Leaders are born and not made, however in practice through proper learning, guidance and teaching everyone can aim to be a successful leader. The irony about leadership is that everyone wants to be a leader but no one wants to take responsibility. Taking matters into one’s own hands is not a feat every person can perform with most people playing the blame game when things in business go awry. Hence leadership is a skill not possessed by many and many a time businesses make the mistake of developing a laid back attitude when the business reaches its peak rather than performing with further determination and sustaining the growth and drive better momentum.
Getting to the top is not the hard part but staying on top is a whole other ball game which requires skillful leadership.
Every leader will face success and failure and attitude with which he deals with both factors ultimately define his leadership skills. Here are a few traps every leader is bound to face which need to be avoided to move undeterred on the path of leadership:
Management of Employees
Employees are the biggest asset any organisation can possess and managing them with skilled leadership is essential to attain good business success. Leaders inspire employees and if they begin losing their edge once the business reaches a good momentum is a sure shot sign of lagging fervour in the leader himself. At a time when the company is growing, leaders must not make the mistake of getting complacent and must give their employees added push and encouragement to continue working with zeal to help sustain the growth. If employees start taking matters lightly, leaders need to consider their own leadership skills!
Status Quo Trap
This is another trap leaders need to watch out for. Status quo means leaders are comfortable with the way things are running and show resistance to any kind of change. This in fact is a bad attitude. A leader should always be inspiring his employees to go after the next big thing and work on the next phase of a project or business development. Employees should always stay on their toes and should never get too comfortable in a particular environment. It is the leader’s responsibility to welcome change at every step and identify new tasks that can be doled out to the right employees. Various start-ups have gained success due to this reason that they welcome change which is why countries like India can see vast growth of ecommerce business and online shopping sites due to the right leadership.
Changing With Times
Corporate culture plays an essential role in every organisation. The workforce is youth oriented and most young employees are looking for an organization where they enjoy working with one another and where they feel safe to voice their opinions. A strict vertical set up will not do much good with changing times and leaders must usher in a work culture that promotes growth rather than prohibits it. The work culture should be such where people work in unity and harmony with transparency from higher bosses which is a sign of good leadership.
Money over Mission
Every business has a mission statement and most leaders to start off with are passionate about accomplishing the mission and make the vision of the company come true. However with time leaders let success get to their head and become money minded. They formulate strategies that would earn more profit than strategies that comply with the mission of the organization. This too is a trap leaders should avoid and always formulate policies that help the organization grow over all keeping in mind what the organization was set up for. This is why many start-ups and businesses fail as they lose sight of the goal but thankfully there are many successful startups that are now doing well and growing rapidly because their leaders didn’t fall for this trap. If they had, we wouldn’t have start-ups like Jabong, CashKaro, Ola, and many others to provide the comforts consumers avail today!
Ignoring Talent
A successful leader should never think he is indispensible and that his word is law. He should consult the management in various matters and take a holistic and combined decision. Leaders should always scout for talent in their organization and appreciate and retain talented employees. An organization can only be as efficient as its work force and leaders must always give credit where credit is due. Know the competencies of various employees and work on enhancing them. Give them the help and training they need and your business will surely reach desired goals with a talented work force.
Be sure to avoid these leadership traps which can easily lead to the downfall your business and you as a leader. A good leader must run the company with fortitude and make holistic decisions that benefit the organization as a whole!.
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