Here’s a cheat list from InfoQ, which quotes an article from Hacknot, which was passed to me by a colleague a few days back. I’ve been meaning to post it here but it slipped my mind until I read it again today. It details an eerie similarity to real world scenarios I’ve come across.

• Mistake #0: Assuming the team serves you
• Mistake #1: Isolating yourself from the team
• Mistake #2: Employing hokey motivation techniques
• Mistake #3: Not providing technical direction and context
• Mistake #4: Fulfilling your own needs via the team
• Mistake #5: Focusing on your individual contribution
• Mistake #6: Trying to be technically omniscient
• Mistake #7: Failing to delegate effectively
• Mistake #8: Being ignorant of your own shortcomings
• Mistake #9: Failing to represent the best interests of your team
• Mistake #10: Failing to anticipate
• Mistake #11: Repeat mistakes others have already made
• Mistake #12: Using the project to pursue your own technical interests
• Mistake #13: Not maintaining technical involvement
• Mistake #14: Playing the game rather than focusing on the target
• Mistake #15: Avoiding conflict
• Mistake #16: Putting the project before the people
• Mistake #17: Expecting everyone to think and act like you
• Mistake #18: Failing to demonstrate compassion

If you’re even remotely related to technical leadership, please, do yourself and your team a favour by reading through the article. Be warned, it’s long so make sure you have about 20 minutes to burn (read: do not start if you have work)