Leadership skills can come naturally to some, but all too often people in positions of leadership have been promoted to this level due to time in the field rather than modeling great managerial traits. We believe that excellence in the office starts with excellent managers who lead from the fore, and so in an effort to highlight the need to recharge and revolutionize business teams across the country we have compiled a list of the most common habits that result in ineffective management. Read on to see if you identify with any of these eight trademark habits and make the change to model great leadership in your team today.
- Talk to the hand
One of the greatest downfalls of a senior leadership team is to create an inward focused, exclusive bubble that is unapproachable. Last minute communications leave your workforce stressed and can lead to lack of clarity and under performance. Yes of course there are certain topics and agendas that are not for discussion outside of the boardroom, but maintaining an air of aloofness and detaching yourself from your team is a recipe for disaster as it promotes unhealthy competition and bitter attitudes within your department. Effective managers communicate clearly and regularly to gain respect and build relationship thus forging a strong united team.
- Birds of a feather flock together
In any office there are natural friendship groups that form, and whilst this in itself is not wrong, it is something that managers should steer well clear of. Team leaders that have been employed in a business for many years often find themselves torn between maintaining existing friendships and transitioning into good leadership. A manager who spends all their time with other managers or shows favoritism by spending more time with those they naturally gravitate towards will miss the potential and excellence that others can offer, therefore it is vital to foster good working relationships with all members of your team.
This is such a common habit for new leaders who feel the need to make their authority known within the workplace. Again, recently promoted managers who have worked their way up the ladder may believe that they need to change tack in order to establish their transition from team member to team leader. New managers from outside the workplace who are coming in to a challenging environment may try to exert unreasonable expectations and demands on their staff to turn it around too quickly. Both angles are damaging and detrimental to the overall atmosphere and productivity within a team.
- Public put downs = private pain
Discipline is a necessary part of any leadership role and how it is carried out has a huge effect on its outworking in both the individual and the wider team. Public putdowns are not only hugely embarrassing for the employee in question, but they also make the rest of the office extremely uncomfortable. A strong stance should be taken on gross misconduct or negligence but this must always be done behind closed doors, and a good manager should deal with any minor niggles privately in order to garner respect from the whole team.
- Making up the numbers
The loss of a team member due to promotion or transfer is felt by those who are left to pick up the pieces, and this can result in the common mistake of hiring the wrong person just to get some in post to fill the position. Ineffective managers will rush into employing an under qualified or unsuitable individual and simply expect the wider team to make up the shortfall while trying to train the poor unsuspecting employee, leaving everyone feeling frustrated and burned out.
- Resting on your laurels
With great responsibility come great power and usually some great perks to boot. Ineffective managers wrongly believe they have ‘made it’ and revel in the benefits of a large salary, large office and administrative assistant just a little too much. While managers undoubtedly deserve the coveted company car and inclusion in the elite conversations with people of power, they would do well to remember that they were once a humble employee too and that they have flaws and failing just like anyone else. Don’t rest on your laurels, commit to continued learning, team development and remain humble when building solid working relationships with employees.
- Bad credit
As the saying goes, we should give credit where credit is due, but all too often managers are far too quick to take the credit for great performance when they have done little work on the frontline. A manager who does not publicly recognize the fact that team members have gone the extra mile to win a contract or provide a great service will lose respect from the whole department and create a reluctant working atmosphere.
- Control freak
Managers are elevated to this position because they have proved their knowledge and experience in their field. However ineffective managers will believe that their own opinion and decision is all that counts and will refuse to delegate even the smallest task to their team. This creates a culture of disillusionment and discourages team members from making valid contributions as they fear managerial dictatorship. A manager’s reluctance to develop the team in case they exceed expectations or excel further than they shows immaturity as the team success can only reflect well on the team leader.
