“The water should be deep enough here.” Many a ship’s captain has believed that lie, and many of their ships have ended up stranded on a sandbar or dashed against a reef. It’s a picture of a leadership shipwreck.
There are lies that leaders are tempted to tell themselves every day. And some of these bring leadership shipwreck, too.
In my experience, these are some of the most dangerous lies a leader can ever tell themselves. Start believing these and you could easily find your leadership dashed on the shore.
3 Lies That Bring Leadership Shipwreck
1. “I got away with it last time. I can get away with it this time.”
There might be nothing worse for a leader than to have once cut a corner and gotten away with it. Because the next time an opportunity presents itself to shave the truth or to take a financial short cut, the temptation can be almost irresistible.
“After all,” a leader can think, “borrowing that money from petty cash last time was OK. I returned it before getting caught. I can get away with it again this time.”
Eventually, this leads to the leadership shipwreck of integrity.
