All you need to do is browse the headlines and you’ll easily come up with examples of what not to do as a leader. Just follow these hopefully easy to adhere to rules, do a reasonable good job, and you’ll be running your organization in no time:
1. Don’t drop too many F-bombs at work. Or, as far as I’m concerned, don’t drop them at all.
2. But even if your employee does, don’t fire your employee over the phone. F2f is the only option for canning an employee.
3. Don’t slap your employees. Two words: anger management.
4. Don’t hit on or party with your employees. Some may argue with this one, but I’d say you’re only asking for trouble.
5. Don’t upstage your boss. It’s always better to let your boss go first.
6. Don’t launch an IPO and get married in the same week. It’s all about focus.
7. Don’t fire an employee for being “too hot”. Or for being too ugly. But you can for a dress code violation. But not over the phone, see #2.
8. Don’t flirt with the jurors during your corruption trial. I’d file this one under the competency of “judgment”.
9. Don’t lie about your education (let's hear it for New Hampshire!). Or about your ethnicity (Hey, if I'm going to mention NH, I couldn't spare Massachusetts). Better yet, just don’t lie, period. It’s easier to remember things when you don’t make them up.
10. Don’t steal your company's money. Or “borrow” it, or “misplace” it, or whatever.
Last, but not least - and I'm sorry to have to mention this in a family leadership blog - don't ever, ever, have sex at work, under any circumstances. Asking "was that wrong?" will not save you from being fired.
Hope you enjoyed this tour of leadership ineptitude headlines. Anything you’d like to add to the list? By the time this post is published, I’m sure we can come up with 11 more.
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