The 3 most ignored causes of failure
I think there are basically three kinds of leaders. Please check which category you feel you belong to:
- Those who just “do what they do”, often with good results. They are successful leaders because they continue to do what has worked and stopped doing what didn’t.
- Those who excel at a few leadership skills, but mess up the rest. Don’t get me wrong: they can be successful leaders, too, just often at the cost of “collateral damages” such as low commitment of their teams.
- Those who constantly seek to proactively improve the leadership skills they are lacking the most. These leaders are constant learners, always looking for ways to become more effective.
As with all categories, there are overlaps; however, from my perspective, categories 1 and 2 are most common, whereas number 3 is the least present in companies of all sizes. The most stated reasons are complacency (“you see I am successful!”) and “lack of time” for education (which, of course, is never the root cause since we all have the same amount of time).
No matter which category you see yourself belonging to, I see three causes for mediocre success or failure that are most commonly ignored.
Improve those and you’ll see performance improvements of your team and business instantly:
- Lacking persuasion skills. Most managers and leaders are rather mediocre persuaders. The issue is that persuasion is one of the most important leadership traits. How can anybody lead without persuading others of the new strategy, for example? Improving persuasion skills is essential for outstanding success.
- Lacking clarity. Too many of the leaders I meet are not clear enough about their company’s vision, strategic goals, expectations, etc. The issue: lacking clarity is one of the key reasons for underperformance.
- Lacking follow-through. It is like a disease, but in most organizations, decisions are not executed, initiatives are not brought to an end and ideas fall flat after some weeks. The applies for follow-up on prospecting customers.
The good news: All three shortcomings can be improved rather quickly if you invest in a personal coach.
The effects are outstanding. However, you need to “follow through” on this decision. Click here for my coaching program.