Dr. Marshall Goldsmith has coached hundreds of executives around the world for four decades. He compiled 20 bad behaviors that he found common in executives, gathered through 360-degree feedback with stakeholders and executives.
When I did my first 360 as a manager, I was guilty of habits 3 and 16 from the list below.
You can try this today and notice the below habits in your next meeting (group meeting or 1:1). Identify common themes in others first and then become mindful of your own behaviors.
Winning too much: The need to win at all costs and in all situations.
Adding too much value: The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion.
Passing judgment: The need to rate others and impose our standards on them.
Making destructive comments: The needless sarcasm and cutting remarks that we think make us witty.
Starting with “No,” “But,” or “However”: The overuse of these negative qualifiers which secretly say to everyone “I’m right and you’re wrong.”
Telling the world how smart we are: The need to show people we’re smarter than they think we are.
Speaking when angry: Using emotional volatility as a management tool.
Negativity, or “Let me explain why that won’t work”: The need to share our negative thoughts even when we weren’t asked.
Withholding information: The refusal to share information in order to maintain an advantage over others.
Failing to give proper recognition: The inability to give praise and reward.
Claiming credit that we don’t deserve: The most annoying way to overestimate our contributions to any success.
Making excuses: The need to reposition our annoying behavior as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it.
Clinging to the past: The need to deflect blame away from ourselves and onto events and people from our past; a subset of blaming everyone else.
Playing favorites: Failing to see that we are treating someone unfairly.
Refusing to express regret: The inability to take responsibility for our actions, admit we’re wrong, or recognize how our actions affect others.
Not listening: The most passive-aggressive form of disrespect for colleagues.
Failing to express gratitude: The most basic form of bad manners.
Punishing the messenger: The misguided need to attack the innocent, who are usually only trying to help us.
Passing the buck: The need to blame everyone but ourselves.
An excessive need to be “me”: Exalting our faults as virtues simply because they’re who we are.
Time for reflection
What habits have you noticed lately in your behavior at work?
What if you run a 360 with your stakeholders?
What would be #1 on your list?