I asked 350+ managers to share their biggest mistakes. The…

1/ They Can't Get It All Done

High-performing teams get rewarded with more:

More projects, more customers, more problems.

Tip: Do less work better.

Regularly ask, What work can I:

-> Eliminate?
-> Automate?
-> Streamline?
-> Delegate?

Great leaders are ruthless optimizers.

2/ They Do Too Much Work Themselves

Don't let anyone fool you: Managing well is work.

You can't thrive as a manager until you find joy in succeeding through others.

Tip: Change what you VALUE:

They do the work. They get the credit.

You can be known for letting stars shine.

3/ They Gave Ineffective Feedback

People change of their own accord. Yet you keep telling them how to be better.

Tip: Use open-ended questions.

-> Casual: How do you think it's going?
-> Diagnostic: What are you optimizing for?

Help them find your insight on their own.

4/ They Missed Big Problems Early

As a manager, your number 1 job is to size up problems others miss.

Your boss is too distant. Your employees are inexperienced.

Tip: Catch 98% of the problems w/ 3 filters:

- Key business metrics
- Customer surveys
- Talking to your people

5/ They Didn't Have a System

Management hits you all at once.

-> The TYPE of work elevates.
-> The BREADTH of work grows wider.
-> The VALUE shifts from you to them.

Your to-do list isn't going to cut it.

Tip: Steal my codified management playbook
https://t.co/xN5LARjpDn

6/ They Excluded Their Team in Decisions

Wonder why people love coaches and resent managers?

Coaches help their players achieve their goals.

Your team will not own what they didn't create.

Tip: Co-author the plan

-> Give them the pen
-> You edit & promote

Value >> Credit

7/ They tolerated bad employees

Some managers are too quick to write off underperforming employees.

The same managers are usually too slow in dealing with a toxic one.

Strong performance is seductive.

Tip: Culture >> Outcomes

Remove the cancer, and your team will rally.

Good leaders learn from their mistakes.

Great leaders learn from the mistakes of others.

Avoid these 7 mistakes to get ahead of 90% of your peers.

1. Follow me @dklineii if you find management insights like this helpful
2. And please RT the tweet below so others can benefit https://t.co/jpVPDAsziL

I asked 350+ managers to share their biggest mistakes.

These 7 mistakes came up over and over.

Here's how you can avoid them:
— Dave Kline (@dklineii) August 24, 2022