5 Leadership Mistakes Smart Leaders Make And How To Avoid Fails
Even smart leaders make leadership mistakes.
Great leaders want to do their best, inspire people and achieve results. But smart leaders are still prone to leadership mistakes that can detract from their team members' satisfaction as well as the leader's own happiness.
How important is it to get leadership right? Very. Leaders are tremendously stressed today, so considering how to lead better, and make less mistakes is a worthy discussion. It's also important to ensure that leadership is rewarding for the leaders themselves. In addition, leadership is one of the primary reasons people leave an organization, so great leadership is critical to retention as well as people's commitment and contributions.
There are some mistakes that are not only most common, but also the most significant in terms of their effects on people. These are the biggest mistakes to avoid.
The number one mistake leaders make is to fail to be transparent in their communication. According to a survey from Robert Walters, 72% of employees lose faith in leaders because they hold back information or because they fail to explain how and why decisions are made. In addition, 71% of people say they can tell when leaders are insincere or when they fake enthusiasm.
Avoid leadership mistakes by being open with people and sharing information. Even when information is negative or troubling, give people a sense of what's coming. This will positively affect their feelings of empowerment and control as well as their ability to respond.
Of course there will be information that you must keep confidential as a leader, but when you give as much information as you can, or when you're open about the fact that you're not free to share certain points, these behaviors build trust.
In addition, people crave certainty, and you can rarely provide it. But you can provide clarity about what you know, what you're exploring, the principles that will guide decision making and how people can prepare themselves for what's next.
The second biggest mistake leaders make is to be inconsistent in their behavior. Based on the Robert Walters data, 66% of people say they lose respect for a leader when the leader says one thing and does another. And 62% of people say that they feel disengaged when a leader only communicates with them when the leader needs something.
People prefer a bad leader who is consistent over a leader who sometimes good and sometimes poor in an erratic or unpredictable manner, according to a study published by the Academy of Management.
Avoid leadership mistakes by demonstrating consistency.
Avoid leadership mistakes that set you up to fail.
The third biggest mistake leaders make is to fail to be accountable or to follow through. Fully 68% of people in the Robert Walters survey said they left an organization because of empty promises from management. And 44% felt that failure to admit mistakes or take responsibility for their actions had a negative effect on the culture.
Avoid leadership mistakes by following through, following up, keeping commitments and keeping promises. These seem simple, but they are significant in building trust, rapport and satisfaction.
In addition, at the same time you're confident, also be appropriately humble. Research has shown that when you demonstrate humility, you'll build both trust and credibility. Be humble by avoiding the belief that you have all the answers. Admit mistakes, be open when you don't have the expertise you need and regularly ask people for input.
A fourth big mistake that leaders make is to fail to demonstrate concern for employee wellbeing. In fact, 30% of people reported to Robert Walters that this was one of the biggest problems with leaders. And 63% of people said they left an employer because they didn't feel a connection with leadership.
Avoid leadership mistakes by ensuring you're empathetic and that you connect with people and demonstrate that you care. Being empathetic is the right thing to do, but it's also good for business. In fact, empathy is one of the most important leadership skills, and it's correlated with all kinds of positive results from greater innovation and engagement to retention and wellbeing.
As a leader, you're not responsible for people's wellbeing, but you are responsible to create the conditions for wellbeing, from providing a sense of purpose to ensuring a culture of respect, appreciation and growth.
A fifth big mistake leaders make is to micromanage, according to 28% of respondents in the Robert Walters survey. Failing to empower people or failing to provide autonomy, choice or control are mistakes of leadership.
Avoid leadership mistakes by delegating and empowering people. When people have greater autonomy, they are more motivated to contribute. In fact, when they have the power of choice, people develop greater skills and capabilities.
People want to be treated like grown-ups, and leaders build great teams when employees feel they are trusted and empowered to do meaningful work.
Leaders may be making mistakes because they're personally stressed. In fact, 71% of leaders say their stress has increased, and 54% are worried about burning out. Fully 40% have thought about leaving their role in leadership because of their wellbeing. All this is according to data from by DDI.
People may also be avoiding leadership entirely. A survey of 27,000 people ages 18-67 in 34 countries by Rand, reported that 39% of people want to avoid career progression. And 57% would avoid work they perceive will negatively affect their work-life balance.
The issue may be most acute for Gen Zs who reported they may want to avoid leadership. In fact, Gen Z is 1.7 times more likely than other generations to step away from leadership to preserve their wellbeing, based on the DDI data.
You can avoid the biggest leadership mistakes by being self-aware and intentional. No leader is perfect, but when you're able to reflect on your own behaviors and strive to improve, it will mean a lot to the people around you, and contribute to your own wellbeing as well.
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