Published by Scott Neilson on 26 Feb 2010 at 09:53 am
Would like to hear your thoughts…
I have been getting a lot of questions from seminar participants about what I think are the most common mistakes that leaders make. I certainly have an opinion on this, but I would like to be able to give a response which captures the thoughts and ideas of many leaders.
Please take a moment to send me your thoughts. I will compile the data and do a post on it.
Thanks.
kathy holtzer on 26 Feb 2010 at 11:03 am #
Hi Scott
In an effort to keep my thoughts succinct; transparancy and an ‘open door’ policy is very important for great leadership.
An atmosphere of fear and consequences to transparancy will ultimately come ‘full circle’.
Kathy
Jeff on 26 Feb 2010 at 11:55 am #
Hi Scott,
I think one of the biggest mistakes is that leaders sometimes forget that leadership is a privilege and the role is to be of service. Leaders lead. They do it from the front by word and more importantly by deed. They can forget that the staff listens and pays attention to everything.
Daniel Chapple on 26 Feb 2010 at 2:02 pm #
Hi Scott. Thanks for asking! Biggest mistake that I see leaders make is not providing a compelling and robust vision that is achievable & can be passed down the organization. I personally think a vision can make or break a company. A good vision is a sign of a good leader and although not often at the top of the list of things to do, it probably should be… I strongly believe in setting out my vision when working with a team, even when not working at the CEO level.
BR, Daniel
John Nilon on 26 Feb 2010 at 3:01 pm #
From a recruiters perspective, we encounter leaders who often hire people who are similar to themselves. Depending on the leaders style, this can have an array of consequences. As a search firm, we try to challenge leaders to recognize their tendencies and habits by interviewing them about their business issues, not their perceptions about the individual who in their view can solve them.
From the other angle, those that we recruit often cite reasons why they struggle with their leaders. Here are a few:
1. Poorly set or constantly shifting expectations and targets.
2. Unrealistic expectations.
3. Unwillingness to listen to and/or consider alternate views.
4. Unwillingness to be introspective and accept critique/guidance from their team.
5. Lack of systems/processes/feedback mechanisms with which people can use to measure themselves.
6. Often, people just don’t feel appreciated.
Of course, depending on the circumstance, responsibility for the issues listed above can rest in the hands of the leader, or in the individual voicing the concern.
Dot Olonovich on 26 Feb 2010 at 5:51 pm #
Scott – Good question. We spoke quite a bit about leadership failure in my leadership class at Lehigh. It seems to me that hubris is the most fatal flaw for the organization and for the leader. A leader with hubris has excessive confidence in his own abilities and shuts out meaningful input in an effort to get his way. Of course, there are many variations of this scenario, but it’s as if the leader drank his own KoolAid as he was out there pounding the pavement, promoting himself and his organization, and now he thinks that success is a certainty. He doesn’t even try to circumvent problems, believing that the problems really aren’t a problem _for him_.
On the other hand, organizations that are suffering from hubris have usually experienced a success, thereby creating a Kodak moment. From that point on, whenever someone tries to improve something he’ll hear, “Oh, no, we don’t do it THAT way. We do it our way. That’s why we’re successful.” Instead of realizing that success comes from strategic action and hard work, the people rely on traditions and live as though perpetual success is a guarantee if they just keep doing things the way they did when they hit the top of their game. The employees stop thinking for themselves, the managers fail to see the internal and external changes, they don’t adapt, and inevitably the entire company will come to the brink of calamity before anyone is willing to admit that they may have an issue.
The leadership problem related to working in an organization with hubris is in buying into the idea that it’s desirable to guard the status quo. If a piece of your organization isn’t functioning properly, it’s important to pursue the root causes and make improvements. Change can be uncomfortable because it’s unfamiliar, but you must be willing to work through it and not be pressured into conformity when conformity is not the right choice.
Chip Gruver on 27 Feb 2010 at 10:35 am #
Scott,
Speaking from the perspective of a very small organization I find it most difficult to resist my impulsive nature to make quick changes. Wearing many hats can create a “on the fly” type of management style. Your article helped me reflect on my management style and recognize the importance of process. While the ability to make quick decisions allows our organization to respond to challenges, I have certainly see the consequences of those actions at times.
Chip
Fran Grote on 27 Feb 2010 at 8:37 pm #
Hi Scott,
From my perspective the most critical mistake leaders can make is to depend too heavily on data and not enough on intuition when making game-changing decisions. Obviously a factual foundation is necessary for any significant decision, but a leader should be prepared to move forward in the face of moderate uncertainty. The alternative is missed opportunity.
Fran
Mike Butler on 28 Feb 2010 at 10:26 pm #
No particular order, stated as important so the answer to your question is in poor execution or omission
1. Create a roadmap
2. Engage emotionally, motivate
3. Let people know how they’re doing, regularly, articulate simply and consistently
4. Measure input and output
Thanks for asking, hope all is well