3 Stupid Things Leaders Often Think

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Leaders begin their role with the best of intentions. No one starts out by thinking, “I want to make everyone’s lives miserable and undermine their performance.” Yet, we know many do just that. Most are thrust into the role, with very little training or development, because they were good at something else or there was simply a hole to be filled.

In Good Boss, Bad Boss, organizational psychologist Bob Sutton writes, “Devoting relentless attention to doing one good thing after another — however small — is the only path I know to becoming and remaining a great boss” and that’s good advice. But before you can become a great boss, you first need to stop being a bad one.

The first step? Letting go of the beliefs that undermine your leadership effectiveness. While nobody sets out to adopt counterproductive ideas, certain myths creep in over time and shape decision-making. These misconceptions lead to poor actions that harm both leaders and their teams. Here are three of the most common stupid things to watch out for:

1. “We Need Better People”

In 1997, McKinsey published a landmark article declaring a “war for talent.” The firm argued that due to demographic shifts, recruiting the “best and the brightest” was even more important than “capital, strategy, or R&D.” The report was enormously…