If you aspire to be a good leader, here are a few start- and stop-doings that you should be aware of.

1. Leadership Do’s &
Dont’s
By Simon Maselli
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2. Leadership Do’s
If you aspire to be a good leader, here are a
few start- and stop-doings that you should be
aware of.
A lot of small business owners
stumbled into leadership, never
imagining that one day a growing
company would look to them for
guidance.
If leadership doesn't come naturally
for you, you need to get up to speed
on a few basic do's and don'ts before
it's too late.

3. Leadership Do’s
Do . . . Be Equitable
As the company's owner, you have to
maintain equity in your dealings with
employees and clients. However,
being equitable doesn't mean that
everyone has the same responsibilities
or receives the same rewards. It
simply means that rewards should be
based on performance and level of
responsibility rather than who tells
the best jokes in the lunch room.

4. Leadership Do’s
Do . . . Encourage Initiative
Effective leaders encourage initiative
in others. If your employees don't feel
as though they have your permission
to take the initiative from time to time
– they won't. And before long, you
will find yourself pigeon-holed into
the role of a micro-manager rather
than a true leader.

5. Leadership Do’s
Do . . . Model Creativity & Risk-
taking
Leaders model the behaviors they
want to see in their employees.
Creativity and risk-taking are critical
qualities in a growing business, but
your employees will be hesitant to
apply them until they see you
engaging in them first.

6. Leadership Do’s
Do . . . Exceed Your Own Standards
Most leaders set high standards for
their employees. But successful
leaders personally exceed the
standards they set for others. If you
give your employees reason to
question your willingness or ability to
abide by the standards you have set
for them, their confidence in your
leadership skills will plummet and
your business could be in jeopardy.

7. Leadership Dont’s
Don't . . . Play Armchair
Quarterback
If you're looking for a way to
frustrate your employees, don't offer
them any advice about how to
complete a task and then criticize
their approach after the fact. No one
likes an armchair quarterback, so
unless the outcome is unacceptable,
try to resist the urge to tell employees
how you would have done it
differently.

8. Leadership Dont’s
Don't . . . Humiliate Employees
in Public
Leaders carry the responsibility of
enforcing discipline and holding
employees accountable for their
mistakes. But when it's time to discuss
difficult issues with an employee, do
yourself a favor and make sure the
conversation happens behind closed
doors. In addition to degrading both
you and your employee, public
humiliation undermines morale and
reflects poorly on your leadership
skills.

9. Leadership Dont’s
Don't . . . Shift Blame for Your
Mistakes
Some leaders refuse to accept
responsibility for their mistakes
because they believe it is a sign of
weakness. But that's a big mistake.
The strongest leaders are those who
admit their mistakes instead of
shifting blame to others, and in so
doing, earn the respect of their
employees.

10. Leadership Dont’s
Don't . . . Dwell on Mistakes
Mistakes are not usually a reflection
of poor leadership ability. But the
inability to get past your employees
mistakes . . . That's a different story.
Address mistakes, talk about how to
avoid them next time, and move on.
Constant reminders about past
failures discourage employees and
make it difficult for them to see how
they can redeem themselves going
forward.

11. Leadership Do’s & Dont’s
This Presentation has been Created for
www.SimonMaselli.com following an
intensive Leadership training program
provided to a client in Queensland.
Testimonial Here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxcUWyIvtn0
For more on leadership training/coaching
and other exciting services call
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