Leadership is a challenging business, with unexpected situations and risks. You are expected not only to complete your work, but also to stimulate the creative minds of others, and to lead the team to the promised land. You will most likely be met with ingratitude and ungratefulness, but it is also a great opportunity, as you get to help others unleash their best work, and you have a level of influence and impact on decisions that will often determine the success or failure of the organization.

When pressure sets in, even the most experienced leaders fall into a trap, and once you fall into one (or more), you have put a damper on the team, or caused disharmony in the organization. 

Here are some of the things I've seen leaders surrender to in a moment of weakness: 

• Postponement: 

This means delaying important decisions and putting them off until the future, until you are sure you are on the right track. While this may seem wise at first glance, it has a ripple effect on the organization, as others wait for your moves to be able to act and determine their own course. Of course, you will never be completely sure of any decision you make, but you should be clear about what you expect from your team, and if there is a decision that needs to be made, do not postpone it.

“What you do every day is more important than what you do once in a while.” – Gretchen Rubin

• Blame:

When things go awry and your team comes to you looking for answers, it’s easy to point the finger at those above you even if it’s not your fault. This is a natural instinct as a way to maintain your team’s trust. But while you may temporarily maintain your team’s trust as a leader, this tactic erodes their trust in the organization down the road. When the organization makes promises to your team in the future, they will be met with suspicion and skepticism.

You have to stay in charge as a leader and do your best to build trust with both sides. Work hard and aggressively to meet the needs of your team, and avoid the tendency to protect yourself by belittling those above you, even when they fall short. In the end, you will gain the trust of both sides, and you will be in a better position to achieve your goals.

“It is better to be trusted than loved.” – George MacDonald 

• Non-compliance with standards and criteria:

Creative work is high quality work, and it can be difficult at times to determine whether a product meets its core objectives. It is often a matter of opinion. Metrics can be difficult to create and even more difficult to implement and track. But you can’t ignore business metrics. You need to be clear about your expectations and communicate them to your team, and you need to be consistent in demanding that they follow the metrics.

“Be a benchmark for quality. Some people are not used to an environment where excellence is expected.” –Steve Jobs

• Employee-centric:

The point is that constantly focusing on employees while they work shows a lack of trust, and can lead to complete reliance on your feedback, or worse, to poor performance or lack of thought. If you enjoy being part of the business, that’s great, but you need to establish some norms so that your team feels confident and allowed to experiment and take small risks from time to time. You won’t get the best work from your team if they feel like you’re behind them all the time.

“A leader takes people where they want to go, but a great leader takes them where they need to be.” - Rosalynn Carter

These are some of the mistakes leaders can make. Ultimately, management is about setting the stage, setting the rules, clarifying the mechanisms for success, and giving the team free rein to do what they need to do. So avoid these common mistakes so you don’t get in the way of your team’s creativity!