Top Mistakes Leaders Make That Undermine Their Authority Part 1
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Being a leader isn’t easy. Even if you’re the boss, it’s not as simple as just telling people what to do. You have to find the right balance between being firm and friendly, assertive and accommodating, analytical and instinctive. It isn’t something that you can fake either; as leaders, we have a responsibility to lead by example. If we don’t do so responsibly, our people will lose confidence in us as their leaders. This is why it’s important to avoid making these mistakes if you want to remain effective. Here are the top 10 mistakes that undermine your authority as a leader . . .
Lacking Consistency
You can’t expect your people to respect you if you aren’t consistent in your behavior. If you’re unable to be yourself when you’re in charge, you’re setting yourself up to fail. This is particularly common in organizations with a high turnover rate. If you’re a new hire who is taking over from someone else, you may have a bit of leeway in terms of the way that you do things for a while. If, on the other hand, you’ve been doing the same job for many years, your people will expect you to act in a certain way. If you treat them differently from one day to the next, they won’t know what to expect from you. You need to be consistent with how you deal with people if you want them to respond to your leadership. This means that you need to be consistent in your communication style, your expectations, and your general approach to your role.
Being Too Rigid
Being too rigid in the way that you do things can undermine your authority, but so can being too flexible. One of the most common complaints that leaders have about their employees is a lack of follow-through. If you don’t enforce the rules and procedures that your team depends upon to do their jobs, they will fail to meet their targets. People need structure to perform at their best, but they also need room to express themselves. If you are too rigid, you will fail to recognize the unique skills and strengths that your team members have. The result will be you won’t be able to make the best use of them. Conversely, if you are too flexible, you will have failed to set the right tone for your team.
Failing to Communicate
This can slip into being too rigid, but it’s also important to distinguish between these two mistakes. Whereas being too rigid is about setting the wrong example and failing to communicate, failing to communicate is about breaking the rules. When you’re a leader, there are certain things that you must communicate to your team members. You need to tell them how they can best contribute to the organization and its bottom line. You should let them know what skills you are looking for and who they should report to. You need to let them know what the organization’s culture is like and how they can contribute to it. If you fail to communicate these things, you will create confusion and misunderstandings. This will ultimately undermine your authority and make it harder for you to lead your people.
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Showing Disregard for Feedback
You can’t expect to be an effective leader if you ignore the feedback that your people offer you. Even if their critique isn’t positive, it can help you to improve your performance as a leader. If you don’t show your people that you value their feedback, you will send them the message that their opinions don’t matter. This will undermine their confidence in you as their leader, and it will make it harder for you to lead them. In fact, you should actively encourage your team members to give you feedback. This will let them know that you value their opinions and that you want to improve as a leader. It will also make it easier for you to get honest feedback from your staff.
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for more than 40 years. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 2300 episodes. He also hosts Job Search TV on YouTube, and Amazon, as well as on BingeNetworks.tv for Apple TV and 90+ smart sets.
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