The Seven Deadly Sins of Leadership

The success of a business can be traced back to its leaders. Edwin H. Friedman said, "Leadership can be thought of as a capacity to define oneself to others in a way that clarifies and expands a vision of the future." It is important to recognize what is positive and effective in each leader, but it is also important to be aware of obstacles that may be looming in the distance. Successful leadership develops over time, and can only be improved with knowledge of how to diagnose and treat leadership inhibitors. This article takes the popular parable of the seven deadly sins, and caters it directly to business leaders. Here are the seven deadly sins of leadership.

The first sin is to assume that your employees know the company's objectives and purpose. Even if your company has implemented an impressive strategic plan, it is worthless unless it is understood and embraced at all levels. Effective leaders should take the time to train and teach employees about the company's objectives. Leaders are also responsible for goal setting. Objectives and purpose should be restated each time a goal is set within the company. By repeatedly setting goals with the objectives in mind, employees will gain knowledge and understanding of what the company stands for.

Sin two is to approach selection and hiring in a haphazard manner. Studies indicate that in a best case scenario, a qualified employee, with appropriate job fit, will be hired only 14 percent of the time. Without taking the proper amount of time to hire employees, companies run the risk of wasting time, effort, and money on someone who was never qualified for the position in the first place. Quality hiring practices at all levels improve overall performance. Rigorous interviews and background checks can help employers form an accurate picture of past behavior, but pre-employment screening for a potential employee is a more accurate predictor of future behavior.

The third leadership sin is to assume your people are trained. Failing to develop your people's talents through appropriate training is a waste of resources. Many companies spend more time negotiating and paying for maintenance contracts on their equipment than they do training their staff. And yet, they claim their employees are their number one asset. By investing in employees, companies are investing in their future success. Training ensures employees will succeed. Without proper training and development, companies are ensuring their employees will fail.

Failing to evaluate and measure is sin number four. It is easy to fall into the habit of "business as usual". It takes little effort to perform tasks by rote or do things the same way simply because that is the way they have always been done. You should continually assess your business' activities. Are they necessary and relevant? If so, then these activities should be tracked to assess effectiveness as well as efficiency. Being able to quantify your successes makes it easier to set goals, and to motivate employees with concrete data.

The fifth sin is, failing to provide appropriate feedback. Fear of conflict can cause leaders to avoid mentioning unacceptable behavior or requiring accountability. Whether through performance reviews or conversations during the course of daily activities, meaningful, constructive feedback is necessary to produce good performance and to help employees' career development. In a recent study conducted by Salary, of 2,000 employees and 330 HR professionals, two thirds of companies believe their performance reviews are effective, but only 39 percent of employees agree. To effectively provide feedback, start communicating from the beginning with employees about expectations and performance. End of the year reviews often highlight past occurrences. It is much more effective and motivating to continually communicate with employees. This will also enable mistakes or miscommunications to be fixed earlier and leave for less clean up later.

If you assume you are doing a good job and your customers are happy, you are committing sin number five. Assuming your customers are satisfied simply because you have not received complaints is not necessarily an accurate barometer. Your business should have mechanisms in place to encourage customer feedback. Social networking sites, electronic communication and website options allow for a multitude easy ways for consumers to offer valuable feedback. Implementing valuable suggestions from customers will be reflected as improvement in your company's success.

The final sin is: not marketing (failure to understand the relationship between marketing and sales). Even businesses with an excellent sales force should actively market themselves. Marketing and its disciplines of public relations, research, and advertising are critical. These disciplines discover strategies to identify new markets, communicate to prospects and clients, and to establish your brand and message among all of your constituents. Failure to actively pursue these strategies impedes your business' ability to compete.

As if seven deadly leadership sins were not enough, we will leave you with a bonus.
The over-committed eight sin is to treat employees as a commodity. Any company who has experienced the high cost of employee turnover understands its toll: replacement costs, loss of productivity and decreased morale. Treat employees like a commodity and they will respond by leaving you as soon as possible for the next best offer. It is especially crucial for the benefit and productivity of the company to keep employees engaged and motivated. If the employees are developing and satisfied they will produce quality work.

Effective leadership is achievable through effort and understanding. Leaders who are most successful are aware of their strengths and weaknesses and will work to create strengths from their weaknesses. Leaders set the framework for the foundation of the companies they oversee. With knowledge of common mistakes, leaders can better equip themselves to take preventative measures for a better future.