TCII :: Management Consultants

No-one can doubt that the burden of leadership is getting heavier all the time. Stress levels, customer and employee expectations, government demands - all are rising inexorably. What can today's leaders do to ensure that they don't fall short of the high performance levels required in today's fast-paced business environment?

For a start, they need to avoid the "seven deadly sins" of leadership:

1. Managing not leading - focusing too much on operational activities, rather than fulfilling the true leadership roles such as strategist, ambassador, coach and inventor
2. Poor delegation - not knowing when you can delegate and to whom, when you cannot, and how to coach direct reports
3. Lack of effective people policies - so that roles and responsibilities are not clearly distinguished, and key HR mistakes are committed
4. No leadership of innovation - which is the only way to stay ahead of the competition
5. Tolerating poor people performance - costing the business dear in all ways
6. Choosing abdication over navigation - not actively steering the business, for example by means of a clear and visionary strategy, an effective business model, the right key performance indicators, and constant review of the risk/return ratio
7. Lack of visibility - staying behind the desk rather than going out and communicating regularly with staff.

Many CEOs underperform in these areas owing to lack of experience or training, or because they can't call on appropriate resources internally. Business leaders should never fight shy of using external advisers to provide expertise that isn't on the payroll - either to help formulate policies or business plans, or to validate key decisions.