3 Mistakes Leaders Make

We all want teams that are high performing - kicking goals, learning from mistakes, planning and collaborating effectively, and as the leader, it’s up to YOU to do to everything you can to support and nurture that.

Here are some things that might be getting in your way as you try to create and support a high performing team…

🙈 Not creating collaborative touchpoints for your team.

Your team needs to have clear pathways of communication and an understanding of shared responsibility. You can create that by having opportunities for sharing and collaboration. For example a daily stand up meeting, or a weekly WIP. The meetings shouldn’t be about sharing your list of tasks, but more about sharing where you are with projects, if you have any areas you need help on, what obstacles or challenges each person is facing, and any important updates that impact everyone that you need to talk about. Anything that could be an email, should be saved for an email. Your time together as a team is SACRED - and should be used for true collaboration, innovation and connection. 

For a daily or every second day catch up, I like using a simple, short agenda like this:

• Does anyone have any updates [that impact us or our stakeholders] that we need to collaborate on?
• Does anyone have any challenges they need support on?
• Does anyone have anything they want to celebrate?
• Does anyone have anything we need to brainstorm together?

🙉 Not having clear goals for your team to aim for.

Your team needs to know where they are going, and how they will know when they get there - to do that you need to have clear goals with measurable outcomes. If they don’t know what to achieve, that’s when you’ll notice that time is being spent on projects and tasks that don’t contribute to your goals or people might lack a sense of commitment.

Ensure your team knows what they’re aiming for by:

• Sharing goals every year, quarter and month.
• Celebrating when goals are achieved.
• Keeping performance transparent with frequent updates on where they are vs. their goals. 

🙊 Not understanding how your team is learning from YOU (you're a role model, doh!).

We learn so much from our role models, and by being a leader - you are choosing to be a role model. One of the most common traps that leaders can fall into is not understanding how MUCH of an impact your words and actions have on your team. Your team learns from you both consciously and subconsciously.

They will consciously watch how you behave, and then based on whether you get a good outcome or a less effective outcome, they will then decide if they want to also do the same things that you say and do. This is a decision making process that they are aware of, and often will talk to other employees and friends about as they decide if they are inspired by what you’re doing.

The other way your team learns is subconsciously. They will observe your words and actions and then either add your approach to their style, or they will start doing it differently to you. This type of learning isn’t known, it just happens. 

That’s why it’s so important for you to always be aware of yourself. One BIG mistake is when you coach your team and expect them to grow and develop in their roles, but you don’t grow or develop yourself. You aren’t practising what you preach - what behaviours are you role modelling for your team by doing this? (spoiler alert, you're reinforcing some of these things subconscious beliefs: you don't need to do what you say you will do, you don't need to grow or develop, you don't believe in self development, personal growth isn't worthwhile to spend time on).

Some actions you can take this week:

• Learn a new way of doing something, and then talk about it with your team. For example, “I read this great book about communication, one of the recommendations was …. what do you guys think about that - could you see it working?”
• Make self development a part of the conversation, celebrate when you or your team learns a new way of doing something and gets a better result. Share resources that you are liking and encourage your team to do the same.

Do you want support with your Leadership Development?

My Epic Self Leadership Program helps you understand your role as the leader, and find your unique way to lead so you can become a please-let-me-work-for-you boss and supercharge your team and business performance PLUS you get to create your own network of leaders to grow with while you work with me on your leadership skills.

Apply for the next intake here: Epic Self Leadership Program

*Image Source: Role modelling—making the most of a powerful teaching strategy, 2008, Sylvia R Cruess, Richard L Cruess, Yvonne Steinert.