Have you committed any of the top ten management mess ups?
We’ve all messed up, haven’t we? Of course. But, when you are a manager, or even an aspiring contagious leader, everything you do, messes or not, rubs off on and impacts all those you lead and then rubs off on their customers and fellow colleagues. Management mess-ups can be big and here are the Top Ten you want to avoid the most:
Act Like Your Title is More Important than your Followers
You might have grand skills, but if you have all those skills that got you that title and no followers, then that makes you skilled and alone, not a leader.
Believe You are so Much Smarter Than All Those You Lead
If you are the smartest person on the team in all areas then you’ve not done a good job in surrounding yourself with team members whose expertise exceeds yours in the areas for which they are responsible.
Stifle Creativity and Initiative
Micromanagement does this at a rapid rate. If you insist they always do it your way your training them how to treat you and training them not to think for themselves.
Ignore Problem Employees
There is a difference between teaching problem employees that to get your attention they need to do well, by spending time with the folks getting it right, and ignoring the problem folks. Ignoring them will likely annoy those you lead who are doing it well and they might decide to go somewhere that problem employees are dealt with and freed up for new possibilities when needed.
Try to Prove the Law of Diminishing Returns Wrong
The longer you work without a vacation or a brain break, the less and less effective you are. This is the law of diminishing returns of productivity and even if you own a super person cape, you are going to need a break, need to rest and recharge and need to have a life. If you don’t have one, consider looking into our conference on Balance: when in heels, in charge, and out of time on March 23rd in Florida.
Assume… anything
We know what happens when you assume things. Not new news. Don’t assume they know what you meant, what you expect, or when you expect even if we all know “when you get a minute” means right freakin’ now!
Letting Stress Lead
Unless the building is on fire, stress is not a welcome site on most teams. If you are stressed all the time, you are letting it lead your world and your behaviors and actions in it. Reduce the stress and/or find a way to effectively deal with it and team members will be most grateful and able to focus on the task at hand.
Listen Less, Talk More
Unless the concept of spray and pray is lost on you and you are unaware of the ratio of ears to mouth that most of us were born with, this one really doesn’t need any more explanation.
Ignore the Internal Kernels of Potential
Those team members that are shining stars make it so easy to develop. It’s the ones who are more subtle and who might have internal kernels of potential that it is important to focus on. What might happen if you developed them into who they could and wanted to be? Anything is possible.
Over Delegate and Under Lead
A boss who is never around, particularly when deadlines are due, and who is always doling out the crummy work that no one wants, will quickly get a reputation for being an absentee boss. Notice the word was boss… not leader.
If you can avoid these top ten management mess ups, you will be well on your way to being an even more effective Contagious Leader. Oh, and one more thought, if you feel you are messing something up, you likely are and if you aren’t sure what it is…ask those you lead and they can tell you.
Stay contagious!
Monica
