5 Warning Signs That You May Be Failing as a Leader

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The best leaders I have witnessed over the years are committed to understanding how to meet the needs of diverse employees from every background.

They have a keen sense of the things they need to avoid doing to keep leading at a high level. As you will recall in my last article, I highlighted seven common mistakes leaders make that will disengage their employees and, well, just suck the life out of them. Here, I'm expanding on five more mistakes to avoid. These "mistakes" have been captured in 360-degree surveys, personal interviews with hundreds of employees and leaders, and from the literature.

1. Squashing the talents and strengths of team members and employees.

Not recognizing people's unique strengths and talents beyond a job description, and how that translates to high performance, is certainly an engagement killer. Truth is, people love and want to use their unique gifts. The best leaders will leverage close relationships with employees by finding out what their strengths are and bringing out the best in their employees.

2. Hoarding information

Here is the real reason people holding positions of power hoard and withhold information: It's about control. And control is one of the most effective ways to kill trust. A leader hoarding information to control his environment and the people in it cannot be trusted. The reverse of this is a leader who acts responsibly by sharing information and being transparent with his or her team.

3. Micromanaging

I briefly covered this previously in the last article. Micromanagers operate this way because, again, it's about power, and power is about control; don't let micromanagers fool you by making you believe that it's to keep from things going south, or because they want to ensure things are done "the right way" because they're the "experts."

In micromanaged environments, I have found people reporting an absence in:

• The expression of creativity or free flow of ideas
• Open and transparent group discussion or input into a decision
• Team motivation and collaboration
• Psychological and emotional safety

Granted, micromanagers are human like all of us and hard-working professionals with mostly good intentions. What they lack is the conscious day-to-day understanding of what it takes to inspire people intrinsically to go above and beyond. They live in another paradigm altogether. 

4. Getting the last word

A manager who feels the need to always be right and has to have the final say on all decisions is a person exhibiting low emotional intelligence.

When a manager doesn't solicit the opinions of others (especially during times of crisis and uncertainty because let's face it, change is often scary), trust erodes and morale goes in the tank.

When a manager doesn't lay out a vision and listen to the collective voice of the team in pursuing the vision, chances are team members will not feel cared for, respected, or valued.

As a result, team members will become increasingly passive and resentfully compliant.

5. Not making themselves available

Some (but not all) meetings are important and necessary. We all get that. But when those in leadership roles are booking unnecessary meetings while spending less one-on-one time with team members, they are sending a message that they don't care about them.

To avoid your schedule becoming a reflection of your selfish priorities in the eyes of employees, create margin and build in time. In a previous article, I demonstrated how a simple and well-crafted one-on-one meeting, 10-15 minutes at the most, will deliver you results.

Additionally, you may consider blocking off time for team members to drop by and ask questions, address concerns, get mentored, and just "check-in."

Coaching moment: What do you need to do--or stop doing--to get out of these patterns that may be affecting your team's morale and productivity?

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[Listen/subscribe: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Download]

On episode 95 of the Love in Action podcast, I sat down with Mark Brouker, a retired captain from the US Navy, to discuss his most recent book, Lessons From the Navy: How to Earn Trust, Lead Teams, and Achieve Organizational Excellence.

Highlights from our conversation:

• After discovering inconsistencies in his motivation for work, Capt. Brouker discovered that the cause was not the job itself, but his boss.
• The best leaders get to know their people as human beings first and employees second, build trust within their organizations and treat their people with respect, which is one of the most important behaviors a leader can convey to his or her team members.
• “Cultures of fear breed bad decisions,” Capt. Brouker states.
• The primary job of a CEO is to create a culture of care. When leaders understand that, they are more likely to pay extra care to the way they interact with their people.
• Walking around inquiring about people’s well-being and being visible are important keys to establishing good relationships as leaders, as opposed to only making your presence known to inspect things.

Listen/subscribe: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Stitcher | Download 

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• If You Can Honestly Say Yes to Any of These 6 Questions, You May Be a Toxic Boss [read article]
• Why Do People Leave Their Jobs, Exactly? The Entire Reason Can Be Summed Up in a Few Sentences [read article]
• 5 Classic Books Warren Buffett Personally Recommends You Should Read [read article]

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Book Recommendation: Coming June 22, 2021 is a new book release that I'm excited to share. Sabrina Horn, an award-winning CEO and public relations expert has written Make It, Don't Fake It. Want a sneak peek? Read a sample chapter. 

The future of work after COVID-19: This report on the future of work after COVID-19 is the first of three McKinsey Global Institute reports that examine aspects of the postpandemic economy. [Full report: MGI]

Monster's Future of Work Survey: Monster Worldwide's global Future of Work survey found that, although the hiring outlook for 2021 is bright, there are still some struggles ahead, including work-from-home productivity, the impact of a year of isolation on workers' mental health and well-being, and workplace safety. [Full story: Inc.]

Being Burned Out: The first in a six-part Big Idea series on Harvard Business Review that targets "The Burnout Crisis," Jennifer Moss, a workplace expert and award-winning journalist, examines the real causes of burnout and offers a strategy to beat it. [Full Story: HBR]

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Don't Forget!

The ‘From Boss to Leader’ virtual course is an experiential journey developed to help leaders acquire real-life skills and competencies to improve and sustain their leadership performance. It is available as a nine-week or sixteen-week immersion.

Want to grow and succeed as a leader? Text me at (423) 509-8415 with the words "Interested in the course." (Serious inquiries only)

At your service,

Marcel

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About Marcel Schwantes

Marcel Schwantes is a speaker, executive coach, leadership advisor, podcast host, and syndicated columnist with a global following. His work has been featured in Inc., Business Insider, Fast Company, The New York Daily News, CNBC, Forbes, and others. Marcel trains leaders worldwide through his signature course, "From Boss to Leader." He speaks on the human side of work, and how cultures of care, connection, and people-empowerment power companies to outperform the competition.