Let’s start from the premise that nobody is perfect, and business leaders aren’t either. Among the mistakes a leader should avoid, there is another kind of error that is much harder to correct. Even if you are open to feedback from your team, there are some things your employees will never tell you, whether out of fear, sensitivity, taboo, embarrassment or simply not knowing how to say it.
That is why we set out three points nobody is going to tell you about, so you can try to work out for yourself whether you are falling into any of them.
1. Relatives or friends in the company
It will have happened to more than one of us: you join a new company and start dealing with various people on the organisation chart. After a few weeks of dealing with some of them, who tend to hold key or important positions, the incompetence of one of them comes to light, and that is when you ask a colleague: “How can that person be head of department when they are so incompetent?” And you get the answer you were expecting: “Because he’s the boss’s brother-in-law.” It can also be a cousin in accounting or a sister’s friend on reception. Having friends or relatives in certain positions can be seriously holding back productivity in the company, and it is something nobody will tell you. Family matters to everyone, but remember that business is business.
(Read: To be a good leader, let’s start by changing ourselves)
2. Meetings
Some companies hold meetings on Friday afternoons, others first thing on Monday morning. If we surveyed employees on whether they find these meetings productive, most would say no, because everything stays the same and positive conclusions are rarely reached.
In fact, a meeting should not be held mechanically once a week. Sometimes one meeting a month would be enough, and at other times we may need three meetings in a week. As long as it is productive and necessary, why not hold it? On other occasions, meetings drag on far too long, when the points could be summed up much better.
Either way, nobody will tell you they consider most meetings a waste of time, mainly because they assume it is company policy. As a leader, watch your employees’ faces during the meeting. If you hold meetings every week, you are probably wearing them out. If you hold meetings every week and on Friday afternoons to boot, you are definitely stressing them out. It is neither the day nor the time for meetings, because it is the start of the weekend.
3. Arrogance and/or a bad temper
Nobody will tell you that you are too arrogant, not even if you ask. Likewise, aggressiveness in business is a virtue, but be careful about being too aggressive or curt with your employees. Try to earn your employees’ respect, but remember that respect is not the same as fear. If, when you approach a group of employees who are chatting, they fall silent the moment they see you… “something is wrong”.
Since nobody is going to tell you the truth on these points, even if you ask your employees, but rather what you want to hear, you can always stop and analyse whether you are failing in any of them as a leader in the company. It will probably be easy to see.
Further reading
- How to be a more charismatic and persuasive leader
- 5 things successful people do
- 9 simple, extraordinary things to say to people at work every day
Featured image: Daniel McCallum & George Holt Henshaw, 1855, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
