Three Leadership Mistakes to Avoid

Often when coaching executives, we work through common leadership mistakes to avoid. In this article, I'll share the top three mistakes I note often, especially when working with leaders who are new to their role, or simply less self-aware of how they can come across.

Mistake 1: Being Unable to Delegate Effectively

Although delegation is a well-known leadership principle, many leaders, particularly those who are new to their role, or working with new team members, fail to delegate effectively.

What I mean by effective delegation is that though they may hand down a task to their team members, they either micromanage each step, or list our exactly how they want it done.

This is a problem for two reasons. One, it's not efficient because instead of one person focussed on the job, you now have two or more, people working on it. Two, it's demotivating for those performing the job as they understand that while they must do the job, the lack of trust and space is just too obvious to ignore.

Call to action: If you're doing this, you must stop. Instead take time to build trust in your team. Set clear goals and checkpoints, so that you can step away and allow room for your team to use their creativity. Remember, you hired them for a reason.

Mistake 2: Not Respecting People's Time and Views

By virtue of their titles and grades, leaders have authority. After all, they hold the final verdict on bonus and promotion decisions. While this is a position of power, it's also one of responsibility - to respect people's time.

That said, I note that many times, leaders are unclear about what they want, and when they want it, and therefore constantly move things around, reschedule meetings, alter priorities, add new goals, and so on.

But what they must remember is that individuals dedicate time and energy delivering these outcomes, and when priorities change without sufficient explanation, this erodes the leader's credibility and signals disrespect for others' time and views.

Call to action: While it's all well to train people to be able to say no, if you're in a position of power, be mindful that saying no doesn't always come easy to all. Work with your teams to agree actions, and once these are agreed, allow everyone space and time to get the job done.

Mistake 3: Not Caring About What People Want

By now, we all understand that a team's goals must be aligned. Yet, within that, different team members can want different things. For example, one person might be there for the learning, while another may be working to build their profile with senior stakeholders. Yet others might be there only because they have bills to pay. Many times, leaders get so deeply entrenched in hitting year end results, that they forget that teams are made of individuals who have dreams and aspirations, beyond the team goals, and that to deliver stellar results, it's important to connect individual's aspirations with team goals, or at least recognise them.

When this happens, while the team, and firm, may deliver commendable results, people are left behind, and can no longer relate with the firm's performance. The effects of this are seen in metrics such as internal surveys, attrition figures and wellbeing concerns.

Call to action: If you lead a team, meet the members, and ask what's in it for them, and how you can use your position to help them achieve their goals.

Conclusion

Like all team members, leaders are on a learning journey too, and it's okay to make mistakes. The important thing is to be mindful of the impact you have, reflect on your leadership style, and make improvements along the way. The time you take to understand your team and build a strong sense of purpose and trust, will pay off in the long-term. Goals come and go, but the sense of belonging you build, is what stays. If you like this article, please share this with someone who might find it useful. Let's help close the leadership skills gap.

About Me:

I’m a?senior leader in the financial services industry, with over 26 years of corporate experience, and have held leadership roles in firms such as HSBC, Barclays, and BSkyB. I’m also an accredited coach, published author and global speaker. Click here to contact me for engagements.