Don’t Be THAT Guy

Don’t be that guy…

Please, please, please, for the sake of yourself and more importantly, for the sake of your team, as you embark on your professional career in 2014, don’t be…

1. The guy who has to be right. All the time. Even when he is most definitely wrong. And who will not admit his mistakes. Ever.

2. The guy that doesn’t lead by example. He espouses company values like “be passionate about our customers” or “behave with integrity” (insert any overused company value slogan) but does the exact opposite himself. Even worse, is completely unaware he is doing it, aka no emotional intelligence.

3. The ‘silent until it’s too late’ guy. Who despite having misgivings about a particular course of action or strategy the team is committing to, says nothing. Until, of course it goes tits up and then trots out with smug disdain, “I didn’t think it would work.”

4. The ‘adore me at all costs’ guy. Who needs to be liked by everyone so much he agrees with everybody (and everything) and avoids making the tough calls or neglects to manage non performance. Sidebar – It’s better to be respected than liked as a leader.

5. The guy who takes credit for your team’s work in front of peers/senior management/the board. This is the same guy who says “I” way more than “we” and generally has let his ego go unchecked.  This guy is closely related to the guy who will throw one of his own team members under the bus when the proverbial hits the fan, instead of taking accountability for the team’s result.

Don’t be that guy.

Just don’t.

Do you have any more examples to add to this list? Please leave your comments below.