--- title: How Side Deals with Employees Diminish Your Leadership Presence description: Are you diminishing your leadership presence by making “side deals” with employees? Here are four pieces of advice; two for what you should do, and two for what you shouldn’t do when confronted with making a side deal. image: https://www.advantexe.com/hubfs/presence-leadership.jpg --- [![logo-advantexe-150.png](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-advantexe-150.png?width=150&height=123&name=logo-advantexe-150.png "logo-advantexe-150.png")](https://www.advantexe.com) ![blog-banner-2022](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-banner-2022.png?width=973&name=blog-banner-2022.png "blog-banner-2022") ### The Advantexe Advisor Blog - providing a deep and applicable understanding of the system of business. # How Side Deals with Employees Diminish Your Leadership Presence By Robert Brodo | Feb 19, 2019 8:06:52 AM | [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-side-deals-with-employees-diminish-your-leadership-presence%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on LinkedIn](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/linkedin-24x24.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-side-deals-with-employees-diminish-your-leadership-presence%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-side-deals-with-employees-diminish-your-leadership-presence%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-side-deals-with-employees-diminish-your-leadership-presence%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=How%20Side%20Deals%20with%20Employees%20Diminish%20Your%20Leadership%20Presence) [![Share on Pinterest](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/pinterest-24x24.png)](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-side-deals-with-employees-diminish-your-leadership-presence%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dpinterest&media=) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-side-deals-with-employees-diminish-your-leadership-presence%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-side-deals-with-employees-diminish-your-leadership-presence%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) It happens fast, and it usually sounds very innocent and not such a big deal. One of your employees ![presence-leadership](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/presence-leadership.jpg?width=300&name=presence-leadership.jpg)comes to you and says, “Listen, my girlfriend won a trip to the Caribbean as part of a sales contest and she can bring me along as her guest.  It’s just a long weekend, I would leave Thursday and will definitely be back at work on Tuesday. And I promise, I will check my email while I’m away.”  You think to yourself that this is good worker and while he’s not putting in anything close to a 60-hour work week, he’s diligent and trustworthy and could use a few days off.  You tell him it’s fine and then you do something that you will regret later.  You tell him that he doesn’t have to put the vacation into the system.  You have a couple of what you think are important reasons for telling him this which is in effect literally creating a “side deal” with the employee.  You think to yourself that it’s just easier as you can justify it as a reward, plus you just told another member of your team he couldn’t take any time off because this is an extremely busy time of the year and he is one of those corner-cutters that you will never give any additional benefits of the doubt to so you can’t let it out that other members of the team are being given special consideration. We all know that just about 99.9% of leaders who have more than 3 years of experience have been in this or a similar situation as it’s almost impossible to avoid. While it seems like not such a big issue, it is.  These sorts of small, what you may think of as inconsequential items add up quickly and diminish your [leadership](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/leadership-development-programs-can-create-the-right-point-of-view) presence.  Not only is your team watching but so are other teams and of course your supervisors and managers who are counting on you to do your job effectively. Based on academic research, personal conversations with some of the best leaders in the world, and our own experiences working with more than 100 global organizations, I offer four pieces of advice; two for what you should do, and two for what you shouldn’t do when confronted with similar situations. **What You Should Do** 1. Be Transparent – There is no reason to hide or cover it up. If you want to make a side deal and there is a legitimate reason why, then communicate it so that everyone understands and has a fair chance at the same rules 2. Communicate several times and be consistent for the reasons and facts to all people involved. The delivery of the message and the message are going to be as important as the outcome **What You Shouldn’t Do** 1. Be a leader who has a portfolio of bad, broken, and inconsistent side deals with people. One thing I’ve noticed is that leaders who are side-dealers are typically habitual sider-dealers and end of with 20 different side-deals when managing 10 people. 2. Appear to play favorites with your team. Being a leader in 2019 and beyond means being a manager to all types of different people, functions, and levels of experience.  Nothing is as demotivating to a team than to feel they have a manager who plays favorites. In summary, these are issues that require thought and reflection.  If you are honest with yourself and think that you may be stuck in these types of situations, the only thing you can do is analyze them, assess them, and figure out a path forward of finding solutions before it’s too late. [![why-does-leadership-matter-infographic](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/1153922/cbfef0cf-e318-4874-9de0-2e7fe97a1463.