10 common leadership mistakes and how to fix them

Learn what 10 of the most common leadership mistakes are, and more importantly how you can overcome them

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Business News Daily

It isn’t always easy being a leader. You need to manage the different personalities on your team, make difficult choices, and confront issues head on before they grow into major problems. A good leader can spur a team on to greatness, while a bad leader can run it into the ground. 

Here are 10 common mistakes leaders make as well as solutions on how to improve your leadership skills for the betterment of your team and your business.

Leadership mistakes to avoid

Lacking humility

Holding a position of power may be good for your ego, but it’s important you and your employees know you’re not above your shortcomings.

“Leaders must not be afraid to recognize their own failures,” said Joe Chiarello, business broker and owner of multiple Murphy Business & Financial Corporation franchises. “We all fall down at some point, but what really matters is the way we pick ourselves up and learn from our mistakes. This is what helps us grow and makes us stronger.”

When employees recognise that failure is natural, even for leaders, they’ll feel more open-minded and confident.

Avoiding conflict

One of the most difficult adjustments a new leader has to make is learning how to handle disagreements or conflicts that arise. However, proactive conflict resolution is an important role for any leader.

“Managers often veer away from confrontation and try to avoid it at all costs,” said Mark Feldman, founder and CEO of RevenueBase. “But when performance or personality issues go unaddressed, they fester and set an overall tone that minimises the urgency of correcting mistakes. If there is (an) issue, it’s best to address it right away when the situation is fresh.”

Being too friendly

While it is important to have a good relationship with your team, people in a leadership role need to understand the importance of setting clear boundaries. Leaders are more likely to get taken advantage of when they cross the line and become too friendly with their employees.

You should feel amicable with your team and they should be comfortable trusting you, but you should never appear unprofessional or overly casual with them either. Striking this balance can be hard but it’s important for every leader to find that happy medium.

Not offering employee feedback

Another common leadership mistake is avoiding feedback. Open communication is a key element to growth, performance and employee retention. 

Some leaders take a hands-off approach and only offer employee feedback during scheduled performance reviews. This can be a major problem for your employees and the organisation as a whole.

“Create an environment that encourages continuous feedback, and be exact with dates and expected outcomes,” Feldman said.

Taking on unnecessary work

Leaders are typically hired or promoted to their positions because they know what needs to be done and how to do it. This may be accompanied by the mentality of ‘if you want something done right, do it yourself,’ which can be a dangerous attitude to have when managing a team.

Completing or tweaking employees’ work because it’s not to your liking, or not delegating tasks, not only creates more work for you but also hinders your team from reaching its full potential. 

“As leaders, we must push our teams to go beyond the satisfactory,” she added. “It’s different than delegating — it’s challenging your team to take it upon themselves to perform better each time and working alongside them to facilitate the process.”

Not having faith in your abilities

You’ve been assigned to a leadership position because someone else trusts your judgment. If you constantly second-guess yourself, that attitude rubs off on others. Before you know it, that trust is gone. Don’t be afraid to obey your gut instinct.

“While it’s important to listen to others, employees and clients alike, sometimes this can be very dangerous to an innovative startup. If you truly believe in what you are doing, it’s OK to listen only to yourself sometimes. [Be] loyal to your internal compass,” said Moran Zur, founder of SafeBeyond.

Being reactive instead of proactive about automation

Adjusting to tech developments is inevitable in the business world. You have no choice but to confront these changes and determine how it will affect your company.

“Many roles face … being replaced by bots utilizing AI and machine learning,” said Cindy J. Ford, executive vice president of global strategic accounts and alliances at Aptum. “Identify those roles early, then you can begin to train employees on new skills to help them grow through this transformation.”

Failing to define innovation

As a leader, you need to define what innovation looks like to your organisation and what obstacles might impede it, said Ford.

“While innovation needs to be fostered, clear expectations will prevent too much deviation from … activities proven to grow the business,” she added. “Helping your team stay focused on specific innovation initiatives will allow you to test ideas methodically, without spreading innovation efforts so thin they can’t be tested or [aren’t] effective.”

Lacking vision

Without vision, a company will have difficulty progressing. As a leader, you’re responsible for setting expectations and goals for your organisation in addition to holding each member accountable for reaching them.

“A lack of vision will result in unfocused projects, improper resources planning, inaccurate metrics for success, and a lack of buy-in from the rest of the organization,” said Ford. “Leadership has to champion a vision that will align the entire organization, enabling them to effectively work together toward common goals.”

Saying one thing and doing another

As a leader, you serve as a role model for your team. Once you define the guidelines and expectations for your workplace, you should follow them yourself. 

For example, if you want employees to adhere to your dress code or maintain a positive attitude, you need to display those actions. You set the tone for how your team behaves, so lead by example.