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Tag: mistakes

5 Mistakes good leaders should avoid

Steve Cartwright, in this article on Web Design, points out the five common mistakes made by leaders:

  1. Focusing on tasks rather than reaching the ultimate goal. You can’t lead others if you don’t know what you’re striving for, so be sure you’re clear and focused on the vision rather than the small tasks of the job.
  2. Checking up on employees rather than engaging them. Make it a point to get to know your team members: it’s important to get your vision across, and you can’t do that if you merely check in once in a while.
  3. Don’t stick to your own leadership style. You can learn from other leaders in history and in your business, but don’t mimic them when it comes to your leadership style: find your own way and stick to it!
  4. Resist change. Many leaders tend to do what they’ve always done in terms of leading. If you want your business or team to prosper and grow, take some time to expose yourself to new ideas.
  5. Hire people too fast to fill a slot. True leaders take their time when hiring and make sure they can complete the work and grow along with the company or team.

Leadership

Image source: Flickr nist6dh  (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The most common mistakes to avoid at work

In one of his articles, Dan Shawbel explains which are the most common mistakes to avoid on your workplace. As is well known, even the brightest rising stars can find themselves falling more rapidly than they could imagine, and all because of some mistakes which could be easily avoided. Here you can find the most common ones:

1. Being too political;

2. Multi-tasking too much;

3. Complaining about work;

4. Making promises you can’t keep;

5. Pretending you’re in charge when you’re not;

6. Focusing all your attention on your job;

7. Not being opportunistic;

8. Not learning from your mistakes.

You can read the full article here.

Carl Walks Closer to the "Falling Down" House

Image source: Flickr.com – Judy Baxter

Five reasons to celebrate mistakes

In this article, Alexander Kjerulf explains a simple but revolutionary idea: mistakes at work have to be celebrated. By taking inspirations by Peter Drucker, the famous management consultant who suggested that those who always do everything right should be fired, Kjerulf identifies five good reasons why mistakes should be acknowledged and celebrated, rather than stygmatized.

1. When you celebrate mistakes, you learn more from the mistakes you make

2. You don’t have to waste your time on CYB (covering your back)

3. When mistakes are celebrated, you strengthen creativity and innovation

4. Failure often opens new doors

5. When you celebrate mistakes, you make fewer mistakes

Mistakes

Image source: Flickr – rchris7702 (CC BY 2.0)

To lead or not to lead?

There is a vast literature on successful leadership and the right skills to be a leader, but what makes a poor leader?

In an article by Bernard Marr on the World Economic Forum Blog, the author has identified the eight signs a person might not be ready for a leadership position:

  1. Lack of empathy;
  2. Fear of change;
  3. Too willing to compromise;
  4. Too bossy;
  5. Wishy – washy;
  6. Poor judge of character;
  7. Out of balance;
  8. Lack of humility.

Read the full article here.

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Image source: Flickr – Riley and Amos (CC BY 2.0)

Four Behaviors You Never Want To See In A Leader

Defining the skills and competencies which make an effective leader is difficult.

Nonetheless, there are behaviors a leader should avoid as they do not create value for people.

Jeff Boss, consultant at the McChrystal Group, lists four of them:

1. Complaining

2. Emotional volatility

3. Playing nice

4. Micromanagement

Read the full article here.

red-no-signal

Image source: www.freedomainpictures.net – http://bit.ly/PIzr1I – Image by Piotr Siedlecki

5 Benefits of Admitting You Are Wrong

Throughout life, we gather a bunch of unwritten rules, subconsciously accepting them as true. One I see all the time is the idea that leaders must always have the right answer and never admit they are wrong—otherwise people might lose confidence in them.

This is just baloney.

Geoffrey Webb, in his article “5 benefits of admitting you’re wrong” published on geoffreywebb.com, tell us that there are 5 reasons why:

  • Trust
  • Growth
  • Innovation
  • Encouragement
  • Empowerment

read more on: http://goo.gl/A20Eh

Image source: http://goo.gl/A20Eh

Avoid common leadership and management mistakes

Mind Tools lists 10 of the most common leadership and management errors.

1. Lack of Feedback
2. Not Making Time for Your Team
3. Being Too “Hands-Off”
4. Being Too Friendly
5. Failing to Define Goals
6. Misunderstanding Motivation
7. Hurrying Recruitment
8. Not “Walking the Talk”
9. Not Delegating
10. Misunderstanding Your Role

If you want to know more on what you can do to avoid them read the full article.