If you have made it to a managerial or leadership position chances are you are pretty good at what you do. In fact you are more than likely to have been an exceptional performer which resulted in you getting promoted or identified as a rising star. Now you are in a new role you might be finding it a bit of a struggle.
In my experience the best managers and leaders develop some great habits while the weaker fall into some of the most common bad habits. So what are 7 habits of poor managers and leaders that you want to avoid?
Bad Habit 1: Failing to get priorities clear
There are few, if any managers or leaders who have an excess of time. More likely is that the number of things you could be doing far outweigh the time that you have available. It is not that the best managers and leaders have a special time fund that they can dip into when they are a bit short. On the other hand they know what is priority and what is not so that they can invest their time wisely.
Bad Habit 2: Over promising and under delivering
We all to a greater or lesser extent like to be people pleasers, especially when it comes to our boss or our team. Faced with this desire it is all too easy to fall into the trap of over promising and under delivering. I am sure we all have made the mistake of underestimating how long something will take from time to time. We learn from this for the future. At the same time we cannot keep under delivering and over promising.
Bad Habit 3: Not making expectations clear
There is little or no chance of a confused mind delivering a good solution. If people are spending their time having to second guess what is expected they and you will become hugely frustrated. Make your expectations clear in terms of what is required and when.
Bad Habit 4: Being inconsistent
I worked for many different bosses over the years and the most frustrating were those who were inconsistent. They are a nightmare to work for and you are always treading carefully because you don’t know what side of bed they got out of that morning.
Bad Habit 5: Having cloth ears
You know the type I mean. They are always doing the talking but are never listening or hearing what you have to say.
Bad Habit 6: Saying yes when they mean no
Managers and leaders are as insecure as everyone else. Sometimes not wanting to hurt others feelings or be unpopular they say yes to things when they really don’t want to. If the answer is no have the courage to say so.
Bad Habit 7: Having favourites
The worst bosses have a habit of having favourites. The sad thing is it is not always because people are really their favourites but because they agree with them. Being a successful leader or manager is as much about hearing the bad news as it is the good stuff.
The Bottom Line: Being a good leader or manager is tough enough without creating a bunch of habits that get in the way of your success.