07/29/2025

Five Habits that Make You Less Effective at Leading

These are some behaviors that make you appear ineffective

Being an effective leader requires a matrix of skills and abilities working in tandem. The ability to foster hope, cultivate trust, and motivate people to action can make a difference in your company’s ability function effectively and retain employees—80 percent of employees responded that they'd stay in a job because they have a manager they trust.

And no small part of the ability to lead is executive or leadership presence. A well-publicized study by Coqual (formerly the Center for Talent Innovation) found “executive presence”—looking and acting the part of a leader—makes up 26 percent of what it takes to ascend to top jobs.

"If I were to boil everything down, the two fundamental core principles of good, successful, solid leadership is strong and unquestionable authenticity and trust," said executive and leadership development coach Serena Palmer. However, there are some common behaviors and habits that undermine those leadership essentials. Palmer and other experts say being aware of them is the first step to correcting them.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Fast Company.