Too often technological managers and directors disregard the impact their actions have on their teams. But even when you think they’re not, your employees are watching how you handle certain situations and infer the acceptable way to go forward.

You might think that being senior means you can be late to an all-hands meeting, or that it’s fine for you to quickly check email during a team’s training workshop. Yet each and every one of these are precedents.

I’ve seen it time and time again. A company where everyone knows meetings start at least 5 minutes late (you can guess how punctual management are). Training days and company activities where half the team thinks it’s alright to leave early, because “they have to be somewhere”, or spend every moment checking Twitter. Team leaders that haven’t had a 1-on-1 with a team member for months.

And many more examples, all of which are slowly but surely pulling your company down.

You set an example, make sure that it’s the right example, or be prepared to handle the consequences.