John Eades* says a fancy title on your office door can often be the start of a downward slope to failing leadership and a demotivated team.
You’ve got the title; you’ve got the direct reports; you’ve got the desire to be a leader and not a manager.
Yet, when it comes to getting results, your team keeps falling short.
The voluntary turnover is high, the engagement is low, and you end up doing most of the work (or worse, micro-managing the work) to get the outcomes to look acceptable.
It’s time to stop hoping and start leading.
While each situation is slightly different, managers make some fairly common mistakes when leading their teams.
At the centre of many of these mistakes is the belief that your instincts are enough and leadership should be easy.
Research from Leadership Quarterly found that 24 per cent of our leadership ability is genetics, and 76 per cent is learned or developed.
So, genetics by themselves won’t mould you into the best leader you can be.
Often it requires overcoming simple mistakes through hard work.
Mistakes by themselves aren’t bad; it’s repeated errors that keep us from being the best leader we can be.
Great leaders aren’t afraid to make mistakes, because they always learn from them.
Here are a few common mistakes.
You care more about your title than your people.
Do you remember how it felt when you got that promotion that was accompanied by a fancy title?
Chances are you felt pride, a sense of accomplishment and a bit of excitement.
While there is nothing wrong with having a new title, there is a chance it’s hurting your ability to lead effectively.
Titles are dangerous because they create a distraction from the purpose of leadership — elevating others.
There’s a substantial difference between the title of ‘manager’ and the actions of a leader.
One is vastly more important than the other.
Many of the primary roles of a manager can be automated and replaced by technology.
However, there has never been a more critical time in our history to be a leader.
The only time your title matters is on the first day.
After that, it’s how you use it.
Turn your attention to the primary job of your position and leadership and elevate others.
Constantly remind yourself how to do this by serving others instead of yourself.
You take credit and shift blame.
This is a mistake made by many leaders when jockeying for hierarchical positions.
The best leaders are quick to take the blame when things go wrong, and equally as fast to give credit to their teams when things go right.
As business executive, Jack Welch famously said: “When you were made a leader you weren’t given a crown, you were given the responsibility to bring out the best in others.”
Get in the habit of recognising team members daily for their effort and positive attitude.
You will be amazed at how your team responds when you give credit and take the blame.
You execute without input (or buy-in).
Work is coming at you fast, and you don’t have time to be a moulder of consensus.
There are undoubtedly times when sole decision-making and executing with optimal speed are required.
However, try to avoid superseding your team to save time in these situations.
This kind of mistake is demoralising and causes an immediate reaction of resistance from team members.
Invite experienced team members into the decision-making process.
Provide clear directions and a timeline, and then let them do their job.
You assume you’re an effective communicator.
While most managers assume they are effective communicators, in reality the opposite is true.
They aren’t clear, concise, and conclusive when they communicate, and they struggle to tell stories that inspire.
One word managers use to modify an employee’s behaviour is ‘don’t’.
Not only is it a micro-managing word, it’s demotivating.
Statements that start with ‘don’t’ exudes a manager trying to control, not inspire.
Do your best to remove that word from your communication.
See what I did there? “Do your best to… instead of “Don’t use don’t….”
One inspires you and one is demotivating.
You think you can do it all on your own.
You might be supremely talented, have incredible skills, and work 120 hours a week, but you can’t do everything alone.
It’s time to stop making this mistake and to empower your people.
Don’t isolate yourself.
Australian motivational speaker, Matthew Kelly wrote: “When we isolate ourselves, we don’t cut ourselves off from the problems, we cut ourselves off from the solutions.”
Ask for help from your team or get a professional coach to challenge and support you.
Be the leader, not the hero.
I don’t know anyone who likes making mistakes; but, it requires significant mental energy and effort to keep from repeating them.
A mentor reminded me recently: “A mistake should be your teacher, not your attacker.
A mistake is a lesson, not a loss.
It is a temporary, necessary detour, not a dead end.”
Brush off your mistakes, learn from them, and do your best not to make them again.
*John Eades is the Chief Executive of LearnLoft a leadership development company. He can be contacted at johneades.com.
This article first appeared at johneades.com.
