If you want to be a leader people respect, avoid these ten things

Alex Mathers
4 min readJul 21, 2024

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You don’t need to be the CEO of a glitzy corporation to be a leader.

We lead as small biz owners. We lead when we write and share online. We lead as siblings. We lead as coaches. We lead in our schools. We lead our families.

We all have the capacity in us to move those who matter to us.

Over my years as a human behaviour geek, these are the behaviours I see again and again in poor leaders that block you from making the impact you desire:

Avoid appearing flawed.

Great leaders know that they need to be relatable to inspire people to action.

If a leader is seen as too ‘perfect,’ they will not inspire trust but rather detachment.

Great leaders are willing to expose some flaws to encourage others to be ok with theirs.

Act aloof, superior, or submissive.

Great leaders communicate with those around them as equals, whether it’s the bathroom attendant or their top manager.

This doesn’t mean the hierarchical order is ignored, whether in a company or a family.

Hierarchies are there for a good reason, but they are challenging to maintain when members feel…

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Alex Mathers
Alex Mathers

Written by Alex Mathers

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