Business

There is a good article in this month's Harvard Business Review on fatal flaws in leadership.  The authors reviewed results from two studies of 450 Fortune 500 executives and found comparisons between the most ineffective leaders and fired leaders to come up with the 10 most common leadership shortcomings.  

1.  Lack energy and enthusiasm.  They see new initiatives as a burden, rarely volunteer, and fear being overwhelmed.  One such leader was described as having the ability to "suck all the energy out of any room."

2.  Accept their own mediocre performance.  They overstate the difficulty of reaching targets so that they look good when they achieve them.  They live by the mantra "Under-promise and overdeliver."

3.  Lack clear vision and direction.  They believe their only job is to execute.  Like a hiker who sticks close to the trail, they're fine until they come to a fork.

4.  Have poor judgment.  They make decisions that colleagues and subordinates consider to be not in the organization's best interests.

5.  Don't collaborate.  They avoid peers, act independently, and view other leaders as competitors.  As a result, they are set adrift by the very people whose insights and support they need.

6.  Don't walk the talk.  They set standards of behavior or expectations of performance and then violate them.  They're perceived as lacking integrity.

7.  Resist new ideas.  They reject suggestions from subordinates and peers.  Good ideas aren't implemented and the organization gets stuck.

8.  Don't learn from mistakes.  They may make no more mistakes than their peers, but they fail to use setbacks as opportunities for improvement, hiding their errors and brooding about them instead.

9.  Lack interpersonal skills.  They make sins of both commission (they're abrasive and bullying) and omission (they're aloof, unavailable, and reluctant to praise).

10.  Fail to develop others.  They focus on themselves to the exclusions of developing subordinates, causing individuals and teams to disengage.



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Alerding Castor is an Indianapolis law firm focusing on business law, information technology law (including SaaS law and legal technology consulting), private equity consulting, probate and business litigation.