The Top Reasons Leaders Fail and What You Can Do About It

You might be a great leader, but are you a long-term leader?

It’s very easy to get excited, build a team, and start a business; however, many people find the challenge in maintaining the same enthusiasm and professionalism throughout their tenure as a manager, CEO, or entrepreneur. Fortunately, failure is not inevitable, and there are many things that you can do to ensure you can maintain your success for the long haul. Here are a few of the main reasons why otherwise fabulous business leaders wind up at the bottom of the success ladder.

Unwillingness to Receive Mentoring/Coaching

You might be a fabulous entrepreneur, but everybody needs support from others. Industry Leaders has touched on this topic before, explaining that a mentor offers valuable insight, especially for startups. Even some of the most successful people in the world credit their mentors for coaching them through tough spots on their road toward success.

Lack of Knowledge

How much did you research before starting your business? For many of us, the answer is “not much”. While it is not impossible to stumble upon a successful idea, not everyone is that lucky. If you have yet to or are unsure of how to grow your business even further, you’ll need to do two things: refine your business acumen and learn how to do market research. For the former, you might consider earning a new degree, which you can do online in your own time. If you don’t already have a bachelor’s in business, look for an accredited college with a program that targets areas of interest to you, such as marketing, money management, and communication. If you do choose to take business classes, you will likely learn a bit about performing a market analysis. However, there are many steps, and it never hurts to learn about the process as you go.

Taking things personally.

When you run a business, you’re not always going to make friends. You have to make decisions that others don’t like, and this can lead to tension and getting your personal feelings hurt. When you take things personally, you can get distracted and emotional, which can lead you to making poor business decisions. Ellen Hendriksen, PhD, discusses the topic ofover and underreacting, and explains that being able to take negative feedback is a life skill. Not having this skill also showcases a lack of emotional intelligence, which the Institute for Health and Human Potential explains is our ability torecognize our emotions and those of others. The best advice here is to first know your worth and then not to jump to conclusions about people’s intentions when things happen that you do not like.

Failure to Set Goals for Yourself and Your Staff

Goal setting is crucial in your professional and personal life. Goals give us something to look forward to and to work toward. If you don’t set goals for yourself and for the people that look to you for guidance, then you are setting everyone up for failure. You don’t have to set grandiose goals. Even something small, such as everyone leaving the office by 5 pm on Friday, will boost morale and give you a common direction.

Being a business leader for many years is difficult; there are challenges around every corner. However, your personality and your actions today and every day can make you a better leader, which, in turn, will keep your staff happy and make you more effective for the future.

About the Author

Sheila Johnson once enjoyed a very successful career, but her health was another story. She left the corporate world to start her own business, on her own schedule and, in doing so, found a routine that balances work life with taking care of her mental, emotional, and physical health. She created Well Sheila as a place to not only share her story, but inspire others to put their physical and mental health first with a regular wellness routine and daily self-care.

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