LEADERSHIP: 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY INEFFECTIVE MANAGERS

I'm no techo, nor a digital native.  But Langdon, V|E|C|T|O|R's technology manager, tries to educate me.  And, recently forwarded an article by Nari Kannan from www.it.toolbox.com* - and, I've borrowed its title for this Potshot.  It's a play on a famous book title and the seven negative habits he lists are all too common - and, not just in IT.  So, why not check below and rate yourself - and see what options you have to overcome such habits!

1. Opaque, constantly shifting goals and priorities.  Kannan refers to situations where "goals and priorities keep changing faster than Britney Spears concert costumes."  If that's happening, you need to develop a clearer understanding of your market and the drivers of competitive advantage.  These will help you identify longer-term goals.
2. Playing favourites and one-against-the-other.  Often to make oneself the spider at the centre of the web.  The Devil Wears Prada comes to mind.  In contrast, a well-functioning organisation needs delegation based on clear structure and roles.  And, the leader to build teamwork - up, down and across.
3. The Microsoft Project whiz kid - micromanaging and interfering everywhere,.  As above, trust and delegation are key to success in any organisation.  And, as Kannan says: tools like Microsoft Project are for measurement, not for management.
4. Relentless activity tracker.  Have you created a culture where people focus on putting in the hours rather than producing results.  If so, you need to refocus yourself and them on efficiency and performance benchmarks.  On outcomes not activity.
5. The social klutz.  He or she's a well-recognised TV character, who thinks they're cool and everyone's friend, but is actually a joke.  We all need a strong dose of self-awareness and making sure we respond to people appropriately.
6. The bird's-eye-view thinker.  This one floats in the clouds and never gets down to specifics.  Vision and high-flown ideas are useless if not converted into strategies, plans and action lists, which can then be implemented.
7. The superior manager.  The positional snob only has senior people at his or her meetings.  There are times when seniority is appropriate.  But the test is always value-add - and diversity of views from people further down the line can often be critical to knowing what's actually going on and the leadership actions that are needed.

Kannan's ineffective habits are the sort of things V|E|C|T|O|R helps you avoid.  And, our Leadership-Action-Planning (LAP) tool provides resource materials for the actions you've chosen in your plan.  Amongst these, you'll find real-life mini-cases: brief stories of both effective AND ineffective leadership - including, sadly, examples of my own past mistakes!  You'll notice that a number of our negative cases align pretty much with Kannan's list.

So, if you feel you may be having some challenges or trouble clarifying your leadership priorities, then do an LAP.  It's better (and less career limiting) than becoming ineffective.

Categories for this Potshot:

Understand your marketplace, Build competitive advantage, Design structures and roles, Develop staff and succession, Demonstrate efficiency, Lift benchmarks and IP, Engage people, Develop plans and actions lists, Champion diversity, Career planning,

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