Leadership is perilous territory. People’s lives are at stake (sometimes literally). Although avoiding the following seven deadly sins won’t guarantee you’ll be a great leader, succumbing to them will guarantee you’ll have a significant learning moment. (Translation: You’ll fail miserably, but hopefully you’ll learn something from it.)

We’re human (if you’re not, let me know because I’ve always wanted to meet a zombie or an android). We make mistakes. We succumb to temptation, pressure, and insecurity. Many times we don’t intend to behave badly, but it happens to all of us. Sometimes we’re left wondering how the heck we ended up in a certain predicament, and other times we have deliberately made the wrong choice.

The following are common ways you might find yourself in trouble and, more important, things you can do to avoid that trouble or extricate yourself from it.

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