Ways to Avoid these Top 5 Leadership Mistakes

Mistakes are a given, but they don’t have to be so bad

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want to be done because he wants to do it. — Dwight Eisenhower

These are truly wise words and every entrepreneur, and business owner must learn from this. We need to dissociate from the popular and dangerous belief that “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” This is the kind of thinking that ruins small businesses.

Asides from failing to delegate properly, what are some of the mistakes entrepreneurs make in business as leaders? What are the ways to recover from these mistakes? After consultations with several industry experts, we have come up with a few examples of the kind of thinking that can be dangerous for entrepreneurs.

One man business mindset

It is quite common to see entrepreneurs who get so passionate about their business that they blur the lines between who they are and what their business represents. When ego gets in the way of business, it becomes difficult for the entrepreneur and his staff to get things right and grow. There needs to be constant introspection into what works and what doesn’t at regular intervals in the company. There are so many ways to get feedback from people within and outside the organization, and his information will help entrepreneurs redirect resources and commitments properly.

No one else is qualified

This still goes back to the delegation issue. It is understood that entrepreneurs usually start off doing everything themselves at the beginning. Thus it becomes easy to fall into the notion that no one else can do anything exactly the way you’d do it. However, business owners need to trust those who work for them a lot more if they want to grow. The best way to do this is to spend time and resources on developing those that work for you to the point where you can be confident of what they can deliver.

Being too short-sighted

It is very common to find small business owners who are just focused on surviving, and they become too involved in the day to day activities of the business. This doesn’t give them any time to think about the future and ways in which they can scale. This goes back to the importance of delegating the grunt work to employees thereby freeing up time to focus on expanding the business.

Being overbearing

Small businesses often mirror the personality of the owner, and when the owner cannot separate his ego from the company vision, it creates an atmosphere where people can’t say what they think about issues because it somehow speaks to the personality of the owner. This kind of culture is not progressive. You want your employees to give you their hearts also and not just their heads.

Being a leader doesn’t come naturally. There is a learning curve to being a great leader. There needs to be constant reinvention and innovation, and this is why getting outside opinions and advice can be beneficial. This will help you reach the next levels.