Beth Armknecht Miller, CMC
Author: Are You Talent Obsessed?
"A mistake is just you
learning how not to do something."
Over the years, I have worked with hundreds of leaders — many
who have displayed specific leadership shortfalls, that, when improved have had
a positive impact on the effectiveness and profitability of the organization.
Both new and experienced manager/leaders can make these five mistakes. Which
one is your Achilles heel? And what is your plan to improve?
1. Focusing on the Urgent and not the Important
How much time are you spending on activities that lead to your
goals versus those that are urgent and unexpected? You would be surprised how
many leaders fall into this trap. And it is a trap. In fact, I have worked with
some leaders who get their “energy” from working in crisis mode.
The key is to set aside time on the calendar that is only for
the important activities, and have the activities clearly prioritized so that
when an urgent item is screaming at you, you can logically decide what
important task can be set aside.
We all have crises, yet more often than not we move right into
crisis mode before thinking through what can be moved off our plate of
“importants.” Create a process that works for you in which you can smoothly
move from the urgent and then back to the important. Don’t get stuck in the
urgent.
2. Lack of Consistent Communication
As far as I can tell, there is no such thing as over-communication in the workplace. If I had a nickel for every time a leader said to me, “I told the company our (project, goal, etc), yet two weeks later they have totally forgotten the conversation,” I’d be a very wealthy person.
In this age of information overload, employees have a lot to
file away and process. Communications should be implemented frequently and
consistently using a variety of methods, since people have different learning
styles. With the huge menu of communication technologies available to
companies, messages should be delivered in person, electronically in written,
audio, and video, as well as the old fashioned way, printed hard copy.
3. Ineffective Feedback
This is a result of providing delayed and unclear feedback. It often starts by ignoring the “small stuff” with the hope that the behavior won’t happen again. More often than not, the behavior is repeated, and becomes tolerated. And it can lead to conflict-avoidance by a manager.
The best time to provide feedback is immediately after the
behavior is observed. Be clear about what you observed, how it impacted you,
and ask for ideas from your employee about how they could approach it in the
future. And then get their commitment to make the change. This process focuses
more on the future, as the past can’t be changed.
4. Failing to Define Clear Goals
Employees need to understand how they will be measured and evaluated. Defining clear goals provides a roadmap for the employee. And more importantly, when an employee is part of her goal setting process, she has more ownership in successfully attaining her goals. Without goals, employees will not meet your performance expectations because they don’t know what they are.
5. Misunderstanding Motivation
After reading, Daniel Pink’s recent book Drive, I am convinced that leaders really need to rethink how they operate and create an environment that provides the foundation for employees to be intrinsically motivated. Too often managers think that changing the extrinsic motivators will lead to a change in behavior, and they can. The problem is that the change is not long-term and sustainable.
Once you have met an employee’s baseline extrinsic motivators,
salary and benefits, you should focus on creating a foundation that encourages
autonomy, mastery, and purpose. As Pink describes in his book, all humans are
driven by these three attributes.
Autonomy is all about control of tasks, time, technique, and
team. Mastery is providing an opportunity to get very good at something and to
continue the process and understanding that you will never be perfect. It is
the pursuit of perfection that motivates. And finally, purpose — working for
some greater good and not just profit. Profit provides a means for a company’s
purpose. It is this final attribute that is found more often in smaller,
entrepreneurial companies who are lead by younger leaders.
So which of these leadership mistakes would your team members
say you exhibit? And what is your plan of action to develop a way of avoiding
these mistakes in the future?
Grow, Glow and be Great!
Read, Learn and Flourish!
