SelfhelpMagazine

by Shirley Black, LLM

For men, the question of what constitutes quality leadership is often quite unclear. Most men have ideas of leadership (often confused with “manliness”) instilled in them from birth. It can be hard to overcome these preconceptions if one finds that they don’t match up with an employer’s expectations for how a leader should behave.

Because of this disparity, many men find themselves underperforming in their leadership roles. In the following sections, you’ll read about the top ten mistakes that most commonly keep men from becoming successful leaders, and what you can do to avoid them.

1. Doing Things Right VS Doing the Right Thing

A leader is someone that people look up to. Many men are obsessed with the idea of quality results to the point that they overlook this. Never forget: the means are just as important as the ends. When you’re a leader, you not only have to do things right, but you also have to do the right thing and set a good example for others.

2. Tell Them What, Not How

A good leader is one who lets the skills and talents of individual team members shine through and fortify the whole group. Sometimes men will want to dominate in a leadership position, and in their desire to control the successful outcome of a project, they’ll enforce their opinions about how something should be done on their workers. This is a mistake that defeats the whole purpose of working in a team.

3. Lack of Incentive

“What’s in it for me?” We’ve all asked that at one point or another. In the quest for good results, men often overlook the need to supply incentive to the team members that they’re leading. While a good team performance is incentive enough for a leader, the team members themselves need encouragement in the form of being reminded of what they will personally gain from doing a good job. Make them want it as much as you do.

4. Loss of Hope

A good leader must be able to instill a sense of optimism in his team members. If you’re constantly stressed and on edge about results, your team members will feel as if you secretly think the project is doomed to failure. Try and maintain a positive attitude to keep team spirits up.

5. Not Listening

A good leader is one who knows when it’s time to follow. Although a leader has the final word in group decisions, he or she should always listen carefully when the team wants to go in a different direction. It’s usually the case that they have a good reason for their decision. Men often overlook this because they feel that reversing themselves is akin to admitting defeat. It isn’t.

6. No Sense of Humor

Men tend to become severe when they are given a leadership position, perhaps due to their eagerness to produce impressive results and “look the part” of a leader. This is often quite alienating. Instead, try and be the same person you’ve always been. Look at setbacks with a sense of humor, even as you seriously strive to overcome them.

7. No Delegation

One of the greatest flaws of men in leadership positions is the tendency to take all the work upon themselves. Overcome this habit by learning to delegate work to your team members. Just remember to make sure that the right work goes to the person best suited to doing it.

8. Thinking You “Don’t Have It”

A lot of men tend to look at their role models and think that they possess some mysterious unattainable quality that sets them apart. They like to idolize. This behavior is best avoided because it gives one the impression that leadership is something that only a few can achieve. If you hope to gain quality leadership performance, you have to believe that it’s a learnable skill.

9. Lack of Vision

Many men approach the task of leadership without a clear plan in mind. They might fear that a strong plan will stifle creativity or that it will make them appear as if they themselves aren’t doing the work, that they’re only “following a list.”

These are valid concerns, but a good leader must still govern with a solid vision of success in mind. If you don’t know what the conditions for success are from the very beginning, how will you meet them?

10. Choosing the Wrong Team Members

When leaders are lucky enough to be given the responsibility of choosing their own team members, they must take advantage of it. Men often have the mentality that they should pick people to whom they owe favors, or those who they get along well with.

More important is that each person brings something valuable to the team and is the best at handling a particular aspect of the work that needs to be done. This will facilitate delegation and help to ensure quality leadership performance.

References:

Clark, Donald. (1997). Growing a Team.
Retrieved March 11, 2008 from Big Dog, Little Dog, a leadership and coaching web site: Link

Engen, M.L. van, & Willemsen, T.M. (1999). Gender and Leadership
Styles: A Review of the Past Decade.
Retrieved March 11, 2008 from the University of Connecticut, Department of Economics Web site: Link

Eagly, Alice H. & Johnson, Blair T. (1990). Gender and Leadership
Style: A Meta-Analysis. Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 108, No. 2, pp.233-256. University of Connecticut Digital Commons.

About the Author:

Shirley Black, LLM, is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration at South Carolina State University College of Business and Applied Professional Sciences. She has extensive academic experience with specialties in legal studies, tax, leadership and professional development.