Leadership Skills -Seven Things Effective Leaders Avoid
There are two sides to every coin, and just as there are skills that are important for leadership there are other things that effective leaders avoid. Here are seven major causes of failure in leadership identified by Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich. Anyone possessing one or more of these attributes is unlikely to achieve financial success.
Expecting to be paid for what you know, not what you do. Napoleon Hill states that knowledge is of little use until it is put into effective action. Knowing theories of leadership and management does not make you an effective leader. Putting these into practice is what counts, and how you gain respect — and financial success.
Poor Organizational Skills. An effective leader must be able to organize the big picture and the detail, delegating responsibilities and assigning tasks to team members. He should never be too busy to give attention to people when they need it, or to take charge in an emergency, or to rethink the plans when challenges arise.
Fear of Competition from Followers. If you’re always looking over your shoulder, worried that someone is waiting to step into your shoes, you can’t be effective as a leader. A truly effective leader is confident in her ability and actively seeks out good potential within the team to develop leadership skills in others. This allows the leader to delegate with confidence.
Selfishness. Someone who takes all the praise for good work, rather than passing this on to their team, will not be respected. A leader who does this when their own contribution to the work is minimal will quickly earn their team’s resentment.
Too Authoritarian. Napoleon Hill talks of two types of leadership for financial success: leadership by force and leadership by consensus. Authoritarian leaders choose force, imposing their ideas on others, maybe even making threats or instilling fear into their team. Effective leaders choose consensus and operate as a true team member, not someone imposing authority from on high.
Too Much Emphasis on Job Title. A leader should not expect others to give respect or deference purely because of their job title. Anyone who is overly impressed with his own job title is most unlikely to live up to it. The leader who distances himself from his team because of his leadership role either physically (closed doors or imposing office furniture), or mentally (unwilling to listen to the ideas and concerns of team members), will soon find his team distancing themselves from him.
Unwilling to ‘Get Stuck In’. There will always be times when everyone needs to pull together, maybe to meet an urgent deadline or overcome a challenge. An effective leader will be present at these times, supporting and encouraging her team wherever she can, including the practical support and encouragement that comes from working alongside them to complete the task.
