I read a lot of articles on leadership. A lot.
This one, by Vinita Bansal in Fast Company, deserves to be highlighted. Not only does it describe common managerial traps, but it also outlines actionable steps to avoid them—kind of like the local who helped me navigate a golf course I had never played before. Not only did he mention the challenges ahead, but he also explained how to navigate around them. Unfortunately, my accuracy was not up to his expectations!
I’m happy to share the link to Vinita’s article with you here:
Good managers don’t dictate solutions, overprotect workers, or make these other mistakes
Here are the pitfalls (along with my quick take):
- Delegating and then Abdicating
While the article focuses on the pitfall of delegating and then disappearing, a more common issue I observe is leaders not delegating at all. They may feel they can do it best or worry about adding to someone’s already busy workload. These are significant missed opportunities to develop the capabilities of their team. - Bottlenecking Decision-Making
I have seen firsthand how a leader who delegates but still needs to make all the important decisions during check-ins erodes their team’s confidence and significantly impedes growth. - Dictating Solutions
I once worked with a new leader who learned the value of stepping back during a meeting and allowing the team to solve the issue. Her role was only to answer ‘why’ and ‘context’ questions. Not surprisingly, the team came up with a better solution than she had in mind. - Focusing Solely on Results
A while back, I shared a study showing that the number one predictor of a sales representative becoming a great sales manager is their ability to collaborate. Yet, to our peril, we often promote the sales rep with the best individual numbers. - Overprotecting
Recently, I worked with a leadership team and asked them to reflect on when they grew the most in their careers. Almost everyone cited a time when they were thrown into the deep end, with a life saver only available in dire circumstances.
New managers can easily fall into these traps. If you know someone who could benefit from this perspective, consider sharing Vinita Bansal’s article.