34 MISTAKES I see EXECUTIVES make

After chatting with a coach of mine, I came up with an in-depth list of mistakes I see executives make in their leadership communication.

In no particular order, here’s the list:

  1. Entering a room (Virtual or In-person) with no radiation of warmth and energy and calm enthusiasm.
  2. Rushing/lack of knowing how to own time, in either movement, gesturing and speaking. Doesn’t know how to own time.
  3. Lack of awareness in what is open and encouraging body language.
  4. Lack of awareness of how they’re perceived when under pressure.
  5. Not knowing how to pair gestures with a word or phrase.
  6. Not knowing how to determine their key message(s) for a presentation and frame it in a simple way.
  7. Not having key questions to understand what senior leaders want from them in presentations.
  8. Unsure of the real reason they’ve been invited to present to Leadership team and boardroom meetings.
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Be the Wind

Imagine this.

Your division or department is a sailing ship, moving across open water.

Now picture yourself on that ship as you reflect on your behaviour over the past week.

With that image in mind, ask yourself:

  • Were you the Wind, a good wind, helping propel the ship forward toward better performance and stronger working relationships?

  • Were you a Passenger, simply going along for the ride?

  • Or were you an Anchor, unintentionally holding the group back?

When people do this reflection honestly, most place themselves in the Passenger category. A few recognise moments where they may have acted as an Anchor.

Very few see themselves as the Wind.

And yet, every workplace could use more of it.

What it means to be the Wind

Being the Wind isn’t about status or authority.

It’s about behaviour; small, deliberate actions that move the group forward.

Wind-like behaviour looks like this:

  • At a conference or offsite, helping bring others back into the room after a break – not just yourself.

  • In a meeting, quietly supporting the chair by encouraging a more reserved colleague to speak, because you know they have something valuable to add.

  • At a networking event, noticing someone standing alone and introducing them to others.

  • Suggesting a short, controlled stretch break when energy drops after long periods of sitting.

None of these actions are heroic.

All of them are outward looking.

They reduce friction.

They increase momentum.

They improve camaraderie.

Own the Conversation

In the coming week, on purpose, choose one moment to be the Wind.

Just one.

Then notice:

  • how the group responds

  • how the energy shifts

  • how it changes your own sense of contribution