Being an effective business leader or CEO requires a great deal of experience, vision, skill, and even intuition. It’s also very helpful in establishing yourself as a leader if you can minimize mistakes made along the way, and especially avoid making any big ones. However, mistakes don’t simply disappear just because you’re promoted up the chain of command, and when they happen, they affect a whole lot more people because of your position in the company. That makes it very important to be aware of some of the biggest pitfalls of leadership, and to avoid making mistakes that may jeopardize the company, or set it backward rather than keeping it moving in a forward direction.
Emphasizing job title too much
Any business person who gets to the level of Chief Executive Officer will enjoy having a fancy name plate or letterhead on their door, and probably a prime office location to go along with it. But anyone who really understands business, should recognize that these trappings of success do not truly denote the qualities of a great leader. If you should get to this level in your business career, recognize that the title itself means very little, and what really matters is your company’s goals and objectives, and empowering the employees around you to do their very best at moving the company forward.
Trying to handle everything by yourself
There are far too many aspects of business for a single person to manage all of them, and there are way too many people involved in simple business transactions for even a good leader to be aware of and to manage them all. A good business leader learns how to delegate tasks to others as a way of helping other employees to develop and realize their potential. This will also help clear some tasks off your desk, so that you can address the really critical issues which confront the company, and which require your expertise and your personal involvement. In short, learn when to delegate and when to tackle major issues yourself.
Blaming others when things go wrong
Not all leaders are as secure and effective as they should be, and when things go wrong, they have a tendency to blame others, as a means of deflecting attention from themselves. The bottom line is, as a company leader, you are responsible for the actions of employees, and finger-pointing is both unproductive and beneath the dignity of an executive. A really good leader assumes overall responsibility for the business, and when things go wrong, he/she uses them as an opportunity to learn from mistakes. Blaming employees will almost always reduce morale in the company as well as employee productivity.
Worrying about sharing praise with others
It can become very addictive for company leaders to constantly get attention for good performance and achievements of the company. Some leaders don’t handle this very well, and when others make major achievements and contributions to company success, they can become jealous and worry about sharing the spotlight with them. This kind of approach can discourage imagination and initiative among employees, and it runs counter productive to company goals. A really good leader shouldn’t care who gets credit for a major achievement, because it’s all for the betterment of the company.
Not admitting to mistakes
Probably the biggest mistake that any leader can make is not owning up to having made mistakes. Everyone should be accountable for their actions, even those individuals at the top of the food chain, and when you don’t own up to obvious mistakes, you can lose the respect of those around you, and at that point your position will be compromised. The only good way of handling mistakes you make is to immediately own up to them, vow to do whatever it takes to recover from those mistakes, and avoid making them again.
If you’d like to discuss leadership strategies, Business Partner Alliance is here for you. We provide targeted coaching, consulting and business advisory services to help small and medium sized business owners achieve new heights. We put our passion and experience to work to help business people achieve their goals. Let’s meet for coffee to see how we can work together.
Emory Ware