The Hindu Business Line : Fatal leadership flaws

The top three of the 10 fatal leadership flaws are the lack of inspirational energy, the acceptance of mediocre performance, and absence of clear vision, list John H. Zenger and Joseph R. Folkman in The Extraordinary Leader, revised edition ( www.tatamcgrawhill.com). “The most noticeable difference in leaders that failed was their lack of energy and enthusiasm. One leader was described as ‘having th e ability to suck all the energy out of any room,’” they write. “The leader’s lack of energy affects the whole team.” The second flaw — of tolerance to mediocre performance in the place of excellent results — can be easily noticed, the authors instruct. “These leaders have convinced themselves that their mediocre performance is completely acceptable and hence never look for opportunities to improve.”

The third failing, a common one, arises because the leader believes that his job is merely to execute the objectives of the organisation and let other people deal with strategy, vision, and direction.

Five worst mistakes

Treating people as ‘resources’ and not people is the first of the five worst mistakes new managers make, observes Bob Selden in What To Do When You Become The Boss ( www.macmillanpublishersindia.com). “As a manager, you employ the entire person, not just their mind and body during working hours. In fact, it is probably because of who they are as an entire person that you originally hired them,” he reasons.

The second blunder is not doing what you say you are going to do.

“If you can’t fulfil on your intentions or promises, say so early on and explain why,” the author counsels.

The next fault is the omission to set ground rules and performance expectations.

It is with well laid-out rules that a manager can ensure that the employees take responsibility for their actions.

“Then, should a problem occur, the manager’s role in fixing the problem is made much easier — in fact, often if the ground rules have been well worked out and agreed by all at the start, problems do not emerge.”

D. Murali

BookPeek.blogspot.com