Six Management Mistakes You Might be Making Right Now

As a manager, you face a lot of obstacles to effectiveness.

Needless meetings. Unclear directives from leadership. Resistance from your direct reports when policies or procedures change.

And sometimes, you’re the problem. 

You don’t mean to be. You think you’re doing the right things. But sometimes, the things you think are helping end up putting you in your own way.

Six ways you might be unintentionally sabotaging yourself as a manager:

1. “New Sheriff in Town” mentality

This mental trap is easy to fall into – and not just for first-time managers.

Maybe you’ve been a team member for years, just promoted from within, and you can’t wait to shake things up. Or, let’s say you’re new to the organization and you want to leave no doubt about who’s in charge.

So you hit the ground running – and by “running,” I mean firing off emails and calling team meetings on the subject of “Things are Gonna be Different Around Here from Now On.”

New policies. New procedures. New standards of attendance, performance and behavior – all before lunch.

Yes, you’re the manager. And yes, that puts you in a position of authority. But before you go around flashing that shiny new badge and taking a heavy-handed leadership approach, consider three things:

1. You probably don’t have a full grasp on why things are the way they are.
2. Even if changes do need to be made, getting buy-in is way more effective than dictating.
3. Your success as a manager depends a lot on how willing your team is to work for you, and coming in hot on Day One is a lousy way to make a good first impression.

Slow it down. Meet your team one-on-one in their space, not yours. Get to know them: What they do, how they work – maybe even what they’d like to see changed. Ask open-ended questions. Listen to the answers and then show you’ve heard them. 

You still have the authority to run the team, and you’re going to have to make a lot of final calls, but the more information and rapport you can gain, the better.

2. Needless inflexibility

This is closely related to new-sheriff-ism, in that it’s counterproductive and looks like a control move to those you lead.

Note: The key word here is “needless.” If you’re dealing with safety protocols or compliance matters, then you’d better be inflexible or things can go off the rails in one missed step.

Same goes if you’re teaching somebody new. After all, your approach is the one you know best, and trial and error isn’t an option at that stage.

But when there’s room for different approaches to how things get done – so long as they do get done on time, to standard and within budget – insisting that your way is the only way shows three things:

1. You don’t trust your people to come up with solutions on their own.
2. Control is more important to you than productivity.
3. You might need to relax your perfectionist tendencies.

As the essayist, philosopher and generally accomplished thinker Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: Doing things the same way every time when you don’t have to, just for the sake of doing things the same way every time, is pointless.

Actually, the correct quote is Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, but who says “hobgoblin” anymore?

Different people are effective in different ways, at different times and from different angles. So long as they’re around when you really need them, and so long as they are effective, don’t mess with what works.

If you do struggle with perfectionism, realize that there is a negative impact on your team and work to set clear expectations up front, stay in communication but step back as much as possible as the work unfolds.

3. Rigid one-on-one agendas for everyone

You’re set for your weekly meetings with your direct reports. You know what you want to go over, and in what order. You’ve blocked out the time down to the minute. 

You’re doing it wrong.

Some of your direct reports are going to thrive on this sort of structure. They crave structure like I crave a good dive bar burger. And if that’s the case, give it to them, by all means. 

But some people need a more organic back-and-forth. Some need to use meetings as brainstorming sessions, if they’re struggling with how to work through a task or project. 

And sometimes – hear me out here – a weekly meeting can be an email. Or a Teams chat. No point in feeding the hobgoblins, right?

My supervisor – and yes, I am sucking up here – is a pro at managing one-on-ones. 

Some weeks, we start with where I am on the latest slew of deadlines and work out priorities. All business, no chitchat, miles to go before I sleep and all that. Some weeks, we meander through topics ranging from 80s pop to church architecture to idiot drivers on the morning commute (and lo, they are many).

And sometimes I come through the door, stay standing and say, “This is what I’m working on. I’ll have this done by midday, that by end of day and the other by end of day tomorrow.” 

She’ll say, “OK, get to it.”

No two meetings are alike, but I like to think they’re all productive in one way or another.

4. Inappropriate sarcasm

As with “needless inconsistency,” the qualifier makes all the difference. Sarcasm can be fine in a tight, bonded team, so long as everyone gets it and is comfortable with it. 

In my former life as a newspaper sportswriter, three things – sarcasm, dark humor and ruthless chops-busting – were important communication and survival skills in the newsroom. 

We got the job done well -- on time, every night -- in between insults, inside jokes and empty threats of graphic violence. (Okay, there was the one night when I took the recycling bin into the parking lot and stomped it flat when the computers went down, but it popped back into shape.)

But … not everyone gets sarcasm. 

If one of your team members isn’t wired to pick up on sarcastic inflection and body language, they’re likely to take sarcasm literally. The same thing can happen if someone’s not a native English speaker and hasn’t been immersed in the culture long enough to understand what’s earnest and what isn’t.

The result: hurt feelings, misunderstood instructions and damaged morale. And, sarcasm intended, that’s a great look for a manager.

5. Telling people what they’ve done wrong and what they should do instead

Coaching is a big part of managing. And if a task or project fails – or even if it could have been done better – it’s your job to help your direct reports understand what went wrong and how to fix it.

One of the worst things you can do is take over the responsibility for that understanding.

In my former life as a sportswriter, I got to sit in on a lot of practice sessions. The best coaches – the ones with winning records and staying power – almost never said, “Look, here’s where you went wrong and here’s how to do it better.”

They walked through a breakdown or subpar performance. And at every step, there was a review:

“What did you do here? Did it work? Why not? What should you have done instead?”

They didn’t let a player get away with saying “I don’t know,” either. They kept probing until the light went on and the player figured it out. 

Now, if someone was loafing in practice, that’s when butts got chewed and stairs got run – and with good reason. But when execution is the issueit’s better to let people figure things out for themselves. It encourages learning, builds confidence and trust, and ensures the person problem-solves on their own in future.

6. Following the Golden Rule instead of allowing for individuality

Look, you mean well. (At least, I hope so.) You want to be a good manager, and a manager who’s good for your team, so you painstakingly treat everyone exactly how you’d want to be treated.

You like details? Well, then, you make sure you give everyone all the data they could possibly want. Pay no attention to those eyes glazing over; that just means they’re in awe of your ability to remember and recite facts. Yeah, that has to be it.

(That was appropriate sarcasm, by the way.)

You value personal connection? There’s plenty of mandatory team fun, complete with the obligatory round of “Two Truths and a Lie” so the whole team can bond over the knowledge that Frank can whistle “Happy Birthday” through his nose.

And without knowing everyone on your team, I can guarantee that you’re inadvertently making somebody miserable.

The catchphrase now (and I’ve caught myself using it) is the “Platinum Rule,” which basically says, “Treat others how they want to be treated.” So technically, it's the Golden Rule carried to its logical conclusion. 

It’s a simple fix. Take the focus off yourself. Get to know the people who work for you – and don’t think you’ll be able to do that with words alone.

Listen to their inflections: lively or dull? Watch their body language: engaged or withdrawn? 

You can’t cater to their wants, needs and feelings every time, obviously. Managers have to make tough calls, carry out corrective actions and set challenging expectations. It’s part of the job. But you can do these things in a way that treats your direct reports like real people.

You know, like you’d want someone to do for you.

For more on improving your management skills, check out Excelling as a Manager or Supervisor