A guest post by Han Ross.
The option to make silly mistakes are very limited when you are sitting at the very top. You are looked at for guidance and inspiration. You are viewed as a beacon of light that can show others a path to follow. This is why huge enterprises undertake hard deliberations before posting someone at a management position. You are supposed to be active and alert when working as a manager. You are not only a manager but also a leader who follows from the front.
It is true that you either succeed or learn something. It means that you learn from your mistakes. But, it is always better not to make mistakes in the first place. With caution and strategy, you can easily avoid them.
You are confined with multiple responsibilities when you become a leader. Not only your firm but your team also relies on you. Therefore, you should be ready to review every situation and avoid problems wherever possible. What you need to do is recognize the weak points in your system, design a strategy, and then take appropriate steps to correct them.
In this article, we have pointed out top ten mistakes that leaders and managers usually make. Keeping these in mind, you can easily better the overall efficiency and productivity of your team.
Not recognizing your biggest asset
The biggest asset and the most powerful tool of any leader is his team. There is no denying the fact that making profits is the end cause behind any corporate setup and also that keeping your clients happy is central to success. But, keeping your team happy is equally essential as well. Never put policies or timely profits ahead of your team. Take good care of your team and they will do wonders for you. In a case contrary, the turnout ratios will be high and you won’t be able to hold onto brilliant talents coming your way.
Not recognizing the strengths of your team
Nature has blessed each being with a brilliant mind. Everyone has got strengths that not many others can boast. Your duty, as a manager, is to explore those hidden potentials in your team and bring them to use. You should know who is on your team and what they are good at. Unless you know this, you will be delegating right jobs to wrong persons.
Lack of planning
Each department in every corporate firm has certain goals that they need to fulfill. Goals, however, are mere dreams unless a proper framework is designed for their achievement. It is the duty of a manager to convey both goals and the timeframe within which these are to be met. Only then you will be able to make calculated progress.
Not reviewing a project’s progress
When work is under way by any member of your team, you should ensure its active supervision. You can either do it yourself or assign the task to some other senior member of your team. Don’t wash your hands of the activity going on under leadership. You wouldn’t want the output to be something different from what the client demanded. This is delegation.
Absence of regular feedback
Communication is extremely important when it comes to running a successful team. Therefore, you should actively provide regular feedback to your workers. Talk to them about their performances. Openly award the best performers, whereas address the underperformers in solitude. Point out for them the areas they need to improve.
Doing it yourself
There are projects where managers don’t want any mistakes. So, they take the task onto themselves. This is a good thing but if you start doing it more often then you won’t be able to perform at the best levels, yourself. This is because it can easily lead to workload and ultimately result in stress. So, delegate your work more often than not.
Always cutting the slack
Being friendly and comforting to your team is a good thing but doing this at the expense of performance and productivity is a bad option. So, you shouldn’t be too friendly to your team. Never let yourself being taken for granted. The environment of your office should be relaxed and welcoming, where people are working in good mood but it shouldn’t be too easy going. Otherwise, your employees will get relaxed which will ultimately affect your team’s performance.
Swift recruitment policies
Another task which managers are, at times, required to undertake is recruiting. You should always avoid swift recruitment policies. Take your time while hiring someone. You wouldn’t want to welcome someone who isn’t competent enough to be a part of your workforce. So don’t hurry in anything. Let the applicants pass through various assessment hurdles before getting a final spot in your team. This will improve the importance of their job and they will be ready to give their maximum to keep it.
No off-the-work engagements
We have already mentioned that knowing your team is always a good idea. Therefore, you should look for opportunities where you get to know your team in a better way. For instance, organize dinners, get together and other similar events to increase the bonding with your team. This will make your workers get comfortable with you and the communication will also improve. This will lead to elevated efficiency and increased outputs.
Favoritism
As an individual, you might get along with some in a better way compared to the rest. But, as a leader, you ought to be more open. Stay neutral and treat everyone equally. It is a bad idea to show soft corners to some workers while keeping it stern to others. This might lead to hatred in some of your employees and your team will slowly start breaking. Ultimately, the working capacity of your team will hit the lowest. So you should be fair to everyone in treatments.
These are the certain mistakes that managers and leaders often make while at work. By avoiding these, you can build lasting relations with your team, thus ensuring high standards of work outputs.
Author: Han Ross is certified academic consultant currently working with assignment hub where she mentors students who ask her ”do my assignment”. She is also a prominent blogger and has been featured regularly in various business and marketing blogs.
