So goes the culture, so goes the company.” We should always apply Philippians 2:14 to our leadership, “Do everything without complaining and arguing.”

5. Put yourself before the mission.

This can take on many forms including: Not helping a co-worker; getting upset when you’re not recognized or are overlooked; feeling frustration when you’re left out of a decision; staying in a position you hate because of the benefit plan; or being lazy.

Philippians 2:5-8 says, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Jesus was an amazing role model in putting the mission above Himself.

One thing is certain–if you’re putting your selfish ambition above the mission, you don’t have to tell your co-workers because they already know it! We should always ask ourselves, “Who is this about?”

How are you sabotaging your leadership?