Five Ways Leaders Sabotage Themselves — And How To Avoid Them

(submitted by: Leslie Campos to The Prosperous Leader)

Jacob M Engel (Yeda LLC) | CEO & Author | #1 Amazon Bestseller | Family Business & Entrepreneur Consultant | Leadership Coach. As a leader, you know that you’ve gotten this far in life and business through a series of thoughtful maneuvers, successes and, yes, failures. You may think you’re done growing as a leader, but this work is never done. Let’s take a look at some of the ways leaders can sabotage themselves — and strategies to fix these problems before they hinder your success. 1. Letting your ego get too big

You run a successful business. You are doing everything you wanted to in life. You oversee a team of people who listen to what you have to say. These are all good things, but you want to make sure to remain humble even as your success in business and interpersonal relationships grows. You deserve credit for your organization’s accomplishments — but remember: The best leaders are the humble ones. 2. Doing everything yourself A good leader knows how to delegate tasks. Delegating isn’t about managers losing control of their business functions; it’s about entrusting parts of the business to the people doing the work and allowing them the freedom to grow in their roles. Also, at the end of the day, you simply can’t do everything yourself. You’ll burn yourself out, or worse. Learning how to effectively delegate tasks is key to having the energy to focus on other important business functions. 3. Overlooking administrative details Leaders can get so bogged down with the management of the business — and the big ideas they dreamed of when starting this work — that they neglect certain details. Small-business owners who are overwhelmed by the day-to-day may neglect some important aspects of business administration, particularly the legal ones. Don’t let yourself fall into this category!

This is a great area where you can put those delegation skills to the test. Consider hiring a virtual assistant to do the front-office activities like taking phone calls and submitting reports. You can also turn to the internet for some tasks, such as using project management tools to keep projects on track. You can even utilize online business formation services to handle your LLC application, which can be expedited with lower fees and less paperwork by doing it with an online service. 4. Lacking emotional intelligence This is a big one. Emotional intelligence is imperative to having empathy and deeply understanding those around you. People with low emotional intelligence are quick to correct others but may have a hard time accepting criticism when it’s directed at them. Learning to empathize with people is critical, and it has been shown to be a huge part of why some folks are successful and some aren’t. A good leader needs to understand their people. This understanding goes a long way toward creating positive outcomes in the workplace. 5. Not being able to take advice You are where you are for a reason — you have achieved success and built your own business. Don’t forget, however, how to take advice from those who have different experiences. This goes hand-in-hand with remaining humble in your management techniques. You need to be coachable. You need to be able to hear, internalize and take advice. There is always someone out there who has more experience than you at something, and being able to take information and turn it into actionable items is a key trait of a good leader. Don’t be afraid to ask for help If you found yourself nodding along at any of these, don’t fret. You can always learn and grow as a leader and as a person. Just remember the old adage: Don’t be afraid to ask for help.