As a business leader, you already know how important it is for your employees and colleagues to look up to you. Your personal brand is just as important as your company’s brand. Sometimes, leaders can become complacent and fall into bad habits that make people see them differently than they would like. We’ve compiled a list of four things that will make you look unprofessional at work so you can keep an eye on yourself.

Being Late

No matter what the appointment may be, you should always arrive on time. A business professional that can’t keep their appointments or show up on time is not very professional at all. Being late without a proper excuse is saying, in essence, your time is more important than those you are meeting with. This is not a good look for anyone, let alone someone meant to be leading a firm.

Not Taking Care of Your Appearance

As we still live in a world defined by what we observe, your physical appearance is just as important as your leadership skills. If you look like a slob or wear ill-fitting clothing, you’re not showing that you care about yourself or the company. Wear professional attire when necessary, comb or tie up your hair, and groom yourself regularly so you look like the type of person that people can trust and look up to.

Putting Out a Negative Energy

If you are a leader of your business, people look to you when times are both good and bad. However, it’s the bad times that you need to worry about. Radiating a sense of negativity to your peers is one of the worst things that will make you look unprofessional. Make sure to keep a positive mindset if you want people to be happy following you. Keep complaints down and motivation high if you want coworkers to believe in you.

Believing You Are Always Right

No one is perfect and no one is right all the time. Believing that you are infallible is a bad look on anyone, but especially on a business leader. If you never hear out the ideas of your colleagues, you’ll never really grow as a person and your business will stagnate right along with you. Understand that you are human and that it’s okay to ask for help when you need it.