Common Leadership Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Leadership is a burden taken on for the benefit of others. Serving in leadership roles can be a heavy responsibility and mistakes can be easily made. Having served in various educational leadership roles over the past twenty years, I have made my fair share of mistakes. Learning to grow from these obstacles has helped me in becoming a better leader. It has helped me to serve others better and make considerable progress for organizations.

These are a few of the most common failures leaders make that can have a negative impact on others.

1. The failure to communicate effectively:

Communication is the most difficult leadership responsibility in my opinion and one I still struggle with today. Often, leaders who fail to communicate clearly and regularly with their team create confusion, misunderstandings, and frustration. Each poor communication event can affect the organization in a negative manner and hinder progress.

2. Micromanaging being the boss and not the leader:

No staff member likes to be micromanaged and it can unnecessarily stunt the employee’s professional growth. Micromanagement often reduces creativity, productivity, ownership of work, and can demoralize team members.

3. Lack of compassion/empathy:

Leaders who do not show understanding can come across as uncaring and unapproachable. Leaders who demonstrate little to no empathy tend to develop a lack of trust and respect from their members. You have been in their shoes before and know what they must be feeling. Use those understandings to guide them in a way that they do not make the same choices you once did.

4. Lack of delegation:

Delegation is a fine line to walk for leaders. If leaders do not delegate effectively, they tend to become overwhelmed and overworked which decreases efficiency. Another downfall of the failure to delegate prevents team members from developing their skills and taking on more responsibility. Your job as a leader is to find someone's unharnessed skills and create the most efficiency out of your team.

5. Resistance to adaptation:

Leaders who are opposed to change and refuse to adapt to new circumstances can become irrelevant and outdated. Failure to adapt may prevent the organization from keeping up, cause stagnation, and undermine the needs of staff or customers.

Here are some practical actions on how to manage leadership mistakes and encourage the development of your organization. These strategies have assisted me in overcoming and avoiding the numerous pitfalls of leadership decisions.

1. Communication development:

Communication is a continual opportunity for growth that needs refinement continually. Regular communication with your staff or team assists in making sure you are clear and concise with goals, deadlines, and purpose. Leaders need to encourage open communication and allow others to provide constructive feedback. Be willing to hear the hard truth without passing judgement. Some of the most favorable outcomes I have had in leadership came through the sharing of various points of view which improved multiple aspects of the organization.

2. Team trust:

For years I developed the belief to hire professionals and entrust they would conduct themselves as such. Most of the time when a leader takes this approach, they will glean a deeper understanding of the numerous talents their team possesses. Guard against micromanagement by delegating tasks and responsibilities to team members and trusting them to deliver results. Most of the time your team excels and surpasses your expectations. Leaders provide guidance and support when needed, but also give members the latitude to work independently and thrive.

3. Live with empathy and show compassion:

Listening to your team members and striving to understand their perspectives is vital. When team members face challenges show them care and support. Make a point to celebrate other’s successes. This alone can increase morale and lead to a positive working culture. There is much value in the old saying “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

4. Develop and grow your team:

Leaders need to provide opportunities for team members to develop their skills and conquer new challenges. Investing in staff training and development helps each team member to achieve their full potential. How else are you going to grow your organization from within unless you develop those who are invested the most in the company already!

5. Be consistent and fair:

Treat all team members fairly and consistently. Playing favorites will only damage culture and lead to division. Be consistent in your approach to leadership and model the expectations your company wants from all members! A common set of standards needs to be applied to everyone on the team including other leaders!

6. Hold everyone accountable (Including yourself):

We are all in this together, so set clear expectations and hold yourself and your team members accountable for meeting them. Leaders need to learn from previous and current failures, take full responsibility for mistakes, and create a path forward from lessons learned.

7. Maintain flexibility and adaptability:

Without embracing change the leader and team will languish. Leaders must be willing to adapt to new circumstances, ideas, and trends. No matter the business or service your company entails, refusal to adapt will initiate a decline. Stay current with industry tendencies and take proactive steps in anticipating changes in the profession.

8. Use feedback to advance:

Ask and seek feedback from your team members and other stakeholders! Make it a goal to understand how you can improve as a leader. As a point of refinement use this feedback to continuously improve your leadership skills and avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

Overall

Leadership roles regardless of profession carry vital responsibilities to develop others in the organization. Never will you as a leader know it all. By striving to grow yourself amazing things can happen for your team. These strategies have proved to work in my development as a leader. Sometimes you will need to say your part and just step out of the way while other times it will be important for you to step in. In any case, people will look to you, and it is how you choose to react that will impact those around you. Trust your staff and team members, they are vested in the success of the organization and are your most valued asset! Do not be afraid to make mistakes, we all do. Know how to come back from them and grow into the best leader you can be.