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/1153922/cbfef0cf-e318-4874-9de0-2e7fe97a1463) ![Robert Brodo](https://www.advantexe.com/hubfs/Blogs/rob-brodo-author.png) **About The Author** Robert Brodo is co-founder of Advantexe. He has more than 20 years of training and business simulation experience. [**](https://www.advantexe.com) [**](https://twitter.com/robrodo) [**](https://www.linkedin.com/pub/rob-brodo/0/334/574) COMMENTS ### SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL ### About Advantexe Advantexe is a gold medal winning training and performance improvement organization specializing in the development and delivery of interactive learning journeys using computer-based business simulations as the catalyst for learning and change in the areas of: Business Acumen, Business Leadership, and Strategic Business Selling learning solutions. [ Click here ](https://www.advantexe.com/the-power-of-practice-business-simulations) to learn more ### POSTS BY TOPIC - [Business Acumen (54)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/business-acumen) - [Business Simulation (28)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/business-simulation) - [Business Acumen Skills (25)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/business-acumen-skills) - [Business Strategy (23)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/business-strategy) - [Business Leadership (19)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/business-leadership) - [leadership development (15)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/leadership-development) - [Leadership (5)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/leadership) - [Sales Training (5)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/sales-training) - [Business Simulations (4)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/business-simulations) - [Value Discipline (4)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/value-discipline) - [customer intimacy (4)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/customer-intimacy) - [value proposition (4)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/value-proposition) - [Advanced Business Acumen (3)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/advanced-business-acumen) - [Business acumen tips (3)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/business-acumen-tips) - [product leadership (3)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/product-leadership) - [AI in Learning (2)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/ai-in-learning) - [Artificial Intelligence (2)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/artificial-intelligence) - [Leadership Training (2)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/leadership-training) - [Leading by example (2)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/leading-by-example) - [Psychological Safety (2)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/psychological-safety) - [Talent Development (2)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/talent-development) - [Virtual Learning (2)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/virtual-learning) - [marketing (2)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/marketing) - [Assessment Simulations (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/assessment-simulations) - [Brand Equity (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/brand-equity) - [Business Skills Assessment (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/business-skills-assessment) - [Coaching (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/coaching) - [Critical Thinking (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/critical-thinking) - [Cyber Security (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/cyber-security) - [Economy (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/economy) - [Employee Engagement (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/employee-engagement) - [Finance (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/finance) - [Growth Mindset (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/growth-mindset) - [HR Strategies (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/hr-strategies) - [Negotiations (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/negotiations) - [Social Selling (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/social-selling) - [Stronger Business Acumen (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/stronger-business-acumen) - [Talent Management (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/talent-management) - [Training (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/training) - [Virtual Selling (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/virtual-selling) - [Warren Buffet (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/warren-buffet) - [Workforce Development (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/workforce-development) - [customer service (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/customer-service) - [digital marketing (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/digital-marketing) - [market stability (1)](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/topic/market-stability) [see all](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/how-side-deals-with-employees-diminish-your-leadership-presence#) ### RECENT ARTICLES ### POPULAR ARTICLES Search this site on Google Search Google Advantexe Learning Solutions - The Power of Practice 1001 Conshohocken State Road, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428 6108288707 [Copyright](https://www.smartbugmedia.com/inbound-performance-template) by [Advantexe Learning Solutions](https://www.advantexe.com), 2026. All Rights Reserved ### Recent Posts ![](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/273388/IPT-Files/img/sbm-3ozj5q79luusl8z.gif) ![](https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/viewthroughconversion/934374467/?guid=ON&script=0) ![](https://analytics.twitter.com/i/adsct?txn_id=nxedd&p_id=Twitter&tw_sale_amount=0&tw_order_quantity=0) ![](https://t.co/i/adsct?txn_id=nxedd&p_id=Twitter&tw_sale_amount=0&tw_order_quantity=0) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Robert Brodo", "url" : "https://www.advantexe.com/blog/author/robert-brodo" }, "dateModified" : "2019-02-19T13:06:52.896Z", "datePublished" : "2019-02-19T13:06:52.000Z", "headline" : "How Side Deals with Employees Diminish Your Leadership Presence", "image" : [ "https://www.advantexe.com/hubfs/presence-leadership.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.advantexe.com/blog/how-side-deals-with-employees-diminish-your-leadership-presence", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.advantexe.com/hubfs/logo-advantexe-150.png" }, "name" : "Advantexe" } } ```