As you cultivate your array of leadership skills you’re bound to make mistakes, we all do, but good leaders learn from them, improve and better themselves. So here is some advice on how to overcome your leadership mistakes.
Being Aggressive
Being aggressive means showing excessive force when it’s not needed. Aggressive behavior does not motivate people. It diminishes trust, commitment, and even safety. As a leader you want your team to feel comfortable in their work environment. You want them to respect you and feel passionate about their work. Aggressive behavior can ruin that, so instead be encouraging, compassionate, understanding and stern. It’s okay to say no and make sure your team meets their goals but do it positively.
Discouraging Creativity
Creativity drives innovation, and on a smaller scale, it allows for good ideas to become better. Every new idea pitched won’t be great, and it might not be something you would want to implement. The act of being creative is powerful but it’s a skill, and like any other skill, you need to work at it. Most often the best and most creative ideas don’t come randomly, they come from hard work and problem-solving. So don’t discourage creativity, make it a priority.
Bad Communication
Communication is the lifeblood of human relationships, and in team environments, it can be the cause of success or failure. For effective communication, pay attention the tone you set; create a respectful listening environment and be straightforward. As a leader, it’s your job to set the tone for communication in your team by explaining yourself clearly. Setting the tone early will frame all communication with the team for the rest of the project. Listening is the most important communication skill; people need to be heard and feel like they matter. Lastly, be straightforward, as a leader you are going to have tough conversations and dancing around the issue can lead misunderstandings and miscommunication. So don’t be afraid to say what needs to be said, no matter how tough it may be.
Resisting Change
As a leader, you need to be flexible because change will become a constant in your life. Accepting change can be difficult, scary, emotionally draining and discouraging but resisting it can be worse. If someone on your team has found a new and better way to solve a problem, then embrace that change. It will be better in the long run. Keep in mind that not all change is good, use your judgment to decide when it is best to embrace change.
Only Looking At the Big Picture
If you’re only looking at the end of the road, you’re not going to see everything that comes before it. As a leader, you need to have a strong idea and understanding of not only the end goal but everything that is required to reach it. You need to know what resources, talents, and skills that you will need but also what problems you will face along the way. Having this foresight will allow things to run smoother. It doesn’t mean you won’t face problems; it just means you will be ready for them. So before you start your next project or even as you’re working on your current one, map out your goals; big and small, and list all potentials problems.Remember that we all make mistakes, but we can improve by learning from them, taking what we learned and applying it.
Written by Vimbai Chikoore