Six Symptoms Leaders Should Take Seriously

Editor’s note: This post is inspired by a discussion that happened on the Leader’s Cafe Foundation Forum in LinkedIn. The forum can be found here: LinkedIn Forum. And the specific discussion can be found here: LinkedIn Forum Specific Discussion. The author would like to thank everyone who participated in the lively discussion for their knowledge and generosity.

Dear Managers and Leaders!

Most people are aware that there are some health symptoms that should be taken very seriously. For instance, if you start sweating badly and if you feel intense pain in your left harm and having chest pain, then you will likely run to the hospital because you know those are symptoms of a heart attack. Similarly, if you eat nuts and you start to have problems breathing and feel pain in your throat, then you will also run to the hospital because you know that you are probably allergic to nuts!

Similarly, there are some symptoms that leaders should be aware of. I will list six of these symptoms here today and will elaborate on them in subsequent posts. I hope you will find them useful. This is not an exhaustive list and I invite you to add more items to this list by posting comments below. Leaders, like human beings, must be aware of a lot of these symptoms to keep their teams healthy! Sharing your ideas here will help everyone.

• A team member does not produce what the leader was expecting.
• Team members are not coming up with new ideas.
• Team members are unwilling to push their boundaries - Mediocrity is the norm, lack of motivation to move beyond their comfort zone.
• Team is operating from fear - Lack of transparency, sharing of knowledge, or voicing of opinions. People start saying "yes" instead of questioning your decisions.
• No one seems to know what’s urgent and what’s crucial, or at which point we are right now.
• Resistance to change.

What about you dear leader? Are you attentive to other symptoms? Do you have other events or feelings lighting up that light that tells you that something is not right and you need to do something about it? Please share your thoughts by posting a comment to this blog!

Until next time,

Remi Cote

PS: If you find these postings interesting and would like to learn more about what I can do for you and your team, then please visit www.innovachron.com or contact me directly at remi@innovachron.com.