Leadership is all about ensuring that employees under your charge are taken care of and that the system is running smoothly. Being a leader or manager is a challenging job. There is a host of responsibilities that they are accountable for. Typically, their obligations include handling workplace issues while also maintaining peace among the employees, and they are expected to set a good example as well.
Leaders or anyone in a managerial position is held on a high pedestal; employees and clients alike expect them to talk and behave a certain way. Admittedly, when all those expectations, responsibilities, and pressure are on their shoulders, they typically make many mistakes, which is highly disruptive for the organization itself.
Regardless, no one is perfect, and everyone is bound to make mistakes every once in a while. If you have recently come into a managerial position or leadership role, you should be aware of the top 7 common leadership and management mistakes. You can avoid these errors and become an excellent manager/leader with this relevant information.
7 Common Leadership and Management Mistakes
Learning how to manage and lead properly is increasingly complex; it doesn't come with its own guidebook or manual. Indeed, being a person in an important position is often something most people look forward to.
However, they don't expect the complicated obligations they are thrown into, which is why most people often have a hard time adjusting to their roles.
Not Distributing and Assigning the Work Properly
Bringing a leader doesn't mean you have to do everything yourself. Most leaders and managers prefer to distribute the work and assign it properly because they are busy handling it themselves.
Your team won’t be able to grow if it keeps depending on the high authorities to complete its work regularly. If you have a team that you think may fail at a particular task or project, then you should teach them and support them.
Not Providing Feedback
You should give them direct feedback when your team isn't performing up to par. If you expect them to get better with time, they will likely keep repeating those mistakes. Feedback allows the employees to get better at their tasks without further failure.
While addressing the faults and errors, you have to ensure that there is no room for miscommunication. When the higher authorities critique an employee's work, it may often come off as condescending or rude. Therefore, ensure that your tone and style are gentle and accommodating so that the truth about their performance is the main focus.
Avoiding Conflicts and Confrontations
This is often the most common mistake that leaders and managers make. They think the problems will disappear on their own by avoiding confrontation and conflicts. While it is understandable for people in newly appointed positions to have a hard time separating themselves from the colleagues they used to work with, they should still make active efforts to address the issues. It is crucial to get to the root of the problem before it gets severe enough to cause damage.
Managers and other leadership roles often steer clear of conflicts and confrontations, which causes the existing issues to get serious. You should still bring attention to the issue if a problem is insignificant. If you don't press on the matter, it will likely keep happening, and it may even get words.
Recruiting Hurriedly
This is often the case when someone new comes into the managerial or leadership position. They assume that recruiting new people is the best way to establish their authority. When someone hurriedly recruits new employees, there is a higher risk of poor management.
Whatever decision you make in haste will likely not bear the fruitarian you desire because insufficient information and analysis would be integrated into the hiring process.
This is to say that the manager typically conducts a background check, a requirement overview, and other methods to ensure that they only hire excellent employees who will be great addition to the company.
However, if you hurriedly employ people, you won’t have the time to conduct all these essential tests. Plus, there may be the risk of danger as well because they may have a sketchy background or, worse, a criminal one.
Not Interpreting Your Role Correctly
When someone doesn't interpret their role correctly, they can take on other duties that don't fall under their job description. For instance, when someone is too friendly, they will likely get tasked with many additional responsibilities.
However, this can also mean that you have yet to understand the exact designation of your job. It is natural to feel overwhelmed by sudden shifts in power. Therefore, you should take your time to read the guidelines and adjust to your role at your own pace; take your time with it, or else you may interpret it wrong.
Choosing Flattery over Honesty
Being friendly, approachable, and inviting to your team and colleagues is important. You should work to ensure that your employees don't hesitate when they have a problem.
However, there is a fine line between friendliness and flattery. If you start flattering people to ensure comfort, they will likely stop taking you seriously. Additionally, most people appreciate the honest approach more than they like the false compliments.
If you truly want to see growth in your team, you have to be honest with them while giving feedback. Pro tip: try to be gentle with your honest approach when you are directly addressing an issue.
Not Representing The Company’s Values Yourself
When you preach to the employees under your charge about the company’s values, you should have your actions supporting those words. If you don’t represent the company’s values, your surrounding people won't take you seriously.
As a leader/manager, it is your duty to embody the rules and values of the company better than anyone else in the company. And while it is difficult to represent all the rules perfectly, you need to understand that you influence the culture and practices of the organization.
When you have that power, you are also accountable for their lack of respect because you should be instilling those values within them through your actions.
Final Thoughts
Leadership and managerial positions are not for the faint of heart. They come with their own set of obstacles and expectations; in fact, the person is often laden with multiple responsibilities at once. To avoid any mistakes and errors on your part, you should remember to note down these mistakes and avoid them at all costs.
Consult our experts at Mitch Malone to get the most reliable guidance if you still have inquiries. Contact us today!