By Fahmy Mohamed
"The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”
-John Maxwell
Have you ever wondered why there are a few true leaders that positively affect people’s lives? And how do these leaders maintain a powerful character even if they are facing a tough hardship?
In this blog, you’ll know the fatal mistakes that block your road from becoming a truly exceptional leader, and how to fix them.
1.No Constructive Feedback Or No Feedback At All
I understand that the time of leaders is tight and their tasks
are endless but if you’re not going to provide feedback to
your staff then you can’t guarantee the best precise work.
Another thing is your employees do have defects and need
to know them so they can rapidly improve in months rather
than years.
Let’s say John is a clever employee yet he used to come late unless you alert him about this bad habit, then expect missing important deadlines, so you need to watch your staff and make them improve so you also be a strong leader.
2. Becoming Too Matey
Most leaders want to be seen as friendly & approachable
to people in their team. And for sure people like to work with
a friendly leader, not an arrogant one. However, sometimes
you’ll take firm decisions that some team members won’t
like yet it’s best for the all team.
So it’s not about being over-friendly nor arrogant but maintaining the perfect balance, this is how you become a wise leader.
3. Misreading Team Members’ Motivation
Each one of your team may not have the same motivator,
So you’ll find that there’s a member that only enthuses over
money, another about work/life balance.
So if you raise the person who’s eager to achieve work/life
balance and give him a raise, he won’t be motivated
because you hit the wrong button.
That’s why it’s vital for a leader to understand what motivates each person in his team, and give them what they want to do a better job.
4. Not Having A Vivid Vision
Only great leaders have a vivid vision about what they
need to do, what steps, how long it takes to achieve their
target, stay flexible, and have several plans.
So without a long-term thorough plan and a crystal clear
goal all the team works on, then expect conflicts among
team members and not maintaining an inspiring character that your team learns from.
FACT, only poor leaders think only short-term and have a low transparency level which leads to a smashing of their authority picture.
5. Failure To Level Up Team Skills
This is done by not participating in leadership training, so
you’ll be seen as a self-centered leader that only care
about himself.
You need to spot your staff weak points, what they need
more to develop, what courses they need to learn, how
they achieve more in less time.
These are the top 5 fatal defects that break your authority picture, and deprive you of being a great leader. Remember to apply what you read on daily basis otherwise you’re exposing yourself to be underestimated and your team won’t respect your decisions.
Now your turn, what are the other defects that prevent leaders to be exceptional ones? Tell us in the comments below