I read a fun article in Golf Digest: "The Top 40 Mistakes Golfers Make." The list included: Wearing black socks with khakis, following a bad shot with a dumb one, and thinking a white belt makes you look hip! It was such a good list I decided to make my own: The Top 10 Mistakes Leaders Make. Let me warn you, my list is not as fun as theirs.
1. Being a self-serving leader – People always watch the leader and your actions always reveal your heart.
2. "Leading" without a destination – Call this what you will, but don’t confuse it with leadership... leadership always begins with a picture of the future.
3. Under communicating vision  – The vast majority of leaders, maybe 90% or more, don’t communicate vision enough.
4. Being unwilling to change – The best leaders know, progress is always preceded by change.
5. Confusing hope with strategy – Hope is a wonderful thing, but it is no substitute for a well-conceived, well-executed plan.
6. Keeping someone on the team who cannot do their job – If this is a struggle for you, I recommend Henry Cloud’s book, Necessary Endings.

7. Not walking the talk. [Tweet ""Trust and credibility can be lost in a heartbeat if a leader’s words and deeds are not aligned. "- Mark Miller"]

8. Prioritizing leadership skills over leadership character - If your heart is not right, no one cares about your skills.
9. Not committing to life-long learning – Your capacity to grow determines your capacity to lead.
10. Doing what you’ve always done and expecting a different outcome – This is also the definition of insanity.
This was a fun list to make – and it didn’t take but a couple of minutes! Why? I’ve made most of these mistakes myself. The trick… avoid making them more than once![GLS_Shield]
How about you? Send me some of your favorite leadership mistakes and I’ll do another post to share them. You can leave your contribution in the comments section below.