8 signs of executives who are too self-absorbed

Don't ignore the alarm bells if you want your employees to reach their full potential.

Francis Frey

Professor at Harvard Business School, consultant at Uber and WeWork.

The leader's task is to create such conditions for the people around them, in which they will be as effective as possible, to help them realize their full potential. However, it is very easy to get hung up on your problems and your own vision and lose touch with employees. This is what signals that something like this has happened to you.

1. You don’t think about what others are experiencing.

A good leader must be aware of the mood and needs of his team, and respond quickly and correctly to these signals. If you are only focused on yourself, this becomes impossible. Try to be curious and learn about what others think and feel.

2. You rarely ask questions

This feature is related to the previous one. If you are not interested in other people and you do not even have the desire to ask them about something, then you are too stuck in your own thoughts.

Fortunately, this is easy to fix: show a little more involvement and see how your relationships with others change.

3. You find what people think is most interesting about you.

Each person is to some extent worried about the opinion of others about him, this is natural. The problem arises when it becomes the only thing that really interests you in people.

If you stop listening when people start talking about their experiences and ideas that are not related to you, you have not yet earned the right to lead.

4. You are constantly adding to the list of your own weaknesses and shortcomings.

An overly picky inner critic will prevent you from being a good leader. Try to figure out why you are criticizing yourself this way. Chances are, most of the negative beliefs you have about yourself are unfounded.

5. You are frustrated by other people's abilities

The strengths of your employees and colleagues are your most valuable resource. If you feel frustrated and disappointed in yourself as you watch them succeed, you may want to take a break from leadership work. Engage in regaining self-confidence.

6. You regularly experience personality crises

Our life is full of difficulties. There are situations when you need to plunge into yourself and figure out something. But if this happens all the time, you cannot give due attention to others. And all the more adequately to lead them.

7. Work ceases to inspire you

Leadership gives the feeling that the world is full of opportunities. You see how much more can be achieved, how much human potential can be revealed. And it charges you with inspiration. If you have not felt such admiration for the limitless possibilities around you for a long time, then something went wrong.

8. You are the star of your own show

If this phrase can describe how you behave in life, you will not be a good leader. Over time, people will simply get bored with your behavior and will "change the channel."

Most executives will notice at least one of these signals in their behavior. By itself, this does not mean that you are not capable of being a good leader. We all sometimes get too deep into ourselves and our problems.

To make a difference, try to evaluate your own leadership style. Remember the period when you led the team for a long time (at least three months). And think about how its productivity changed after you appeared. Was it growing or falling? If the results were negative, or simply not as good as possible, reflect on your decisions at the time. What could you then do to improve your performance?

The purpose of this exercise is to learn to take responsibility for the feelings of others. Of course, factors beyond your control could have affected their performance and bottom line.

But a lot still depends on your ability to create an atmosphere in which people can show maximum results. Shift the focus from yourself to your employees: what is happening to them, in what environment they work.

This is what makes up the optimalOptimal work environment - The second key pillar of employee engagement working conditions:

• Freedom to independently organize the working day. People by nature strive for independence, we want to determine for ourselves what and when to do. If employees have such an opportunity, their work begins to bring them more pleasure, and their productivity increases.
• Work on what matches the talents. People love to do what they do well. It is energizing and rewarding. When employees are forced to work on tasks that are not within the scope of their talent, efficiency and irritation are inevitable.
• New opportunities for development. We all like to feel our progress. If you have to do the same thing for a long time at work, and it is impossible to learn new things, the motivation and interest of employees fall. They simply cannot reach their potential and start looking for something else.

Try to change something about the current working conditions in your company by considering these factors. And watch the results.