Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Leaders Look Out for These Warning Signs

To get ahead as a leader, it helps to understand the challenges leaders face. One great way to do this, is to look at reasons why leaders fail. My mentor would always say, failure is part of the growth process, but be sure to learn from others' failures.

In 6 Reasons Why Leaders Fail, Lisa Harris offers 6 warning signs that leaders should be on the look out for:

1. They lose sight of what's important
2. They fail to communicate effectively
3. They become driven by fear of failure.
4. They lose their credibility
5. They have poor self management
6. They lose sight of their vision


Of the list, number #1 hits home for me. I have to make a conscious effort to not get bogged down in the details. Because I consider myself an expert, it's easy for me to lose myself in trying to handle all phases of a project -- if I don't watch it. Do you have watch out for this yourself?

In my first leadership role years ago, this was a big problem for me. I can do it better and faster...that was my thinking? This thinking was a setup for failure. I lost credibility with my team, and hampered the growth of my team. A leader leads their team, not tackle the team's every task. I close with Harris' advice:

As you consider the 6 reasons of leadership failure, don't be afraid to take an honest look at yourself. The good news is that by paying attention to these signs and heeding their warnings, you can avoid disaster and sustain the kind of leadership that is healthy and fulfilling for both yourself and your followers.
Read the entire article 6 Reasons Why Leaders Fail

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