Jane Kim, the Chief Revenue Officer of billion dollar software startup, CircleCI, has seen firsthand the power of good leadership. From keeping team morale high to inspiring every single team member during remote-first times, good leadership is a must. However, we’re all human, and especially during the pandemic, a few mistakes are bound to be made.
Here are 5 mistakes that all leaders make at some point in their careers. The point of this is not so that you can try to avoid them, but rather to prepare for how to recover when they happen.
Micromanaging
It is often assumed that in order to be successful, team members have to be and do things exactly as the manager of the team. If it works for them, then it must work for everyone.
Not everyone on one team should have the same strengths, weaknesses, and process in place. That it’s actually more detrimental because it limits room for debate, idea sharing, and diverse opinions.
At the end of the day, micromanaging is inevitable when first starting out. How you recover from micromanagement is a more important skill to have. Do this by spending time getting to know your team. By understanding where your team has individual strengths, you’ll be able to help them reach their highest potential. There is no one way to hit a target. Your job as a leader is to help each individual on your team find their best way to meet the goals.
Hiring the wrong person for a job
No matter how many questions you ask or references you check, if you hire at any scale, you will eventually hire the wrong person. And this isn’t necessarily about the person, but it’s the person, in that environment, and the time and phase of the company when you hired them.
To combat this, you have to be able to answer these two questions: What does someone need to be successful in this role? And can you give them what they need in the time you have to dedicate to this role?
The more critical you are of your hiring decisions, the sooner you can realise if someone isn’t performing well. Hiring the wrong person for a job does your team a disservice and only ends up costing your company money.
Wanting your team to like you
Wanting your team to like you is an easy trap to fall into. New managers often transition from a peer to a boss, and they can be too overbearing (micromanagers, like we discussed) or too permissive. As a leader though, it’s not your job to be liked.
Your ultimate goal is not likability, it’s building a successful team. To recover from this, take your ego out of your vision of success for your team. It’s not about you, and your likability and popularity. It’s about the team.
Focus more so on empowering your team to be successful, even when you’re not there. Build a structure, team, and process that can survive and live on without you there. This is the ultimate testament of a resilient, high-performing leadership.
Giving bad advice to your team
The most terrifying deer-in-headlights moments are when people come to you and ask, “what should I do?” and you don’t know.
At that moment, you have two choices: Try to make up a solution, or admit you don’t have all the answers, and work together to come up with a solution.
So how do you recover from giving bad advice?
When you give your team a bad direction, the most important thing you can do is build trust and open communication. If you are too scared to admit your own mistakes, you’ll never get to the point where you recover. Being open and vulnerable will help get you to where you can use the power of your team to brainstorm, problem solve, and get back on track.
Making a bad decision
This sounds like the same problem as giving your team bad advice, but it’s slightly different. As a leader, you may make a bad call and take your team down a direction that doesn’t pan out the way you want it to. For example, you might try to move too fast, or choose a strategic direction that doesn’t pan out.
To combat this, stop thinking about yourself as an individual and bring in your team earlier on in the decision making process so a more well-rounded decision can be made. At the end of the day, making mistakes is the truest way to learn. Learning from them, and knowing how to recover once they’re made, is the key to building a successful and happy team.
