Here’s the thing: we all want to be better leaders.
But too often we focus on what to do as leaders while neglecting what not to do.
That’s where leadership derailers come in—the things that take us off track and inhibit our leadership effectiveness. If we want to be good leaders, we must be aware of our derailers and begin working on them.
“Most books about leadership tell us what a person ought to do to become effective and powerful. Few tell us what to avoid. But the latter may be even more valuable because many people on the road to success are tripped up by their mistakes and weaknesses.” –David Gergen, political commentator and senior advisor to four U.S. presidents, from his book, Eyewitness to Power
10 Common Leadership Derailers
Here are ten common derailers, based on my research and work with leaders from many different industries, sectors, countries, and stages of career development:
- Avoidance: avoiding difficult tasks, situations, or conflicts.
- Burnout: becoming run-down and feeling exhausted, often due to lack of self-care.
- Bottleneck: feeling you must make all decisions or taking on too much work yourself, causing delays.
- Delegation: not entrusting tasks to others sufficiently, leading to reduced motivation.
- Feedback: not providing feedback well or often enough, or not soliciting it enough or receiving it well.
- Insecurity: lacking confidence about leading or feeling unqualified to lead; being unassertive.
- Perfectionism: setting unrealistic expectations for yourself or others; needing things to be flawless.
- Procrastination: putting things off until later or the last minute.
- Short Game: failing to invest in the future and deciding important things without considering the long term.
- Workaholism: being addicted to work and struggling to switch it off or stop thinking about it.
While these are common derailers, there are many more. In fact, I’ve identified more than sixty derailers that inhibit leadership effectiveness.
What are your top leadership derailers? And what will you do about them?
Leadership Derailers Assessment
Take this assessment to identify what’s inhibiting your leadership effectiveness. It will help you develop self-awareness and identify ways to improve your leadership.
Reflection Questions
- What are your leadership derailers? What do you struggle with as a leader?
- What will you do about it, starting today?
- Who will you ask for help?
This always works best when colleagues openly discuss it together. We all have leadership derailers. We all have work to do. So get real. And get busy with the important work of intentional leadership development. Reach out if you think I may be able to help.
–Gregg Vanourek
Tools for You
- Leadership Derailers Assessment to help you identify what’s inhibiting your leadership effectiveness
- Personal Values Exercise to help you determine and clarify what’s most important to you
- Alignment Scorecard to help you assess your organization’s level of alignment
Leadership Derailers Assessment
Take this assessment to identify what’s inhibiting your leadership effectiveness. It will help you develop self-awareness and identify ways to improve your leadership.
Postscript: Inspirations on Leadership Derailers
- “Instead of learning from other people’s success, learn from their mistakes. Most of the people who fail share common reasons, whereas success can be attributed to various different kinds of reasons.” –Jack Ma, Chinese entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist
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Gregg Vanourek is a writer, teacher, speaker, and coach on leadership and personal development. He is co-author of three books, including Triple Crown Leadership: Building Excellent, Ethical, and Enduring Organizations (co-authored with his father, Bob Vanourek) and LIFE Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives (a manifesto for integrating our life and work with purpose and passion).
Bob Vanourek and Gregg Vanourek are leadership practitioners, teachers, and award-winning authors. Check out their Leadership Derailers Assessment or get their monthly newsletter. If you found value in this, please forward it to a friend. Every little bit helps!
