Anger holds the unenviable position as the #1 leadership sin in my Seven Sins of Leadership series. It has earned this position because of the prevalence of the so-called “hard charger” that all too regularly allows themselves to become killer B’s, i.e. boorish, bellicose and belligerent. You see them in the C-suite, on Wall Street, on the playing fields, and in the hallowed halls of Congress (remember “you lie” Congressman Joe Wilson). I can think of another B word that describes them- babies. Or more appropriately, enfant terrible.

The only other humans that allow themselves such unfettered expression of emotion are babies. They scream their little lungs out when events unfold in undesirable ways. They turn myriad shades of red and act out in every imaginable way. They have to use such emotional displays because they are, quite literally, out of words. In the same way, the bully leader surrenders themselves to their anger as a substitute for intelligent words and thoughtful discourse because, like a screaming baby, it feels good. But unlike a screaming baby, they have a choice.

Anger is a choice. When the bully leader erupts in anger, drops indiscriminate f-bombs, spews spittle and look as though they want to eviscerate someone, they often tell themselves the lie that they are simply emotional hostages, victims of their genealogy or other such gibberish. Ever notice how these involuntary reflexes do not seem to rear their head in the angry leader when their boss is around? Hmm.

Because anger is a choice, the best way to avoid it is to simply choose not to be angry. Yeah, it is that simple. If you are reading this and telling yourself that this is a bit of simplistic drivel, not worthy of the electrons upon which it resides, then I’m willing to bet that you are That Guy or That Woman described above. If you find yourself unable to choose a different path, there is still hope. Find the trigger and do everything in your power to keep your finger off of it.

Most anger can be traced to a triggering event. If you find yourself in a serial pattern of losing it, I assure you there is a trigger or set of triggers which create the tipping point from reasonable person to screaming lunatic. You owe it to yourself to identify the triggers, know when they arise, and do everything in your power to blunt their influence. Make today the day you choose to leave your angry and childish ways behind.

No leader is perfect, but it is perfectly reasonable to expect a reasonable leader.

Okay, so you are probably burned-out on the “seven deadly sins” theme, but I can’t help that they exist as leadership derailers. They include:

1. Anger
2. Pride
3. Paranoia
4. Overused Ambition
5. Unpredictability
6. Myopia
7. Passivity

Interestingly, the first five of these sins involve the presence of negative behaviors, while the last two involve the absence of positive behaviors. I have listed them in this order because the first five tend to bite leaders quickly, while the last two bleed them slowly.

The good news is that they all have a common root cause, stemming from insecurity and an internal belief, deep down, that they do not really belong as a leader. This insecurity simply plays out differently in leaders based on the hard-wiring of their personalities. The fix would appear to be relative simple. Address the root cause and change the behavior. If only.

The problem is that we all tend to revert to type when we are under stress, and stress has never been higher than it is in the productivity/profitability obsessed hyper-competitive global marketplace. But still there is hope.

Stay tuned as I unpack each of these leadership sins and offer advice on how to blunt their influence, based on my experience in the c-suite and years of research as an executive coach. First up- anger.