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When you are a leader, you are often held to high expectations, you are consistently under scrutiny, and you set the tone for your company. According to Business News Daily, because a leader’s role is so important, you owe it to yourself and your staff to continually develop your skills as a great leader.
This means being wise enough to recognize your weak points and humble enough to work on correcting them. Here are four common mistakes that leaders at all levels struggle with, according to Business News Daily, and how you can fix them.
Lacking Humility
Holding any position of power can be useful for your ego, but don’t let that position of power create a false sense of security. Your employees must know you’re not above your shortcomings. “Leaders must not be afraid to recognize their own failures,” said Joe Chiarello, owner of two Murphy Business & Financial Corporation franchises. “We all fall down at some point, but what really matters is the way we pick ourselves up and learn from our mistakes. This is what helps us grow and makes us stronger.” Leading by example and having transparency with your team if you do something wrong or make a bad decision can go a long way.
Avoiding conflict
One of the most challenging adjustments a new leader has to make is learning how to handle disagreements or problems that arise within their team. You may want to come off as fair and balanced, but to avoid calling people out for their negative behavior to avoid potential conflict can hurt your whole staff and your culture. When these situations arise, the best thing any leader can do is to nip these negative issues in the bud. This is very important because it can compromise your values and in turn lead to a very toxic culture.
Taking on unnecessary work
Leaders are typically hired or promoted to their positions because they know what needs to be done and how to do it. This may be accompanied by the mentality of “if you want something done right, do it yourself,” which can be a dangerous attitude to have when managing a team. Completing or tweaking your employees’ work because it’s not to your liking — or, similarly, failing to delegate tasks — not only creates more work for you, but also hinders your team from reaching its full potential. “When leaders take on the responsibility of completing a team member’s work, they are actually doing the organization and themselves a disservice, because it erodes trust and it shows a lack of confidence in the team. You are the leader; you have the responsibility to inspire and motivate your team to perform at heights they never imagine; give your team the responsibility for their work while coaching and mentoring along the way.
Not having faith in your abilities
You’ve been entrusted with a leadership position because someone trusts your judgment. Constantly second-guessing yourself can rub off on your team, and before you know it, no one trusts you. Don’t be afraid to obey your gut instinct when it’s right. If you truly believe in what you are doing, it’s OK to listen only to yourself sometimes. (Be) loyal to your internal compass,” said Moran Zur, CEO of SafeBeyond and trust your instincts.
As a leader, it’s your responsibility to set expectations and goals for your organization in addition to holding each member accountable for reaching them. Leadership blunders are inevitable, but those who learn from mistakes experience growth - and those who don’t often fail.
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About Gifford Thomas
I am the founder of Leadership First and the author of The Inspirational Leader, Inspire Your Team To Believe In The Impossible. At Leadership First, we are committed to publishing the very best inspirational leadership quotes and articles to inspire our 136,000+ community of leaders to believe in the impossible, while creating an environment free from toxic, fearful and intimidating leadership. We believe everyone can and should enjoy their work, but it must start with the leadership leading by example. Follow our community of leaders HERE, and let's change the leadership status quo to help inspire and motivate our leaders to make a difference and create an organization their people will love.
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