The 7 Deadly Sins of Senior Leadership: How Executives Sabotage Their Lives (and Their Bottom Line)
Summary
Erin Pash — drawing on experience as a CEO, therapist and consultant — identifies seven recurring leadership failures that wreck companies and the people who run them. The piece is a blunt, practical checklist highlighting how poor focus, executive boredom, mission-driven overspending, absentee leadership, excessive planning, lack of human connection and misuse of AI undermine performance, morale and profitability.
Pash pairs sharp examples with simple fixes: narrow priorities, trade burnout recovery for real change when bored, insist on profitable cores before chasing mission expansion, show up for your people, favour execution over endless design, lead with human curiosity, and use AI to automate the mundane — not to replace thinking and relationship-building.
Key Points
- The Focus Fiasco: Leaders with too many “top priorities” create paralysis — pick three priorities and stick to them.
- Burnout vs Boredom: Time off treats burnout; boredom needs change — consider moving roles or handing over operations to stay effective.
- Mission Without Margin: Mission-driven innovation without a profitable core risks financial collapse — make the first product work before funding others.
- The Disappearing Act: Cancelling or missing meetings erodes trust and morale — your calendar is a contract; show up.
- Strategy Theater: Excessive planning becomes procrastination — aim for 10% planning, 90% execution and iterate while running.
- The Humanity Deficit: Leaders who ignore people damage engagement — brief, genuine personal check-ins pay huge ROI in motivation and retention.
- The AI Trap: Over-reliance on AI dulls strategic thinking and human connection — automate routine tasks but keep creativity and relationship work human-led.
Context and Relevance
This article matters for senior leaders, board members and HR/people ops because the behaviours Pash describes are common, observable and fixable — yet often tolerated until they cause measurable harm. It ties into wider trends: post-pandemic executive burnout, the rush to adopt AI, and growing emphasis on employee engagement and profitability discipline. For organisations trying to balance innovation with financial sustainability and retention, these seven patterns are practical warning signs to audit immediately.
Why should I read this?
Because it’s short, sharp and annoyingly accurate. If you lead people (or pay the people who do), this piece saves you time by turning messy leadership habits into seven clear, actionable corrections. Read it, spot which sin you’re committing, and actually do one small thing to fix it — none of the fixes require another expensive offsite.
Author style
Punchy and unapologetic. Erin Pash writes from lived experience — CEO leather and therapy chair — so the advice lands with credibility. If you’re a senior leader, this isn’t fluff: it’s a direct nudge to change behaviours that cost you sleep, people and profit. Consider it a quick behavioural audit from someone who’s been on both sides of the problem.