Today’s executives face many potential obstacles. Think of the number of headline-worthy issues likeCustomer complaintsAnd the lawsuits keep coming. From Boeing to Tesla, public scrutiny seems to be at an all-time high.
But beneath the surface, there are more and more leadership hurdles. In my daily conversations with senior leaders, it’s become clear that executives may be struggling to connect with their employees. Even if it doesn’t become a front-page story, workplace communication—or the lack thereof—is a critical issue.
Here are three prominent leadership obstacles, and some best practices for overcoming them head-on.
1. Leaders are not willing to take risks.
Feeling lonely at the top is common. It often takes a safe, deeply trusting environment for a CEO to share their true humanity. And in the workplace, sharing can be difficult. Fear of vulnerability leads many leaders to feel like they are admitting a lack of ability or competence. This is especially the case when they are under pressure from peers, board members, and shareholders.
However, employees want to trust their managers, and that’s impossible without being able to treat them like human beings. The numbers don’t lie: U.S. workers want a manager who is honest and authentic, according to a 2022 study.GoodHire Survey. Another pollA study found that unresponsive bosses are 25 times more likely to be called the “worst boss ever.”
The truth is, being “human” isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being able to communicate. Weakness doesn’t (and shouldn’t) mean incompetence. Leaders who recognize they don’t have all the answers are more likely to engage. After all, why would you have someone who can communicate with others?organizedIf you could do it all yourself?
Leaders have to find a safe way to be vulnerable in some situations. It might be something like, “This is important to our success and I’m not sure how to proceed,” or even, “I’d like your advice or opinion on this.”
2. Leaders don’t believe they need to grow as people.
Vulnerability requires humility—the understanding that no one is perfect. But many leaders treat themselves as finished products that don’t need to adapt or improve. Early in my career, I heard the phrase, “When a leader is done, he or she is done.” If a leader believes that he or she doesn’t need to grow or learn anything else, he or she is on a path to failure.
Today’s stakeholders and broader markets are forever changing their expectations, requiring leaders to strive for continuous personal and professional improvement. Those who don’t will be left behind. Leaders who refuse to change and evolve may also lead to negative role models, with other leaders following suit by not looking inward as well.
research Offers That humble CEOs are Best for businessLeaders should model personal and professional growth in their behaviors. One approach is to prioritize a specific area for improvement—such as delegating tasks or listening in meetings—and share that priority with others, as well as track progress over time.
3. Leaders do not provide space for employees to discuss, debate, and respond.
When it comes to listening and delegating, many leaders don’t encourage others to speak up. Or they become unresponsive when people contribute. Likewise, leaders may forget to acknowledge positive contributions, and tend to be overly negative. Although 59% of people leaders claim to give recognition for good work, Only 35% of employees Their managers are believed to be aware of such work, according to Gallup Poll.
This assumes that managers are primarily responsive. While 72% of managers He says They respond to messages and phone calls within 24 hours, while only 51% of employees say their managers respond within 24 hours.
Years ago, I heard the quote by Simon Sinek, “Leaders eat last,” which still rings true today. When leaders are faced with difficult topics that they need to bring up with their team, it’s important for them to hold back and refrain from sharing their ideas until others have a chance to do so. When leaders share their ideas too quickly, others see them as “what needs to be done.” They see them as a leader using their job authority, not an opportunity to contribute and collaborate.
When there is a challenge, leaders must pose it and thenI am waitingIt is important to practice patience. This requires being silent, observing, and listening to others without judgment and then following up accordingly. Leaders who are patient and listen often discover ideas they had never thought of.
Many, if not most, workplace problems stem from poor communication and false assumptions. Often this stems from a lack of training or guidance to steer leaders in the right direction. Take the UK, for example, where 82% of new managers According to research by the Chartered Management Institute, these are “accidental managers” who have no formal training in management or leadership. And it doesn’t help them. 60% of companies They don’t have a long-term strategy for their internal communications.
This situation needs to change. The first step in fixing a communication problem is to recognize that it is a problem in the first place. Only then can leaders—through training and coaching—become better at listening and communicating, and remove the leadership obstacles that stand in their way.
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