Avoid These 5 Critical Mistakes All Leaders Make Mistakes are unpleasant and can be embarrassing. If acknowledged and dealt with in a timely manner, they can become a good source of learning and experience.
By Daria Leshchenko Edited by Micah Zimmerman
Key Takeaways
- When stumbling upon a mistake, don't get frightened or depressed. To err is human. Remember to keep calm and be a good leader for your team.
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Mistakes are unpleasant and can be embarrassing. If acknowledged and dealt with in a timely manner, they can become a good source of learning and experience. What are the most common leadership mistakes, and how can one correct them almost on the spot?
1. Being too stingy with feedback
Not providing proper feedback and leaving a team guessing is one of the most common mistakes a team leader can make, especially at the beginning of their path when they lack experience and understanding of what they should be doing.
Providing a team with timely, efficient and regular feedback is a hefty task for a leader. It requires a lot of time, effort and special knowledge. However, I cannot empathize the importance of proper feedback enough. Without it, a team cannot know what direction it should move in and what achievements it should strive for.
Solution: Taking every opportunity to get feedback from a team can serve as a good example of what its members expect of their leader. This is not only a good opportunity to learn but also a good team-building technique.
Related: Concerned About a Coworker's Burnout? Here's How to Approach the Topic Safely and Tactfully
2. Being a tech slowpoke
Constant changes in the world call for constant business changes. This is especially true for the tech industry, where constant and continuous changes are a must.
Leaders who refuse to innovate only hurt the productivity and potential of their teams. There is no escaping the progress, so it is better to go along with it or even be ahead of it as much as possible.
Solution: Keep on learning. For every professional, it is important to know their industry of operation inside and out. Continuous and non-stop development allows professionals to understand every detail and see innovations' big role in any business' success. It also allows them to understand which update to implement into their processes to remain efficient.
3. Being everyone's friend
Being a manager should not be viewed as a battle. But it is not a walk in a park with your friends either. That is a mistake I admit having made at the beginning of my career.
When I was first appointed a manager of a customer support team, I tried to remain friends with everyone on my team because we had been friends before my promotion. Keeping our relationship friendly seemed logical to me. But soon, I realized they didn't take me seriously, they didn't respect my ideas or want to take the approaches I suggested. The team started to lose its effectiveness. As a result, I had to fire everyone and start from scratch.
Harsh? Yes.
Necessary? Of course.
Solution: Remember that you are first and foremost a leader, manager and not everyone's friend. Retain a friendly attitude and be approachable, but don't overdo it with familiarity. Here, it is all about balance.
Related: Do You Make Your Coworkers Feel Uncomfortable? Fix These 6 Behaviors Before It's Too Late.
4. Doing it all yourself
Refusing to delegate and doing every little task yourself is tempting. Believe me, I've been there.
On the one hand, it allows leaders to be sure that enough attention will be paid to every little detail and that everything will be done as it should be and on time.
On the other hand, this is a one-way road to complete burnout.
It is important to recognize and correct this mistake on time. When the sheer number of daily tasks becomes unbearable, it is time to start delegating.
For example, no matter how much I want to stay connected and close with all members of the SupportYourApp team, it is not available for me because we have over 1200 people on our team. Instead, I delegate team-related tasks to other managers and team leads. This ensures my mental well-being and allows everyone to get as much attention from their teammates and managers as they need.
Solution: Expand your team with the people who share your vision and approach to team communication. Ensure you all know where you are going and what needs to be done to achieve your common business goals. Establish constant communication and keep everyone updated to stay on the course.
5. Keeping your cards too close to your chest
The entire team needs to know where they are going. I am saying this with certainty because this is exactly what saved SupportYourApp at the beginning of the Russian invasion. Had I kept all company changes, policies and information to myself, we would not have been able to withstand the crisis that had hit us.
This is true for any situation — a leader who plays their cards close to their chest and doesn't share anything with their team only damages their credibility and trust.
Solution: Together with delegation, include your team in brainstorming and share every bit of information they need to keep on being productive. Do not overdo it; know what can be shared and when.
When stumbling upon a mistake, don't get frightened or depressed. To err is human. Remember to keep calm and be a good leader for your team.
