We are blogging through three things leaders need to STOP doing. This is the second part of the series that began here.

Leaders must stop being motivated by an excessive need to win. Leaders like to know the score and that’s a good thing.  But sometimes we are keeping count even when it doesn’t count and that unconscious drive to win may be keeping you from… well winning.

A short list of ways an excessive need to win may show up:

Adding too much value – feeling compelled to always add your input on an idea or project
Often this demotivates the other person by stripping them of the ownership of the idea/project and actually hinders progress in the team/organization

Making destructive comments – little pokes we take at others that subtly tear them down
The motivation here is to position ourselves above the other person ever so slightly by our witty sarcastic put downs which we forget the second we say them but you can be sure they don’t. Destructive comments are hurting your work environment.

Withholding information – keeping valuable information to yourself  to try to gain an advantage
Withholding info actually decreases your value to the organization and people you serve. You become indispensable by sharing skills & contributing to the tribal knowledge. There’s always a place on the team for someone dedicated to make others better!

Negative qualifiers – beginning our responses to others with words like “however” or “but”
This is an attempt to consolidate power in our favor and in essence tells the other person “you are wrong – I am right”. Negative qualifiers kill the creativity of a team.

What we have to realize is the ultimate victory is when we make other people winners.