By: Express Employment Professionals
Regardless of what level of management you’re on—supervisor, executive, or even owner—and no matter how good your intentions may be, you’re bound to make management mistakes. No boss is perfect, and missteps are natural. But, while some mistakes are simple and correctable, others may be holding you and your company back.
According to a paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), 65 percent of employees say they’d take a new boss over a pay raise. NBER also reports that bad bosses cost the U.S. economy $360 billion per year in lost productivity, proving that managerial mistakes can not only hold you back from innovation, they can also be costly. To help avoid business setbacks, examine whether you—or an employee—are making one of these common management mistakes.
Failure to Delegate
Even the best boss can’t do everything, and trying to do so can result in unnecessary stress. When you fail to delegate tasks, you also risk wasting your employees’ potential while decreasing their workplace engagement. Though your natural instinct may be to complete projects on your own, you need to spend your time coaching and guiding your employees so they can reach their full potential. Your team’s goals must be as important as your own. As The Muse writes for Forbes, “Now, your success is dependent on the success of your team.”
Resisting Change
We’ve all heard the age-old excuse: “we’ve always done it this way.” But, have you ever considered how this resistance to change may be costing your business? When you choose to ignore new methods, advancements or processes, you may be wasting time, energy and resources. And, your failure to innovate can cost more than team morale. Peter Economy, business writer for Inc.com, states, “Resisting change gives your competitors the advantage. Learn to anticipate and lead change in your industry, and leverage it to your advantage.”
Lack of Employee Feedback
Offering feedback to your employees means providing constructive criticism and recognizing their successes. If you’re saving that feedback for a yearly review, you may be making an expensive mistake. Nina Zipkin, an Entrepreneur.com staff writer, explains, “Consistent constructive feedback and dialogue will keep your colleagues on the right track.” While you may want to save formal feedback for a yearly review, remember to check in with your employees often, talk with them about their goals, where they want to go with the company, and what they’ve recently accomplished.
Providing a Quick Fix
When faced with a problem, it may be easier to go with the quick fix. After all, you want a fast and efficient solution. Even though it may get the job done, have you considered the long-term costs? Instead of bandaging the problem as quickly as possible, a good leader will look at the bigger picture and consider optimal solutions. Founder of the employee scheduling app When I Work, Chad Halvorson, writes for Inc.com, “You should always choose the lasting solution even if it’s more costly to implement in the short term.”
Whether it’s a failure to delegate or a lack of employee recognition, some management mistakes can be significant and may be holding your company back from its full potential. By recognizing common mistakes before they happen and learning to take a different path to reach your goals, you may save your business the money, time and productivity you need to be successful.