There is no such thing as a perfect leader. However, there are those who seem to move like a speeding bullet and those who do at a snail’s pace. Like there are different types of personalities so are there different types of leaders—all with one goal in mind: success. In this regard, it also goes to show why there are many types of leadership styles but without limit on which is more effective than the rest.
Leadership is all about dealing from one situation to another. While the idea is to lead people to get out of the abhorrent ordeal of monotony and mediocrity, it is important to point out certain lapses that tend to push back its effectiveness. When thinking of moving a business forward, it is high time to find certain outmoded or inflexible habits that tend to curtail creativity and productivity.
As a leader, there are certain instances when your own actions rob the very effectiveness you so long to achieve. So what are they and what to do about them?
Egotism. Being a business owner, a CEO, a manager or a team leader does not mean you are the only one with the capacity to lead. It is not necessarily a position but more of a sense of trust. It is your job to enable your workforce or your team to work to the best of their capabilities in the hope that they attain goals set. Make your leadership transferable and repeatable. At best, let it be mimicked by everyone in the company to help nurture a culture of accountability and reliability in the company. Leadership is not being the alpha or the head of the pack. It is not about you per se but rather on how you can mobilize everyone to become who you are or even more.
Change-phobic. Aversion or even reluctance to change is another habit that should hold no room in leadership. There are however, those who want to maintain the status quo, mediocrity’s idiot cousin. They hate to change or verge in another direction even if it means more sound results. It is important to note that dynamism requires constant change. Today’s businesses are caught up in a highly dynamic structure brought by technology and the Internet. Having an open mindset will allow one high degree of creativity and robustness to sustain a business in a frequently-shifting market.
Fixed Methodology. Though a widely practiced concept, best practices is a seemingly fixed methodology reminiscent of the above-mentioned phobia to change. The idea of sameness or uniformity is, indeed, effective as it upholds certain company standards and policies. However, it curtails innovation and flexibility. It allows no room for mistakes and often, put a lot of creative thinkers in a choke-hold. Innovation and creativity are the very essences of smart leadership. To be more effective, it is essential to always find ways to improve such practices. The more your practices evolve with the changing time usually convert into more productive results.
Risk Averse. Many leaders delve into cost-cutting and risk management leading to opportunities lost. Instead of concentrating on the “risks” and “costs”, it is more important to shift concentration on how much ROI will be enjoyed out of such opportunities. Running a business is all about risks and costs. Not that, this will give you an excuse to overspend or risk it all but rather to give more leeway to stretch your capabilities in the industry.