3 Ways You Are Failing Your Team

As a business owner, the success of our team depends of us.  The buck stops with you.  Failure, success, bloating - it all starts and stops with you.

And that is a ton of pressure, isn’t it?

The good news is that we have the opportunities to build and lead incredible teams.  But we have to do it the right way.

The following are four ways that you might be failing your team:

Not Holding to Your Vision

As a leader, you are the chief vision officer. You set the direction others to follow.  For others to get on board with.  Without this direction, employees will be lost.

I once worked for a company where the leader had defined a very clear vision to me, and that is why I went to work for him.  After a couple of years, however, he started to waiver in his vision.  At times, it almost felt like that he was going to completely reverse the direction of the company.

For me and several other employees, this was a deal breaker.  We weren’t sure where we were going and ultimately, several of us left the company.

Yes, you can pivot your vision, but there has to be one clear vision at all times.

Forgetting Your Most Valuable Asset

Computers are you most valuable asset.  Right?

Of course not.  People are.  And specifically, your employees.

Without your team, you aren’t going to accomplish much.

As John Maxwell says:

“Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team."

When you treat your team like your most valuable asset, you are going to get much better results out of them than if you treat them like an expense.

Not Investing In Yourself

As someone who travels for my day job, I end up flying several times a year.  On each flight, the flight attendant is required to go through a series of safety instructions, one of which includes explaining how to use an oxygen mask in the case of sudden decreased cabin pressure.

When explaining how to use an oxygen mask, the flight attendant always makes it clear that all passengers should secure their own mask before they attempt to assist someone else.

The bottom line is that you can’t help anyone if you don’t help yourself first.

A Question For You

What other ways have you seen leaders fail their teams?