Four signs indicate a leader is not coping with some of their responsibilities. Read this article to the end – you might find that you or your employees, whom you appoint as leaders, exhibit some of these signs. In such a case, do not worry – any leader can change their approach, behavior, and bring about more results and enjoy their work more. I will discuss further what traits hinder a leader’s work.
1. Underestimating Requirements
The first sign of weakness: a leader underestimates requirements. They are soft and do not want to pressure their subordinates. But one thing must be realized: people do not always work at full strength. They are prone to get upset, distracted, spend time on social networks, and be lazy. To work with full dedication, effort is required. Often, people simply do not want to exert themselves. However, one of the most crucial aspects of a leader’s work is to help subordinates not be lazy, to put in the effort, and to complete tasks according to set priorities.
I will share my observation: employees typically fail at priority tasks because they require more effort. Furthermore, priority tasks are regularly not routine – they are new and unusual. To accomplish them, one needs not just to exert effort, but also to fully concentrate.
How to Avoid Missed Deadlines
A weak leader acts as follows: first, they assign a task and set a deadline. After the employee fails and misses the deadline, the leader first shifts the deadline. And when they see that everything is approaching a critical moment – either they take on the work themselves or pass it to a more responsible and competent employee. Naturally, such a situation repeats.
Another factor must be considered here. People will always test your strength as a leader. A subordinate always has a choice: to quickly and systematically complete the task, or to delay as long as possible. Employees often choose the latter – especially if it does not lead to negative consequences. But if they find out that the leader is demanding and will achieve the task’s completion no matter what, real magic happens. Tasks are completed precisely within the set deadline.
- Inquire About the Reason for Failure
Therefore, if your subordinate does not complete something on time, proceed as follows. First, calmly find out if there is a real reason that hinders the completion of the work. Usually, there isn’t – leaders rarely set unachievable or inadequate tasks. Typically, the main obstacle is that the employee did not consider the importance of the task, etc. Identify the reason and agree on a different deadline.
- Softly Demand Task Completion
Each time deadlines are missed, slightly increase the pressure. Demand, show persistence, and explain that you do not intend to back down. Conduct intermediate control. Let the employee know that the success of other departments and the company as a whole depends on this task. Persistently, yet very calmly and friendly, explain, insist, and achieve results without negative emotions. If you show rudeness, disrespect, or aggression, the employee will have just another excuse for not doing it.
2. Provides Ready-Made Solutions
Such a leader knows the answers to all questions, loves to make decisions, and considers themselves the most competent. But they fail to understand one thing: such behavior teaches their subordinates not to think and take responsibility. They encourage this with their attention, time, and so on. As a result, they end up with subordinates who do not want to make decisions independently. And as soon as this leader has to go somewhere or is occupied, all work stops. Naturally, the question arises: “Is it normal that subordinates are unable to make decisions independently?”
Such a risk exists. Especially if, initially, you trained them never to make decisions. I myself was once such a leader. I had a manufacturing company, and at that time I didn’t realize that I was creating a trap for myself. Furthermore, I liked being the smartest and solving all emerging problems.
How to Teach Subordinates to Take Responsibility
Start gradually training your subordinates to make decisions independently. Introduce a rule for yourself: “Don’t give solutions – ask questions”. And when they come to you with another issue, first ask what solutions the employee can suggest. Believe me: most of these suggestions will be worth considering.
People prefer to implement their own ideas rather than use someone else’s solutions. Yes, this process will take some time. But the result you eventually get is simply amazing. Because you get self-driven, talented, and capable employees.
- Engages in Micromanagement
Micromanagement is when a leader tries to control every step of their subordinates. They want to see every document they create and monitor every action. They must first get approval and show every intermediate stage of the work process. Micromanagement has two main disadvantages:
- The Best Will Leave
Any confident specialist will be irritated by such an approach from a leader. Most likely, talented and competent people will not want to stay on your team – they will simply flee.
- Waste of Time
Micromanagement takes up a lot of the leader’s time. They have to monitor each document, stage of work, and so on. However, it is possible to control employees without micromanagement. This requires learning to plan their work and conduct intermediate control. It also involves analyzing mistakes if they occur.
3. Falls into Workaholism
This kind of leader thinks, «I will work myself to half-death, and also work all my subordinates to half-death». They work a lot, spend most of their time at work, and think that they are very efficient and hardworking. This way, they try to set an example for everyone. But such an approach only indicates one thing – the person does not know how to manage their own time and plan their work. People who build big businesses and earn millions do not work a thousand times more than an ordinary employee.
Time does not determine your success. Time does not determine how much you earn or how big your company will be. This is determined by your planning and ability to prioritize. In terms of planning efficiency, there is a very simple principle – to achieve a global goal, you need to take small steps towards it every day. In other words, pay attention every day to tasks that are truly important for achieving that goal. Not just doing everything that falls on you, but what leads to the goal.
Key Action
Therefore, the advice is this – plan. Plan for 30–35 hours a week, and the rest will come as urgent and unexpected tasks. When you plan, make sure to include priority tasks. Let them not take up the whole day, but make at least a small effort to achieve the goal today and every day.
4. Notices Only the Negative
Quite often, leaders only pay attention to negative aspects and mistakes. An employee makes a mistake or overlooks something, and the leader immediately jumps on them and makes a remark. Just yesterday, this person met their targets, delivered results, and handled tasks well. But nobody noticed. When you work as a leader, over time you develop such a behavioral pattern.
Typically, leaders have many problems and there’s always work to do. Therefore, when things are going well, they prefer to ignore it. «As long as everything is working as it should, I won’t interfere». They only get involved when something deviates from the plan. The concern is that then all the leader’s attention is focused on errors, and people get used to it.
Over time, such a leader will only deal with problems. So, if you don’t talk about anything good, and don’t tell your subordinates how great they are, you gradually immerse yourself in constant negativity. When you start noticing the efforts, results, and endeavors of employees, over time you will be able to amplify positive moments and make the work process more enjoyable for both sides.
Conclusion
If you want to make your work effective and teach subordinates to achieve great results, you need to first take care of their independence. Teach employees to work without your active participation:
– Choose intermediate control instead of constant monitoring;
– Train them to propose solutions, not just come up with problems;
– Focus on your tasks instead of firefighting;
– Plan activities and minimize overwork;
– Amplify positive moments.
A healthy balance is needed in everything. Healthy not only for the employees but also for you. First and foremost, your desire to deal with people is fundamental to doing a good job as a leader.
