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What’s Poor Leadership and Management Costing
Most people recognise that good leaders and managers can make a huge difference to business performance. Part of the way they do this is through the way they operate and work with others that they lead or manage.
I came across an article the other day The Real Cost Of Bad Bosses on www.inc.com that provided some pretty scary numbers. Here are just a few of them.
It is estimated that bad bosses cost the economy $360 billion in lost productivity.
65% of employees said they would take a new boss rather than a pay rise.
There were 5 things that were cited that bosses don’t do in a study of over 30,000 managers:
1. Fail to inspire
2. Accept mediocrity
3. Lack direction and vision
4. Unable to collaborate and be a team player
5. Fail to walk their talk
By any stretch of the imagination this is a significant issue. Of course identifying the data is one thing but the real value comes by doing something about it. So what might leaders and managers do?
Spend more time speaking to people to find out what makes them tick and then trying to allocate work that fires people up.
Set clear challenging goals and then hold people to account for what they have agreed to deliver.
Be crystal clear about what they are trying to achieve and clearly communicate to others.
Recognise that there is always going to be a cap on progress if the potential of others is not utilised or under utilised. Remember together, everyone, achieves, more.
Set the tone and make sure that what you say and what you do is not disconnected.
The reality is that none of this stuff is particularly difficult to do. The challenge for leaders and managers is to stand back and recognise where they are helping or hindering performance through what they are doing or not doing. Once they do this there is the opportunity to make changes that produce better results.
Duncan Brodie helps professional people to become highly effective leaders and managers. He invites you to sign up for his free management e-course
About the Author Duncan Brodie
Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.