In today’s competent business world, it’s the leader who is in charge of the development of the company and the consequences of business decisions. However, even the greatest leaders from time to time make fatal mistakes. How to not to lay an egg in accepting/declining this or that business offer? First of all, learn from the mistakes of others.
Below are the killing mistakes of a company leader that can prevent even the most innovative and up-to-date business organization from success.
#1 Imitating Instead of Creating
Many leaders start with training, and it’s nothing wrong with it. Borrowing the ideas of others, reading the books of famous managers, and attending conferences and seminars are welcomed! The greatest mistake is the complete transfer (without any change!) of a foreign model to your company.
As a leader, you should understand that you can’t achieve success without changing your way of thinking (as well as the way of thinking of your team). First and foremost, the company should understand in which direction it moves and why. Churchill, Jobs, Schwab did not imitate anyone. Would they achieve success by copying the ideas of others?
However, treating oneself a genius, relying exclusively on personal ideas, is also dangerous. Be sure to study the experience of other companies before applying anything to practice. Find the balance.
#2 Doing the Same Things Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results
People call this insanity, and not for nothing. Business is very flexible; it is constantly changing along with the customers and the whole world. Constantly pressing the same button is a big mistake if you want to change something for the better. Nothing stands still. You’re an innovator today, but tomorrow your competitors will outplay you if you do nothing. Such a short-sighted model will destroy any business in the long term.
For example, if the leader always conducts the same meetings with the same rules, his subordinates won’t develop, and their motivation will soon come to naught. Not taking risks and expecting improvements is very tempting, but that’s the wrong way. Being predictable is being weak.
Surprisingly, sometimes even the greatest companies become self-satisfied and self-confident and do not notice the changes in society, ceasing to take risks.
#3 Management Money Badly
Either you manage money wisely, or they control you! In the end, business is money. If you do not know how to spend, do not look into the future and do not treat financial flows consciously, you will lead your company to collapse.
Find advisors, read books about managing cash flows, watch videos and attend seminars – all these won’t make the situation worse. Take action!
#4 Hiring Unqualified Employees
There is nothing more important for a business than hiring outstanding talents. However, it’s not that simple as many hire managers tend to think. Instead of doing in-depth research, they hire B or C employees. Yes, it’s faster, but only the A employees will move your company towards success. The common mistake of bad leaders is that they think about how to find customers, paying no attention to the personnel.
The other side of the coin is parting away with employees who don’t suit your company. The delay in this process is fraught with the loss of a positive climate in the team, cash flows and company image. Being patient is good, but ask yourself, whether you will fire an incompetent person? If yes, why waste time and money?! Do it now!
Hire slowly, fire quickly! Of course, unless you’re sure the employee has no perspective in your company.
#5 Not Investing In Personal Development
It's great when the leader invests extra money in the development of the company, but if he does not self-develop, how can he lead the company?! Even simple reading can be an inspiration to self-development. According to statistics, CEO (on average) reads 4-5 books a month while the average person reads only one!
#6 Working Hard but Against the Business
Such leaders are so overloaded with current task (which indicated bad time-management) that they do not have a minute to look at the business as a whole. The business needs a fresh look, but its leader is too tired, too busy, and sometimes afraid of accepting the fact that something goes wrong.
Bad leaders prefer to continue working and staying busy to changing the situation. But recall Richard Branson who managed to enjoy every day of his life, managing a great corporation! That’s the example of a perfect manager!
#7 Losing Threads of Management
Many leaders believe that if they succeed in getting the manager's position, they can finally breathe peacefully by delegating their duties to the lower manager who will report them on a daily progress.
However, a smart leader will never give up managing his company. As a leader, you should know every corner of your organization and every employee by name! Be aware of all current problems and work on the solutions!
#8 Poor Psychological Climate in the Company
Managing a company is a very subtle matter. No leader can constantly improve the morale of his employees; there will always be conflicts. However, he should do everything possible to prevent all unpleasant situations and manage the emotions of the team.
Aiming exclusively at material results will spoil the psychological climate and reduce the motivation of your employees. Financial incentives do work, but only until a certain point at which a person begins to think about whether he likes to spend 8 hours a day on completing unpleasant tasks in the poor psychological climate.
Re-read the list of mistakes by leaders and do the opposite! Constantly self-improve and don’t let your employees be smarter than you. The worst thing for a leader is losing the respect of his employees, which can happen if they will be superior to their manager by many criteria.
I wish you best of luck in business and management!
Lucy Adams is a blogger and essay writer from Buzzessay.com. She is a generalist interested in a variety of topics, from business and marketing to education and language learning. Kindly supply Lucy with your suggestion and add some value to your website at no cost!