Tweet

Top Five Mistakes Leaders Make in These Troubled Times

Written by: Eileen McDargh

Article Overview: Wise guidance from a business consultant and leadership expert who offers alternative action to the top five mistakes leaders made during difficult times.

Top Five Mistakes Leaders Make in These Troubled Times

Even Joe the Pipefitter must look askance at some of the moves made in corporate America when faced with a string of bad news. (Sorry... I just can't use "Joe the Plumber", a guy who didn't pay his taxes, isn't certified as a plumber, and has tried to cash in on his 15 seconds of fame which - amazingly McGraw Hill has turned into a book while making great authors wait for a contract.)

Mistake #1: Become reactive and reactionary.
There is truth in the old saying "Respond in haste. Regret in sorrow." This is also known as the "ready, fire, aim" approach of leadership. When leaders fail to gather the information and critically assess the long-term impact of decisions, severe errors are made. Consider the Big Three auto executives who knee-jerked their way on private planes to ask for a handout without ever having a plan. Now that's a bonehead mistake.

First, stop any action and breathe. Think long-term strategy. Be cautious. Be proactive. Test out the decisions by saying, "If this... then this..." so you can try it on for size.

Mistake #2: Huddle with only the corporate folks.
First, answers are often found at the floor level, not at the ceiling. Involve everyone in the search for efficiencies and innovations. Engage everyone in a common vision and mission. Besides, if managers tell employees what to do, you've taken away all sense of responsibility and ownership. How refreshing to have the Obama team now posting discussions on the internet and seeking input from a variety of people with differing viewpoints. Building transparency goes a long way for building trust and making us all feel we are part of the solution.

Mistake #3: Cut. Cut. Cut.
No one EVER downsized their way to greatness. Wholesale termination of employees without thinking about the cost of underserved customers and too much work done by too few people or canceling the meeting without realizing that this is the time TO GATHER and candidly talk are just two examples of cuts that could have been done with a scalpel instead of a hacksaw. Substitute Jello for Jamoca Fudge and Two Buck Chuck for Dom Perignon but bring people together.

As for layoffs, if your organization or department can handle this-bring everyone together and spread out the facts. One very smart leader found that employees were willing to reduce work schedules, work half-time, and job share rather than have members of their team terminated. For more ideas, read Responsible Restructuring: Creative and Profitable Alternatives to Layoffs by Wayne Cascio, professor of management at the University of Colorado-Denver Business School.

Mistake #4: Go after new clients and customers.
Unless your current customers have vanished because of poor quality or service, these can be your best source of new revenue. Ask how you can turn them into champions of what you provide. Make them feel special and valuable. I've noticed that my bank is now making every effort to thank me for my business, to call me by name, to answer any request with a "no problem" attitude. Sure, they should have been doing that all along but-better late than never. Besides, they've already got all my money in the safe. I think they'd like to keep it.

Mistake #5: Do more with less.
We've been hearing this for years. In my consulting practice, I have often found that much of the "more" is work that provides no value at the end of the day. Scrutinize every process; get rid of the sacred cows and the egos. Translate every action into a dollar value. In one organization, we found that senior executives were tripping over each other to put their two cents into every PowerPoint presentation that was made. It was a waste of executive talent, made each project longer than necessary, disempowered the employee creating the presentation, and actually used up some $15,000 worth of senior management time!

BONUS Mistake: Buy into pessimism.
It's a huge mistake we ALL make when we let the news of the day finds us hiding under the covers, chopping up the furniture for kindling and searching for recipes made with bread and water. What we have here is an opportunity to really consider what is most important, to spend time at work that is meaningful, and to nurture relationships that matter. We have an opportunity to reclaim our reputation, our integrity, and our future. Not to do this would be our biggest mistake.

To condense the wisdom of a Hopi Elder, "This is the Eleventh Hour...and we are the ones we've been waiting for."

(c) 2009, McDargh Communications. Publication rights granted to all venues so long as article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links are made live.

