- Taking a rigid top down attitude - This is a biggie... how many times have we heard people say "I'm in charge..." even though we know other members of the team or organization are either really doing all of work or could do a much better job. Youngleaders need to quickly realize that a leader's power comes from his or her team/followers. Quite often they are the experts in their fields. Take the time to listen!
- Putting paperwork before peoplework - This is another big one. "It can't be done that way... We NEED to do it this way..." Get these ideas out of your brain. Paperwork, and "formal" procedures for doing anything can usually be circumvented or done another way. Realize that jumping through hoops and cutting through red-tape can be frustrating for people. Cut your team some slack and be flexible. Remember that people always come first!
- Not providing their teams with affirmations - See the One Minute Manager. You need to let your people know when they are doing a good job (or need improvement). It only needs to take a minute!
- Leaving no room for mavericks - Sometimes you gotta just be a little crazy, bend (or break) the rules. Give everyone a fair chance to speak their ideas. No matter how crazy they may seem at first. Seriously, how crazy would the Internet seem to people in the 1950's?
- Having a dictatorship in decision making - Your team members will usually perform better when allowed to make some of their own decisions. You really don't have to hover over their shoulders and make sure they are following the format that YOU think is the most efficient for writing emails to their grandmothers ^_^.
- Dirty Delegation - Just Let Go!! If you've delegated a task, and assigned a firm due date (important!), let your team complete it according to their best judgment. Trust them, unless there is a good reason not to.
- Communication chaos - Tangles of emails, voicemails, memos (who sends those anymore), and water cooler "meetings" just don't cut it. Have a standard method of gathering and dispersing information to/from your team. This could take the form of a standing staff meeting, a daily/weekly/monthly update email, or even some fancy shmancy collaboration website like Basecamp or Microsoft Sharepoint.
- Missing the clues of corporate culture - Generalize this to the culture of any organization. To put simply you can't "beat the system". You can change it... slowly. Take your time and understand what makes the people in the system tick, then you can win.
- Success without successors - This is one of the keys to Level 5 Leadership. Think about the future. When you move up or move on, you will need a capable successor.
- Failure to focus on the future - All too often we are caught up in our daily firefighting, that we don't focus on the future. If you don't know where you want to go, you're not going to get anywhere.
-Jason
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