Eight ways entrepreneurs sap staff morale

Does your team find you off-putting?

Entrepreneurs are big on motivation but via the Startup Professionals blog comes a warning to business owners that their own bad habits could actually be demotivating for staff.

Why? Startup Professionals founder Martin Zwilling reckons it could be because many entrepreneurs are so self-centred they don’t understand the effect their actions are having on the people around them.

If, as a leader, you recognise these characteristics in yourself, it could be time to change:

• Your team doesn’t know what’s important to you
• You don’t explain your actions
• You hire team members to follow your instructions
• You use the threat of consequences to keep people on their toes
• You only use team meetings to deliver your latest decisions
• You agree to milestones and then demand extra
• You only thank employees for the little extras
• You try not to get involved in helping your employees meet their own goals

Zwilling highlights a few bad habits that can come from leaders who display these traits, including late night emails marked ‘urgent’, non-specific directions such as “make it better” and deadlines that are set for just after public holidays “so people have the option of working through the holiday for extra credit”.

There are more examples of demotivating behaviour here.

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