If your goal is to be a more respected leader, there’s no way around it—you’ve got to let go of a few sneaky habits that might be holding you back.
I learned this firsthand when building my site, HackSpirit.
At the start, it was just me juggling everything: writing, marketing, managing social media…you name it. But as the site grew and I brought in new team members, I realized that leadership isn’t just about telling people what to do—it’s about setting the tone, creating a culture, and earning respect through your actions.
Over the years, I identified a handful of small (but mighty) bad habits that can quickly derail any leader’s reputation. Today, I share them with the hope they can help you to avoid some of the mistakes I made.
1. Being unapproachable or ignoring feedback
Ever worked with someone who always looks like they’re too busy or stressed to be approached?
That was me in the early days. I was juggling so much that, without realizing it, I seemed closed off to new ideas or questions.
The result? My team felt hesitant to speak up—potentially causing me to miss out on important insights and innovations.
The moment your team senses you’re not open to feedback, you’re effectively shutting them out from truly trusting you. When people feel safe enough to voice concerns, share ideas, or even suggest changes, that’s when real breakthroughs happen.
The simple fix is to demonstrate that you actually want their feedback. Something as basic as saying, “I appreciate you bringing this up—tell me more,” can go a long way.
And if you act on their suggestions (when relevant), your credibility shoots up. Your team realizes you don’t just talk about collaboration—you actively practice it.
2. Overlooking empathy
When we talk about leadership, we often focus on decision-making, strategic thinking, or charisma. But there’s one key ingredient that’s easy to overlook: empathy.
I can’t tell you how often I’ve seen leaders act tough or emotionally distant, believing this earns them respect. In reality, it often creates distance.
This is well backed up by experts, too. Dr. Tracy Brower, a sociologist, has pointed out that research suggests empathy is the most “important leadership skill.”
It’s not just about being nice—it’s about understanding where people are coming from and what’s driving their behavior. When you show genuine empathy, you make space for real human connection and trust.
Take it from my own journey: as soon as I started practicing empathy with my team—asking how they were doing, offering support in tough times—they responded with more dedication and genuine respect for me as a leader.
There’s nothing “soft” about empathy. It’s a powerful tool that fosters loyalty, motivation, and a healthy environment.
3. Hogging the credit
Have you ever worked under someone who always puts their own name in bold letters while everyone else’s contributions are written in the tiniest font possible? It’s infuriating.
And it’s one of the fastest ways to lose respect.
Yes, you might be the one steering the ship, but your crew is rowing. When you hog the credit, you’re sending a clear message: you don’t value your people. That doesn’t exactly inspire them to respect you in return.
One thing I always try to keep in mind is this quote from management expert, Simon Sinek:
“When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.”
Give your team real reasons to invest their emotions in the work. Recognize their effort, highlight their accomplishments, and make sure everyone knows they’re an integral part of the operation.
Personally, every time I publicly celebrate someone else’s contribution—whether in a team meeting, email shout-out, or social media post—I see a noticeable boost in morale. People feel they matter, and guess what? They start stepping up even more. That cycle of recognition and motivation feeds on itself, making the whole team stronger.
4. Micromanaging the team
Let’s face it: nobody wants their boss breathing down their neck every five seconds.
I learned this the hard way. In my early days of transitioning from a one-man show to managing a small team, I felt like I had to oversee every detail to ensure the “quality” stayed the same.
But here’s the thing: you hire people because they have skills, talents, and perspectives you need. If you don’t trust them to do their jobs, they’ll never feel empowered—or respected.
Micromanagement kills creativity and initiative. People start doing only what they’re told, and they do it while feeling stressed out, undermined, and unfulfilled.
The key is to set clear expectations and then give people the space to do their jobs. Offer support and guidance without hovering.
When I finally learned to let go and trust my team, they ended up surprising me with solutions I hadn’t even thought of. My job became less stressful, results improved, and ironically, I became a more respected leader by stepping back instead of trying to control every piece of the process.
5. Neglecting accountability
We’ve all seen it: the boss who quickly shifts blame to a subordinate or to “unforeseen circumstances” when something goes wrong.
It might preserve the leader’s pride in the short term, but it destroys respect in the long run.
People respect honesty and accountability. Everyone makes mistakes—it’s how you handle them that counts.
When I screwed up an important marketing campaign early in HackSpirit’s growth, I owned it. I told my team I’d miscalculated the timing and approach, and I apologized for it. Even though it stung to admit, the team respected me more for acknowledging my role in the mistake and then working together to fix it.
The upside? By modeling accountability, you encourage everyone else to be upfront about their missteps too—leading to faster solutions, less workplace drama, and a culture where people learn from failures instead of hiding them.
Final words
Leadership isn’t about the title on your business card—it’s about the daily choices you make that earn trust, loyalty, and respect from others.
By shedding these habits—being closed off to feedback, dismissing empathy, hogging the credit, micromanaging, and dodging accountability—you might just discover a whole new level of connection with your team.
Sure, it might feel uncomfortable at first to admit mistakes or step back from controlling every detail. But the payoff is huge. When people truly respect you, they’ll bring their best ideas to the table, go the extra mile, and stand behind you in good times and bad.
And that kind of genuine respect? It’s the solid foundation any leader needs to drive success—not just for themselves, but for everyone around them.
