Every leader was once a new leader. But most of us were given leadership responsibilities without any special training in the skills of leadership. So, it should be no surprise that new leaders make a lot of mistakes even though they are highly motivated to succeed in their new positions. Today I will discuss a few of the common pitfalls that I have observed (and in some cases, I also fell victim to).
Trying to be liked. Leadership is not a popularity contest and staff members do not expect to be friends with our bosses. That doesn’t mean you should be unlikable. It simply means that leaders have to discipline as well as encourage the people they lead and soft leaders often lack the authority to assign tasks and implement requirements that may be unpopular. Employees tell us that they want to look up to their leaders and know that they will take the right course of action rather than the most popular one.
Using a hammer when a nudge will do. Here we see the opposite of the previous paragraph. New leaders sometimes lack perspective and when something urgent comes along, they may overreact, either by taking action too quick or doing something much greater than required. One of the skills new leaders must develop is a sensitivity for what kind of response is at the right level for a given situation.
Changing too much too fast. New leaders are filled with enthusiasm to fix all the things they think are wrong in their domain -- and doing it all immediately. Sometimes that gets us too far out ahead of our team, like someone walking with a group but setting the pace that the others cannot match. Such actions destabilize the team and make it hard for staff members to enthusiastically support the changes being implemented.
Having all the answers. Leaders who are not yet comfortable in their new skin have a tendency to take every opportunity to prove their competence by talking more than they listen and making it hard for their staff members to also share the spotlight. Leaders who have been promoted to leadership of a team in which they previously served need to remember that they have different responsibilities from those of their staff members and should show competence in those areas while leaving the staff to show its competencies.
Taking yourself too seriously. Your new leadership role is an important one but unless you are the CEO, I suspect that the organization’s very existence is not dependent upon each and every action you take. Yet some new leaders develop a highly inflated sense of who they now are which comes off to staff members as arrogance and a failure to be in touch with reality. You will make mistakes and sometimes do silly or even foolish things. The ability to laugh at yourself while learning to not make the same mistake again not only raises the image employees have of you, it also sets a great example for how your employees should react to their own mistakes.
Getting visibly upset. Staff members have a right to expect that their leaders be in control of their emotions. After all, the leader is looked up to for consistently making logical decisions. The individual who cannot control his or her emotions cannot be counted on in difficult situations.
Perceptions of favoritism. You will find it easier and more pleasant to communicate with some members of your staff than with others. This is a logical consequence of similarities in personality, behavioral style and the productivity of that individual. While we must recognize achievement, as leaders we must also recognize effort and we must act above any suspicion that we have favorites on the team.
Treating everyone the same. After reading the last paragraph, you might think that I am now contradicting myself. In reality, it is important for leaders to treat people fairly, not identically. This means, as I said before, to recognize achievement and effort while keeping in mind that people with new tasks or personal challenges deserve certain kinds of consideration. So we must treat people in the workplace as they deserve rather than as we personally feel about them.
Believing you can command commitment. The single most difficult task of a leader is motivating staff members. You may recall that my favorite definition of leadership is “getting others to want to do what you need them to do”. In military service, soldiers are taught to obey orders. But the civilian workplace does not operate in that way. Getting commitment is a complex matter that goes beyond the scope of today’s topic. Suffice it to say that ordering people to do things does not get them to want to do them.
Giving up your personal life. New leaders often find themselves for the first time in a situation where they could work day and night and still not do all the things that they would like to for the betterment of their team. For some, this sense of responsibility to subordinates or to superiors causes people to lose perspective on the fundamental principle that we work to live rather than live to work. Work-life balance is a skill that new leaders must develop. Knowing when enough is enough and setting boundaries between one more meeting and attending your child’s soccer game can be hard for people who see themselves poised to launch their careers in management. Leaders who fail to figure this out often find themselves in burnout, facing disasters in the home life and sometimes walking away from it all in a midlife crisis.
Whether you are a new leader or an experienced one who is mentoring new leaders, I hope you found this list interesting. And I’m sure you could add more items to it. It would be a pleasure to hear from you in the comments section below.
- Herb