We make a lot of assumptions about leadership. We assume that when someone is deemed a "leader" that they know what they're doing. We assume that they earned their place in this role. We assume that they have the interest of the team at heart. But we know from the headlines about fallen leaders, that this is not always the case.

In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share these five leadership mistakes to avoid from Kate Zabriskie, president of Business Training Works, Inc.

1. Don't promote people into leadership roles just because they have the technical skills. Just because the person has the right background or skill set does not mean that person is capable of leading a team. You want to promote others who have both the technical knowledge and the will and interest to lead.

2. Don't assume people know how to lead. If you promote someone from manager to director, you expect that person to start leading the team. But if they've never managed people before, they might be too afraid to admit they need some advice or direction. Don't assume the person will just model the behavior of other leaders. Put in place some proper training.

3. Don't assume existing managers or leaders don't need training. Businesses evolve, and your leadership needs to evolve with it. On-going development is important in order to keep your current leaders at their optimum state of performance for the organization. This goes from the top down.

4. Don't allow for mean leaders. How many times have you known a rude, abrasive or mean leader who got away with it because he or she "got results." Bottom line, this isn't acceptable behavior in the workplace and it sends the wrong message to employees: "We allow our managers to treat you unfairly, but we value you as an employee." It makes no sense. Instead, call mean leaders out for their bad behavior and give them a deadline to change their actions.

5. Stop waiting until you have a vacant leadership role before you identify talent. We recently had a vice president in our organization announce his resignation, which led to a mild panic as to who could fill his shoes. Avoid this in the future by having a succession plan. Identifying future leaders is an on-going process, and it's important for both individual development plans and for building your talent pool.

PCT returns tomorrow with more "do's" and "don'ts" for your success.

Source: Kate Zabriskie is the president of Business Training Works, Inc., a Maryland-based talent development firm. She and her team help businesses establish customer service strategies and train their people to live up to what's promised.