We’re all human. And as we know, humans are not perfect and can make errors at times. Therefore, being a leader naturally means you may make mistakes of your own. The key here is to avoid falling into certain leadership traps. I’m referring to the type of missteps that can cause heightened workplace turmoil and
The Best Leaders Temper Their Touch
Being a leader is tough, and many times you have to be tough—in a good way—to make sure the job gets done properly. Circumstances, however, should dictate how tough you should be. It’s not a great thing to be hard all of the time. Sometimes you have to take a light approach to achieve your
Great Leaders See Their Employees as “Teachers”
In next month’s blog post, I will focus on the all-too-common leadership pitfall of playing favorites. Here, we’ll address another common leadership trap: the notion that you’re responsible for absolute knowledge and, therefore, have nothing to learn from your direct reports. There are many benefits of looking to your employees as “teachers” who positively inform
Look For Leadership at Every Organizational Level
Surprisingly, most employees on the job look to management as the sole “owners” of leadership qualities and behavior. However, the truth is that your job title should never reflect your leadership effort and leadership can and does exist at every organizational level. Simply put, every employee, no matter where they stand on the ladder of
To Move Up in Your Career, Avoid These Leadership Traps Like the Plague
Versions of this article, entitled “To Move Up in Your Career, Avoid These Leadership Traps Like the Plague, Says Leadership Coach Tamara Raymond,” appeared this week across 100+ US and global media outlets consisting of online business and trade publications, broadcast media, and local affiliate TV stations for NBC, CBS, and Fox. They include Yahoo!
If You’re a Good Leader, You’re Not “Doing It All”
The best functioning teams are led by managers who encourage employees to oversee their own work. Managers look to their employees to act as “leaders” of their own projects. What I mean is this: A good supervisor not only delegates tasks but also: assigns employees who possess skills for the job; puts them in charge
Courageously Creating Your Support Team
In the world of being productive, a leader is not absent of fear — or even fearless — but courageous. The definition of courage is having fear but taking action anyway — in the presence of that fear. Understandably, for some, being the key decision-maker can be lonely. As part of management or leadership, there
The Other Side of Leadership: Making Tough Calls
As a leader within your organization and/or manager of a team, sometimes you have to make the tough calls. Say, you may like an employee as a person, but realistically recognize they’re not a good fit for the role or the team. And, unfortunately, if you can’t move them to another more appropriate role as
There Is No “One-Size” Managerial Model
Leadership styles may vary. It’s a plain and simple truth. The operative concept here to take away though is that different doesn’t mean less effective. This concept also means recognizing that it goes both ways. For example, if you have a different management style than your manager and/or mentor, you can be just as —
Listening Is Your Most Powerful Tool
In the last blogpost, I shared that leadership means being accountable, responsible and willing to take action. Today, I am focusing on a particular “take action” tool: the art and skill of listening. A key element by any measure. In fact, if you ask me, it’s the most powerful tool a leader has. Why and
