Six Reasons Leaders Fail

Not the best day at the office

Being an effective leader isn’t easy.  When you look at the top of your organization you’ll most likely see a blend of strong and weak leaders.  What makes the strong ones strong and the weak ones weak?  How can you avoid being one of the weak ones as you make your way up your organizational chart?  Understanding-and staying away from- these six trouble spots will greatly increase your chances of becoming one of the good ones.

1. You don’t lead yourself well enough.  This one really comes down to your character.  Are you honest?  Trustworthy?  Do you follow through on your commitments?  How’s your work ethic?  Can you be relied on in emergencies?  Face it- if you can’t lead yourself well, you can be sure that nobody is going to follow you.
2. You don’t care enough about the people you are trying to lead.  People will not follow you until they believe that you have their best interests at heart.  This is something you can’t accomplish with a mere title; this is a bond that must be built over time.  Do you really know your people?  You have to show an interest in their personal lives and know what their career aspirations are. You have to be able to see things through their eyes.  Make an effort to connect with them regularly.  Respect them and encourage them.  Only then will they allow you to lead them.
3. You are in the wrong department or company.  Many of us have ended up in careers that we did not ever plan for; they are just comfortable.  This is fine if you are a follower.  If you aspire to become a leader in your organization, however, your job has to be a good fit for you. You must be energetic and enthusiastic at work, which are very hard to do when roles don’t fit you properly.  Do you volunteer to come in early, stay late, and work on those special projects? Is your passion coupled up with expertise in your field?  If you don’t have them, consider finding a role, company, or industry that better suits you.
4. You are not a strong communicator.  Leading is often about communicating your vision to others.  This takes many forms; training, meetings, emails, and one-on-one conversations.  Master all of them.  Read up on email etiquette.  Join a local chapter of Toastmasters to become better at public speaking.  Read the book “On Writing Well” by Zisner.  Whether you become a leader or not, improved communication skills will have a positive impact on your career.
5. You don’t have the drive.  This is the most important aspect of success to me.  It takes plenty of drive to rise through the ranks of a company.  If I had to give up all but one of my professional attributes, this is the one I would keep.  If you don’t have the drive, go back to #3 and take a hard look at yourself. Drive is a large part of what makes you promotable.  One of the employees in my office recently applied for a job opening that was two steps above his current one.  He knew he didn’t have the experience for it, but he spent an hour interviewing with one of our company’s regional managers- and when a different opportunity (a much better one!) needed to be filled by that regional manager, he immediately thought of the man he had interviewed.  Drive gets you moving- and if you don’t have it, you’re stuck in park.
6. You are not willing to make the necessary sacrifices.  I have always believed that a company’s #1 leader is also its #1 servant.  You put the employees and the company’s needs before your own.  There are late nights, travel, and missed ball games with your children.  It’s all part of the price of leadership.  These aren’t the only sacrifices; you also have to spend a good portion of your personal time developing your craft.  This could mean studying up on your industry, or brushing up on your communication skills.  And it always means pitching in to do whatever is necessary to make the company succeed.

Look within yourself.  How do you measure up in these areas?  It is hard to determine how you fare on the first two- you might want to ask a colleague’s opinion on those.  Get to work on the areas where you hare holding yourself back, and start your leadership journey.

Tags: Business, Leadership, self development, Women and leadership