Top 2 Management Mistakes that Kill Your Business

If you’re in a leadership position, you may stick to the idea that being a leader means being involved in all aspects of running the company and staying on top of all operations. Right? Wrong.

Mistake #1: Doing Everything Yourself

You may think that you’re skilled enough to do all things your business needs, and that the simplest way to get something done is to do it yourself without depending on anyone.

First, no matter how smart you are, you can’t be really good at all things. Second, as a leader, you job is to build a team of people far more talented than you at each position, and then get out of their way and let them do what they do best.

Take for example a football team. The manager never butts in the middle of a match telling a goalkeeper that he needs to work on his defensive moves. There is already a goalkeeper who knows the job, so the manager takes his seat and only if necessary, instructs the players.

The same applies to business. You are a boss and you’re really good at playing one position. So you hire people who are smarter than you in certain fields and let them play.

Mistake #2: Sticking to the Old School Management

There are still many leaders who choose the old school management model – the so-called ‘upright pyramid’ with the CEO at the top and employees below who work and serve the CEO.

But the effective leaders work in an ‘inverted pyramid’. Instead of all your employees working for you, you work for them. It’s your job to “serve” them. You hire the best people and build an environment where they want to work. This is how you get the most out of their talents and abilities and make your company thrive.

Here are four more ways to increase the effectiveness of your team:

• Define environments: Make sure you’ve clearly defined environments in behavioral terms. It includes how team members treat each other while doing the work, and what will be done when someone violates these behavioral rules.
• Value clarity: Ask and give feedback. As a leader, ensure that you understood right and you and your team see the same thing.
• Connect leaders: Connect team leaders with other internal and external leaders. This is a great way to learn, evaluate and share experience, success stories and failures.
• Know where you are going: Make sure what you’re doing aligns with your mission and vision.