Why do good leaders fail?

Every organisation counts on its leaders. Yet, sometimes, even the best leaders trip up. But, what makes leaders who've been successful suddenly slip?

This isn't just puzzling for the leader, but the whole team. In this blog, we'll explore common reasons behind such missteps and how they can be avoided. For anyone leading a team, this is crucial knowledge to stay on course.

#1. Expert - But now in Wrong Job

Mastery in a field doesn't necessarily equate to effective leadership.

Experts, known for their attention to detail and high standards, commonly encounter difficulties in delegation and conveying a broader perspective. This can lead to frustration, both for them and their teams.

They may not want to be a leader - the idea of a team may ‘stress them out’. Maybe they are in the wrong job?

Top Tip: Create career paths for people to progress as an ‘Expert’ and not just as a leader.

#2. Over-promoted and Under-supported

There is nothing more sad than seeing a highly proficient person get promoted only to find themselves ill equipped and adequately supported.

This can lead to a loop of stress, self-doubt, imposter syndrome and waning contentment and despondency.

This is becoming all too common as it is becoming more difficult to fill positions with people who have the right experience.

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Equally, it is difficult for the team to be left to fend for themselves, without the necessary direction and support or micromanagement leading everyone to be stressed.

Aside from the personal cost, there is a cost to the business.

Leadership is a skill and craft in its own right. It is easy for organisations and people to imagine that it's an innate skill that does not necessitate any formal training.

This is wrong. Just as you would not expect a tennis player to become good just by playing in the park, neither would you expect them to be able to play effectively against a fully trained opponent.

Why then, do such misconceptions persist when it comes to leadership?

Top Tip: Create a MasterClass Group of leaders at a similar level. Invest in group coaching techniques for them to become a self-coaching and self-supporting group

#3. Scared to Show Weakness

Another pitfall leaders can fall into is an assumption that they should inherently know things and how to execute various tasks.

Colleagues may take for granted that they have the necessary know-how. The danger is that the new leader goes along with this assumption, avoiding confessing to others that they have this knowledge gap. The more this goes on the worse the problem becomes. It ends up with an ‘Elephant in the Room’ that no-one wants to talk about.

You can make mistakes but you are not a failure until you start blaming others for those mistakes!” - John Wooden

Top Tip: Create an environment where it's OK not to know something - but it's NOT ok to BS

#4. Too much pressure

The high levels of efficiency that are necessitated for productivity, can often come at the expense of focusing on people.

Building relationships, connections, inspiring the team about the vision and giving people time to breath can be seen as distractions. Things that can slow the company down.

This could not be a more wrong assumption.

A common reason for leaders to fail is for them to fail to get their teams working well. They feel they are under too much pressure to have time to explain - or to empathise - or to show any interest in the person. Leading to an unproductive team.

In a 2017 study by Kronos and Future Workplace, burnout was highlighted as the biggest threat to employee engagement, with 95% of HR leaders citing it as a key driver of employee turnover.

Top Tip - Prioritise team as a priority. Protect 1:1 and team time. The more you don’t feel you have time - the more important it is.

#5. Need to be in Control.

Overly task-focused leaders also tend to be more reactive, operating from a position of fear, and often displaying highly directive, controlling, or perfectionist behaviours that can alienate others and be disempowering to their teams.

It is not uncommon for people, especially if they have perfectionism tendencies to think that other people cannot do the work sufficiently well. They may worry that if they let others do it, they’ll mess things up and I’ll look bad.”

But, this mentality is a double edged sword. It leaves people feeling disempowered, nervous and not able to do their best work.

Top Tip: Admit you feel this way. Tell other people. Work with them to help them help you build trust in them.

#6 Lack of Feedback

Yes, leaders have been successful. But they are not infallible. They make mistakes just like everybody else.

They need communication and feedback to go forward.

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Effective communication goes beyond mere exchange of words; it’s about forging genuine connections.

With such a focus on the task, and not on the people this can become really difficult.

‘Feedback is a gift’ - and one which people do not necessarily have to give you. People need to feel safe giving feedback. That they would be disadvantaged or shouted at. Not asking for or getting honest feedback from above and below can be a significant reason for failure.

Top Tip: Make feedback part of the everyday. Ask regularly and NEVER react badly. Feedback is a gift and you should always be grateful.

#7. Task Focus and not Strategic

Almost every leader will struggle with the balancing act of hitting the short term goals, whilst remaining true to their longer term goals. But, some leaders don’t balance this right. The result ? Company doesn’t get led in the right direction.

As a leader, you need to be very clear about what your long term vision is. Without this, everything else will be confusing.

It is too easy to be busy being busy. To focus on the high workload of today and to put aside the longer terms project - ‘which can always be done tomorrow’

And, when faced with the toss up of short or long, providing you are clear on the company's mission , vision , values, you will go in the right direction.

Top Tip: Review your Vision and Mission and meditate on it regularly. Schedule days in the diary to focus on strategy and the long term. Protect these days.

# Leadership burnout

It's not just your team that needs a break, leaders do too.

It is common for leaders to often think that they can keep driving and that they must keep driving themselves and their teams.

But without gaps this will eventually lead to burnout - leading to poor decisions and poor performance.

Ironically, often the harder people work - the less they get done!

A recent McKinsey report suggested that people should be working at 85% capacity routinely - thus leaving space for when there is a big deadline - or a big project.

Top Tip: Role model working reasonable hours. Knock off at a decent time - this will vary depending on your clients and industry. In the UK probably 6ish is a reasonable time to work until. Knock off them, Don't bombard your staff - same in the mornings. Don't start sending emails etc until it's reasonable they are at work.

Final Thoughts

At its core, being a great leader isn't about just one big success. It's about consistently doing many small things right.

Key tasks like building trust, motivating your team, helping others grow, and showing you care can often be overlooked. Some leaders, especially those who love to get things done quickly, think focusing on people will slow them down.

Don't be that kind of leader.

Take a step back and think. Ask yourself what you're doing well and where you can improve as a leader. Most importantly, figure out how you're going to make those changes.

The best time to start? Right now.