What You Can Learn From Successful Leaders

Nobody is perfect, including people in charge. We recently polled successful leaders and many acknowledged making mistakes in their career. What can you learn from them? While errors can be painful, they can be great learning experiences. Here is a sampling of their biggest leadership mistakes:

1. Not hiring the right people from the start.
"Hiring people who are too similar to me has been a mistake."
"I hired an executive-level individual for a much less senior-level job."
"I encouraged a group manager to hire an internal candidate when an external candidate was better qualified."

2. Letting poor performance go unchecked.
"I kept someone on who should have been let go."
"I didn't recognize that someone was in way over her head."
"Keeping a person in a position where he failed was my biggest mistake."

3. Not realizing the importance of recognition.
"I didn't give credit when it was due to individuals who made major contributions."
"I failed to acknowledge someone who needed to be rewarded. I have regretted that for years."
"I didn't give enough praise to someone who turned out to be one of my best employees and soon lost her."

4. Not pay attention to what's going on with staff.
"I didn't pick up on signals from disgruntled employees."
I regret not seeing the signs that someone was going to leave."
I failed to clearly understand an employee's situation and ended up losing him."
"I wish I had provided more opportunities for subordinates to engage in projects they enjoyed."

5. Making assumptions which often led to trouble.
"I assumed I knew what my employees' problems were instead of talking to them. Now I talk to my employees instead of assuming that I know what's going on."
"I assumed someone's motives were like mine and he would want to make his job a career."
"I assumed someone was very knowledgeable when she wasn't. It backfired on me when a presentation was made."

Although these leadership mistakes can be great learning experiences, some lessons come at a hefty price. "I delegated some work on a project and never checked to see if it was completed. A year later, I discovered it had never been done, and it cost the company about a million dollars."

What can you start doing right now to put into practice these insights from successful service leaders?

Here are resources to help you build powerful leaders and powerful organizations / have powerful leaders at all levels: Coaching 4 Results, Planning 4 Change, Speaking 4 Impact, W.O.W.W. Tools.

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