Leadership, in general, is a challenging task to be given to an individual. Despite this, there is still a lot that is up for the challenge, for instance, most notable ones like Presidents of different countries and CEOs of big companies. Even if they are eager to go for it head-on, there are still many pitfalls that make being a leader harder than you would have thought. To have you prepared for the challenge, we will be listing down four pitfalls you should be careful of.
Trust Issues
Losing trust from teammates and vice versa is very hazardous to a leader since it would hinder a lot of progress for the whole team. Establishing trust is very tricky as it would involve personalized strategies since not every team is composed of the same people. That said, you have to do this all by yourself. However, building trust as a team is also something that members and subjects are responsible for. The best thing to do is to convince them to make an effort as well.
Falling team communication
Team-based communication nowadays is straightforward to do, mainly because of the internet connection and the portable device. As a leader, you should never let communication fall inside a team as it is the foundation of everything. The future of the group or organization will significantly depend on how each other communicates. Improving team-based relationships and having team building activities now and then would suffice.
Missing accountability
Each and every one in a team is responsible for something, like a task or an event. That means that everyone should be accountable for some things that are assigned to them. A team having no accountability or a leader itself would be a dangerous element for a team. Accountability doesn’t necessarily mean that a punishment should be carried out right away. Instead, it is a useful tool that any leader could use to mitigate damages by asking questions and letting people explain what has happened. That way, no one inside a team would be afraid of being accountable for their successes and mistakes.
No feedback process and cycle
Last on this list is the feedback issue. Feedback and team-based reporting are essential in any working environment so that everyone on the team has enough understanding of what they should be doing or what they should do next. Having a healthy feedback system would encourage everyone to be open with their progress and give out reports and suggestions for the whole project.
Being a leader is a challenging task; however, we believe that it is something that everyone is capable of. There’s no exact outline of how to become a good leader, but we have that this list of pitfalls would help you strive to become one.