Related Articles
  Eliminating the Fear of Failure
  Leadership in Troubled Times
  Business Leadership - What it Takes to Differentiate Yourself in the 21st Century
  Failure Is An Option
  Should we encourage mistakes on our team?

Article Tags: auto executives, bad news, building trust, common vision, corporate america, efficiencies, greatness, haste, huddle, mcgraw hill, pipefitter, plumber, private planes, ready fire aim, sense of responsibility, sorrow, term impact, term strategy, underserved, viewpoints



Related Forum Posts
Re: Info for would be franchisers... - [quote="Sebastien":1d29sdv1]Like Franchise Times, Franchise Update is a very practical magazine. There is no blah blah, just straight facts that anyone in the franchise community can relate to. I just want to mention that all these magazines are NOT franchisee oriented. I mean these magazines are for franchise professionals. If you're looking to buy a franchise, you won't find much information in there. To answer your question, getting published in Franchise Times was fairly easy. I don't want to brag too much but I think I am known in the franchise industry. I was the marketing guy at Franchise.com for a few years before joining my new company, the World Franchising Network. So people know me and I have a very good relationship with Nancy Weingartner, the Managing Editor at Franchise Times. I was talking with her at the last Franchise Expo South in Miami and she mentioned she'd like me to be profiled. I was like "ok, sure!". I like this franchise executive profile thing in Franchise Times as it is rarely BS. People are usually really natural in there.[/quote:1d29sdv1] Thanks for the follow up Sebastien! And I can't say that I'm surprised that networking with the right people and managing your relationships with them properly are the keys to being published. I guess the old adage holds true of "it's not who you know, but who knows you" that's important.
Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - I've started work with a brand new company that is going to do loss mitigation. My boss intends to hire a "big" PR firm - ie one that costs a lot of money - because he wants press releases sent out to the New York Times, the LA Times - all the major papers around the country - and he think they'll be more likely to print them if they come from a "big" firm as opposed to a one-person PR firm. I think it doesn't matter where the press release comes from as long as its well written. What are the opinions here?
Re: Quote of the Day - "The only people witho - Thanks for sharing this Evan, there are some very powerful quotes in there, I particularly like this one:- You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget your past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don't think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully. regards, Mal.
Re: Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - [quote="OmnivoreInk":dmj1i0sv]I've started work with a brand new company that is going to do loss mitigation. My boss intends to hire a "big" PR firm - ie one that costs a lot of money - because he wants press releases sent out to the New York Times, the LA Times - all the major papers around the country - and he think they'll be more likely to print them if they come from a "big" firm as opposed to a one-person PR firm. I think it doesn't matter where the press release comes from as long as its well written. What are the opinions here?[/quote:dmj1i0sv] I think the most important factor is whether your press release will reach the most number of your target audience or not. It won't matter if the press release is well written if no one has the opportunity to read it. I also believe that credibility comes with having your press release in an established source like The New York Times, LA Times, etc... For instance, if you enjoyed playing tennis, who would you trust more? The advice from a recreational tennis player who has his own column in [i:dmj1i0sv]Tennis Magazine[/i:dmj1i0sv] [u:dmj1i0sv]or[/u:dmj1i0sv] the recreational tennis player who has his own blog? I don't know about you, but I'd listen to the guy on [i:dmj1i0sv]Tennis Magazine[/i:dmj1i0sv] over the blog owner at least 9 out of 10 times.
Re: Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - I agree with Kevin [quote:3b8fyubd]I think the most important factor is whether your press release will reach the most number of your target audience or not.[/quote:3b8fyubd] You dont a big company that will charge mega bucks as Im sure they will even add a %age to the cost of the press release. Im sure if you approach New York Times, the LA Times with every thing presented professionally I think it will still stand the same chance. I would start advertising online, then locally thats when the NYT can see what there missing out on! And to test the water first!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Work at home Opportunities for the Disabled

Sales Courage and Resilience

How To Be Happy at Work? Acknowledge Yourself

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.