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The Seven Deadly Sins of
Leadership
By Lonnie Pacelli
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Pride. Envy. Gluttony. Lust. Anger. Greed.
Sloth. You either recognize these as the seven
deadly sins or as themes for prime-time
television. Nonetheless, you were probably
taught as a child that these are bad and you
shouldn’t do them. For purposes of this article,
do as you were taught and think bad when you
commit these similar sins in the workplace.
As leaders, we are continually being introduced
to new techniques and theories. Hammer &
Champy’s Business Process Re-engineering Model,
McKinsey’s 7-S Framework, and Kenichi Ohmae’s
3C’s Strategic Triangle are all examples of
strategic models designed to help leaders think
about their business in different and innovative
ways. What sits on top of all of the models and
frameworks, though, are a series of foundational
attributes that every leader should possess if
he or she is going to have demonstrated,
sustained success as a leader.
In my career as a leader, I’ve been fortunate
enough to experience a broad array of leadership
situations where sometimes I enjoyed fantastic
success, and at other times experienced dismal
failure. In looking back at my failures, many of
them had nothing to do with a theory, framework,
or technology that was utilized. The failures
had to do with cracks in my own foundational
attributes which left me vulnerable as a leader.
I’ve boiled these down to seven key sins which
this article will focus on to help you become a
more effective leader.
Sin #1 - Arrogance
Ever known a manager that consistently claimed
to know more than the rest of the team? How
about one that was unwilling to listen to
opposing views? Isn’t this just a sign of
confidence? What’s wrong with that?
Confidence as a manager is crucial as people
will look to you, particularly when things get
tough. When it runs amok and turns to arrogance,
the manager disrespects the team. Show respect
and have confidence and you’ll do fine. Subtract
out respect and you’re just an arrogant doofus.
Sin #2 – Indecisiveness
So you have a meeting on Monday and the
management agrees on a course of action. On
Tuesday, the manager decides to take a
completely different course of action. Thursday
the manager goes back to Monday’s course of
action. The following Monday you’re back
re-hashing through the same problem from last
Monday. Blech.
Decisiveness means the manager listens to those
around him or her and then makes the best
decision for the project that the rest of the
team can understand, and sticks to it. While
team members may not agree with the decision,
they should be able to see the rationale.
Decisions without rationale or without listening
will ultimately frustrate the team and put a
target on your back.
Sin #3 – Disorganization
We’ve all known the manager that asks for the
same information multiple times, keeps the plan
in their head versus writing things down, or is
so frantic that they’re on the verge of
spontaneously combusting. Their disorganization
creates unneeded stress and frustration for the
project team.
The manager needs to have a clear pathway paved
for the staff to get from start to completion,
and make sure the ball moves forward every day
of the project. Disorganization leads to
frustration, which leads to either empathy or
anarchy.
Sin #4 – Stubbornness
On one of my early project management jobs I was
a month behind schedule on a three-month
project. I refused to alter the project schedule
insisting that I could “make up schedule” by
cutting corners and eliminating tasks. Despite
the entire project team telling me we were in
deep yogurt, I stubbornly forged ahead. I ended
up never seeing the end of the project because
my stubbornness got me removed as the project
manager. Talk about your 2x4 across the head.
The manager may believe his or her view of
reality is the right way to go, but it’s
imperative that he or she balances their own
perspective with that of the rest of the project
team. Decisiveness without listening to the team
leads to stubbornness.
Sin #5 – Negativism
Years back, one of my peer managers, in their
zeal to “manage expectations” would consistently
discuss the project in a negative light. Either
the focus was on what work didn’t get done, what
the new issue of the week was, who wasn’t doing
their job. Their negative attitude about the
work, people, and purpose of the project sapped
the energy, enthusiasm, and passion out of the
work. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy; the
project failed because the project manager
willed it to fail.
This one’s simple; a glass-is-half-empty project
manager is going to be a horrible motivator and
will sap the energy from a team. This doesn’t
mean that you have to be a shiny-happy person
all the time; but that the project manager has
to truly believe in what he or she is doing and
needs to positively motivate the team to get
there.
Sin #6 – Cowardice
Imagine this: the manager who, when pressed on a
budget or schedule over-run, will blame team
members, stakeholders, or anyone else that could
possibly have contributed to their
non-performance. Much easier to play the blame
game and implicate others because everything
didn’t go perfectly as planned. What a weenie.
It’s perfectly OK to be self-critical and aware
of your own weaknesses and mistakes. For a
leader to truly continue to grow in their
leadership capabilities they need to be the
first to admit their mistakes and learn from
them as opposed to being the last one to admit
their mistakes.
Sin #7 – Untrustworthiness
Simply put, managers that don’t display
necessary skills, show wisdom in their
decisions, or demonstrate integrity aren’t going
to be trusted. For the team to truly have trust
in their leader, they need to believe that the
manager has the skills to manage the project,
the wisdom to make sound business decisions, and
the integrity to put the team’s interests ahead
of their own. Take any one of these attributes
away, and it’s just a matter of time before the
manager gets voted off the island.
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individuals interested in developing their leadership 
