Poor management is one of the main factors of a team’s underperformance. Even the most motivated employees become less productive or start looking for a new job if, for example, the company lacks quality feedback or the manager does not have the skills of conflict resolution.
Let’s find out what signs are evidencing the weak leadership qualities of a manager and how to correct the situation.
6 Key Factors of Poor Leadership
In most cases, poor leadership skills are the result of negative habits or a lack of competencies needed to manage a team. The most common issues are the deficient quality of communication, passive-aggressive behavior, lack of strategic thinking, and failure to deal with conflicts.
Poor Communication
One of the main attributes of a bad leader in the team is the inability to build quality communication. In order for the company to run productively and expand, the leader should be able to listen to his/her employees. If the leader rarely and reluctantly responds to messages and emails of employees, not only the work process suffers but also the motivation of people.
Poor communication leads to problems such as:
- Inaccurate timelines for project implementation;
- Employees do not know their area of responsibility clearly;
- Team members do not understand the company’s goals and values;
- Lack of team unity.
This can also include the leader’s passive-aggressive communication with the subordinates. Such behavior is also called toxic and negatively affects team relations.
Negative Influence on Employees
If the leader fails to explain team goals to employees and engage them in productive work, the success of the entire company is affected. For example, it is challenging to get all team members to be perfectly disciplined in the workplace if the leader is constantly unreasonably late and blows off deadlines for tasks.
The consequences of a leader’s poor influence on all employees:
- Low level of employee motivation;
- Negative atmosphere in the office;
- Lack of trust in the team.
Also, the lack of transparency is seriously detrimental to the effective work of the company. If there is insincerity between the manager and the employees, it demotivates people. If the company’s management deliberately conceals essential information from employees or doesn’t tell the truth, it undermines trust in the leader.
Poor Strategic Thinking
If the leader is not able to strategize the team’s work or predict the situation even a few steps ahead, the company is unlikely to succeed. Often, the reason for this is the manager’s complete reliance on him or herself, rather than on a predetermined and approved operating strategy.
Problems that arise if the leader is not thinking strategically:
- The team is busy most of the time solving routine tasks rather than focusing on the final goal of the operation;
- Little time is devoted to searching for new ideas or unusual approaches to work tasks;
- Challenging situations are systematically set aside for later instead of finding the right decisions on time.
It is essential to remember that the strategic vision of processes should apply not only to the leader but to the entire team. If this is not the case, the performance of the team is diminished.
Poor Time Management
Mismanagement of time has 2 of the most common paths. In the first case, due to improper prioritization, deadlines are constantly broken, and important tasks are postponed until the last minute. In the second case, the leader puts too much work on himself/herself and is unable to delegate tasks.
Consequences of poor time management:
- Loss of trust from the company’s partners or clients. All the agreements should be fulfilled. This is a question of the positive reputation of the entire company. Only force majeure circumstances can be a valid reason for changing deadlines;
- The discipline of employees declines. If people see that the manager allows him/herself to be constantly late or disrupts deadlines, people may also begin to treat their duties irresponsibly.
If the managers do not know how to delegate tasks, they do not perform their part of the work on time. In this case, the effectiveness of both the manager and the entire team decreases.
Poor Conflict Management Skills
The desire to deliberately ignore a troublesome situation so as not to provoke conflict can lead to unfortunate consequences. Avoidance of difficult situations and fear of confrontation with other employees are not the best strategies for a leader.
If a weak manager systematically puts off resolving a conflict situation, it leads to such problems:
- The company does not advance;
- Employees’ trust decreases because they do not get the leader’s support;
- Problems are not solved in time and pile up.
As a result, the team loses manageability, and the pace of its development decreases.
No Leadership Skills Development
This situation often arises when an employee suddenly becomes a leader and is not fully ready for that. Such a problem usually happens when the company management has decided to urgently fill a vacant position. In this case, the main selection criterion becomes solely the professional qualities of the person. Experience in managing any processes is often not taken into account.
As a result, the new manager is either forced to learn on the fly, or the problem remains unresolved.
The consequences of not developing leadership skills in a manager:
- Efficiency of the whole team drops;
- Lack of corporate culture;
- Too much time is spent on scheduling work;
- Risk of mistakes increases.
