5 Ways to Guarantee Failure

I think one of the most worrisome things to senior managers is bringing up a new manager in the company. This is especially true when you convert a professional into a manager in a company. When you hire a new manager from the outside, I think you can generally learn a lot about the candidate, their personality, management style, etc. A new manager, however, can be difficult to figure. You have little or no example of their body of work, just the hunch or the signs that the individual will be a good manager. It’s not until the new manager has begun to work and exercise his managerial influence that you can really come to understand if that person may truly be a good manager.

There are, however, 5 ways you guarantee failure as an effective leader and manager:

1. Not Original

Managers need to motivate their employees and need to generate action from those underneath them in the company. If their style of work is one that does not rouse the base, work can never improve. The organization will continue to trod along as it always has before, never reaching new, higher limits of success.

2. Blend In

Managers who do specific things to blend in and seem like “one of the guys” generally don’t muster enough respect to generate action from his employees. Simply put, when it comes down to it and decisions need to be made, employees will always second-guess the manager and chaos will reign in the organization.

3. Get Desperate

I believe that the outward feelings and demeanor of a manager is magnified in the employees. Managers who are frustrated, desperate, disenfranchised, etc. will cause employees to feel the same way, often 10 fold. This then becomes the face of your organization.

4. Ignore Peers/Employees

While earning respect, managers also have to ensure that employees, the cogs of the organization’s machine are well-oiled and that each specific piece of the organization is working at its best. When individuals in the organization feel disconnected, not cared-for, or that they don’t have an advocate on their side, the entire organization begins to suffer.

5. Don’t Sweat Failures

Even though much of what will determine the organization’s success may be beyond the manager’s control. A manager who simply dismisses failures as “being their control” doesn’t have enough motivation and drive to make themselves better. Successful people often shoot to make everything work in their favor, those in their control and not. Additionally, when mistakes are made, successful people own up and take responsibility and use it as bitter lessons learned which are never to be repeated again.