The same skills that made you a great entrepreneur and leader could also make you a terrible manager.
It’s frustrating to watch a business hover on the verge of great success yet never fully achieve it. One of the most common causes of unfulfilled expectations in many organisations is, surprisingly enough, the presence of a great leader at the top.
Why? Because a track record of success – particularly great success – breeds patterns of behavior that, as the business grows and becomes more complex, turn assets into liabilities. These weaknesses can be even more dangerous to the company, because the leader in question usually views them as key skills.
Here are the four most common Achilles’ heels of great leaders:
1. Listening. Or more precisely, giving the appearance of listening. I’ve seen it happen hundreds of times. A business leader starts out as a genuinely good listener – attentive, curious, interested. Then, as success comes, along with massive demands on their time, and then the leader learns to fake it.
…to read this article in full, visit leading US small business resource, Inc.
