Some signs that your (or your people’s) leadership is ineffective or needs a drastic upgrade:

• You’ve been working 75-80 hours a week for months and think that you’re effective at utilising your skills.
• Your people have been working 75-80 hours a week for months and you think you’re capable of properly deploying their talents and effectively managing your work and projects.
• When you get up in the morning, the first thing you dread is getting to work on the myriad of projects you have at hand.
• When you go to bed in the evening, the thing you dread is getting up to work on those myriad of projects …
• There is “inexplicable” staff turnover in your department or company.
• When you speak to consultants or leadership experts – specialists in their fields – you say that you know everything and don’t need any help.
• You think that the way to develop your organisation’s performance is through “training” people more.
• You think that “coaching” is the same as “training”.
• Your star performer has a suggestion for how to improve performance, or requests budget to make further improvements, and you reject him/her without even a discussion.
• You think that investment in developing your leadership is a distraction or on the bottom of the list of priorities.
• You think that “investment in leadership” is an oxymoron.
• You think that paying for a course is all you have to do to invest in your (or your people’s) leadership.
• You’re defensive about your leadership.
• You’re not willing to engage in a discussion, much less be challenged, about your leadership.
• You think that leadership equals telling people what to do.
• People snicker when they talk about your leadership.