There are choices we make every day as leaders which may seem unrelated to our effectiveness – yet they impact the way we and others experience our leadership dramatically. Leadership takes a great deal of doing. It also takes the right amount of stop doing. Here are a few ideas to kick start your stop doing list:

• Making long lists.  Rather than get you organized, long lists are overwhelming, muddle your priorities and promote procrastination.  Here’s a better way.
• Making excuses for not adjusting your style.  ‘That’s just me’ just doesn’t work. Precisely because your employees are not like you, it’s your responsibility as their leader to modify your style and adapt.
• Losing your cool. According to many EQ experts, poor impulse control is the number one leadership de-railer. Your employees and your customers look up to you, so it’s important to be able to stay calm and keep a level head even under the most intense of circumstances. Those 30 seconds you spend cussing out the other guy in front of everyone will cost you – big time. Practice self-control and self-discipline, and don’t allow your emotions or temper to get in the way of your success.
• Running ineffective meetings.  Knowing to run and facilitate an effective meeting is a leadership fundamental. Stop wasting your and other people’s time in low-value meetings.  Do not attend poorly run meetings, either – just ask for a summary of agreed actions.
• Saying you don’t have time to develop leaders within your organization.  If you want to retain your best employees, then start sharing leadership and give people real opportunities to step up. If you’ve got the resources for succession planning and leadership development programs, great.  If not, check out Real-Time Leadership Development and get started today!