Promoting someone to a managerial position without training means creating the ground for constant managerial conflicts.
How to Fix the Situation
The good news is that it is possible to develop leadership skills like any others. For example, if your team has a feedback problem, it’s worth paying attention to communication skills.
If you’re in a leadership position, any of the 6 problems listed are signs that it’s worth working on improving your managerial competencies.
How to Become a Strong Communicator
If the problem is poor communication, you can get your employees to ask you clarifying questions about work tasks. For example: “It’s important for me to make sure that I’m doing my tasks not only well but also on time. Could you be clear about the deadline by which I have to complete my assignment?”
This will give you two benefits at once:
- You’ll get feedback from employees on how much they understand the goals and objectives of the team’s work;
- It will encourage employees to give you feedback, thereby increasing their loyalty.
An additional positive point is that such a discussion of work tasks can be a source of unconventional ideas.
How to Improve Your Influence on Your Employees
For a team to work productively, all of its members should know the short- and long-term goals and uphold the corporate values. One of the most significant qualities of a good leader is the ability to engage all employees in fruitful work and help them grow.
How to achieve this:
- Set a positive example. If you want to get quality feedback, start giving it yourself. You create standards of positive team behavior and motivate your employees;
- Create the effect of constant presence. Live communication is often the best way to convey important information to the employee;
- Remain calm and confident. In a non-standard situation, employees may panic, but not the leader. All team members should see that the leader is in complete control of the situation.
One of the key components of a productive team atmosphere is respect for the leader. In order for the team to work effectively, employees should honor the leader and not be afraid of him/her.
How to Develop Strategic Thinking
Strategic thinking is a valuable skill for a manager. With its help, you can prove your importance and the ability to manage large-scale processes.
Simply put, it is the mindset of action:
- Ability to foresee different scenarios of the situation and develop ways to solve possible problems;
- Ability to suggest new ideas by oneself, as well as to encourage the employees to do it;
- Ability to make complex decisions, not to put off dealing with problematic situations indefinitely.
In addition, it is crucial to see the situation as a whole, including long-term goals. In this case, employees will not be stuck only on routine tasks. This will help you and the entire team have a high level of motivation.
How to Manage Time
For a leader, competent time management is the ability to divide tasks into important and nonessential ones. In this case, it is relatively easy to calculate the time that will be required for a particular project.
For good time management, a leader will need these skills:
- Delegation of responsibilities. A strong leader is not afraid to delegate part of the duties to other employees. This will help people show their talents and build trust in the leader;
- Keep all processes under control. Don’t forget to ask your employees if they need help in performing their tasks. It’s better to find out in time that a particular stage of the project needs more work than to let deadlines slip.
When priorities are set correctly, the entire team works without rushing and disrupting deadlines.
How to Deal with Conflicts in the Workplace
If a problem such as team conflicts arises, it’s essential to first determine the root cause. This will help find the right solution for this situation, as well as avoid the occurrence of such issues in the future.
The most effective methods for dealing properly with conflicts in the team:
- Do not ignore conflicts. Avoiding conflicts fosters the growth of an obnoxious situation;
- Train employees not to be afraid to defend their point of view. The productive discussion will teach people to work together efficiently and quickly find solutions to challenging situations;
- Allow employees to voice their problems with constructive feedback. This will help to detect undesirable conflicts in the bud.
It is also worth introducing into corporate standards such a point as the unacceptability of conflict behavior.
How to Develop Leadership Skills
Even if a person is not a natural leader, these qualities can be developed. First and foremost, it is recommended to build a personal leadership style.
Effective ways to grow leadership skills:
- Develop discipline;
- Learn to gradually take on more responsibility;
- Do not be afraid of constructive criticism.
Another key skill is the ability to inspire people and motivate them to achieve their goals.
Conclusions
Poor leadership skills are a frequent problem for managers, which reduces the effectiveness of the entire team. The most common problems, in this case, are poor communication, lack of strategic thinking, and inability to manage conflicts.
Another common problem is poor training of the employee for a leadership position. But even in this case, managerial qualities can be built up.
