So you’ve put your hand up to be a leader in your organisation or perhaps it’s been suggested to you that you should. It might be that up till now you have been doing a fair job of managing a group of people but recognise that it is time to start performing as a leader to get real results. Whatever your circumstances, if you want to get your career as a leader off to the best possible start then you need to examine your attitudes and behaviours, to identify which ones are right and which ones need adjusting.

1. 12 mistakes commonly made by
new leaders
Karen Schmidt BEd (Adult Ed)

2. www.letsgrow.com.au
12 mistakes commonly made by new
leaders
The issue of how to become an effective leader has been debated over a long
period of time by many in business, government and academia. The topic
continues to be discussed because getting it right is so important to the future
of any organisation.
If you are passionate about becoming the best leader you can be then this
ebook will provide you with food for thought.
No one person can claim to have the answer to the complex issue of how to
improve the quality of leaders but if everyone who has experience in the area
presents their ideas then a fruitful discussion can occur.
This ebook presents my thoughts on the topic based on over 15 years of
working with organisations as they attempt to improve their practices. As you
read it I invite you to assess your current strategies against the criteria to see
how you rate and identify where you might need to adjust your plans to
achieve a more productive result.
I welcome your feedback in the hope that it adds to the ongoing discussion
and helps us all create more engaging leaders.
Regards,
Karen Schmidt BEd (Adult Ed)
Engaging Leadership Expert

3. www.letsgrow.com.au
12 mistakes commonly made by new
leaders
So you’ve put your hand up to be a leader in your organisation or perhaps it’s
been suggested to you that you should. It might be that up till now you have
been doing a fair job of managing a group of people but recognise that it is
time to start performing as a leader to get real results.
Whatever your circumstances, if you want to get your career as a leader off to
the best possible start then you need to examine your attitudes and
behaviours, to identify which ones are right and which ones need adjusting.
Most new leaders start out with good intentions but they often make what can
be career limiting moves because they don’t have good role models or simply
lack the experience to recognise the long term impact their actions can have.
There are 12 common mistakes you need to avoid if you want to get off to a
good start in your career as a leader.
1. Role rhetoric
2. Mindset mixup
3. Philosophical faux pas
4. Style stymied
5. Communication conundrum
6. Difficulty dilemma
7. Learning limited
8. Networking novice
9. Help hindrance
10.Quick change quagmire
11.Narrow focus narrative
12.Development disconnect

4. www.letsgrow.com.au
1. Role rhetoric
The very first mistake new leaders make is not understanding their role. They
believe the rhetoric that managing is the same as leading since most
organisations use the terms “manager” and “leader” interchangeably. Whilst
there are many managers in any organisation, the reality is there are very few
true leaders. Your goal should be to become one of them.
This means you need to understand the different focus required by leaders.
When you are being a manager you are concerned with operational matters
that assist in task completion. This is commonly known as “doing things right”.
It involves following the rules, meeting legislative requirements and keeping
everything running on schedule.
Leading, on the other hand, is all about “doing the right things”, deciding from
the myriad of tasks which ones will move you and your team closer to the
strategic goals of the organisation. It’s about finding a new path and disrupting
the way things are done to make them better.
Your goal is to find a balance between these competing roles as the reality is
unless you are in a senior position you will be required to both manage and
lead to be successful.
2. Mindset mixup
If you go into the role of leader with the wrong mindset you
will find the going tough. How you think about your team
has a direct impact on how they react to you and how they
perform.
If you go into the role with the wrong mindset, one that says to people “I am
here to lead you” or “I know better than you”, then you will most likely
encounter a negative or submissive attitude in response from your staff. It
may be that you have good intentions, such as showing you are a strong
leader, but your mindset is mixed up.
A more helpful mindset is one that says “I am here to support you” or “I want
us to learn from each other”. This tells people that you truly understand what it
takes to create a successful team and is far more likely to result in a positive,
supportive reaction from your team.
The wrong mindset often comes from the mistaken belief that leaders must be
infallible. Today people want leaders who are more human even if they come
with faults.

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3. Philosophical faux pas
Leading isn’t just about the decisions you make and the actions you take. It’s
also about the philosophy that underpins your thought patterns and
behaviours. You will be mistaken if you think your team will automatically
figure out your philosophical stance on their own. This is a faux pas that has
seen many a new leader stumble.
Developing a well defined philosophy towards leading
and then adequately communicating it to your team will
ensure they are clear on where you stand. This means
that even when you aren’t around they will know what
you would do in a given situation. It also gives you a
framework from which to operate, making you more
aware of why you lead they way you do.
The result is you are seen as a leader who stands for something rather than
one who will fall for any new idea that comes along. This is the kind of leader
that people want to follow even if the path they are being taken down is
unfamiliar or tough going.
Your challenge is to design a philosophy that is natural for you and avoids any
of the clichéd phrases that cause team members to roll their eyes, sigh and
disengage.
4. Style stymied
Whilst often confused with a philosophy, your style as a leader is the way you
demonstrate your philosophy. Two leaders can have a similar philosophy
whilst implementing it using very different styles. Trying to copy someone else
when it is not in keeping with your natural style will see you come across as a
fake leader. Like a fake plant, you may look good from a distance but the truth
comes out when people get up close.
Identifying your style begins with examining yourself to understand the
background you come from, the styles you have been exposed to and the
lessons you have learnt from being on the receiving end of other leader’s
styles.
The best leaders know that their style needs to be fluid to allow for the
individual nature of the people they lead and the situations they will find
themselves in. Having a “one size fits all” style will create obstacles for you as
a leader. The secret is to be true to yourself whilst remaining flexible enough
to bend with the prevailing conditions rather than attempt to remain unmoved
in the face of competing forces.

6. www.letsgrow.com.au
5. Communication conundrum
Communicating as a leader can be confusing. The problem is how to be
effective when dealing with a diverse range of people. You are required to
meet the communication needs of your team, other disciplines, your peers on
the leadership team, senior leaders, customers, suppliers and others. Each of
them wants and needs different information from you.
Then you need to consider the variety of communication mediums available to
get your message across including face to face, telephone, written and
electronic media. Next, add in the nuances of communicating with one
person, a small group or large audiences. Finally, throw into the mix the
individual preferences people have that are influenced by their personality
style, cultural background, gender, age, etc and you have a puzzle with many
pieces.
It is no wonder that new leaders often struggle to get their ideas across as
even the most straightforward subject matter goes through a range of filters
on its path from the mind of the leader to that of the receiver. The best leaders
are master communicators, learning to watch and listen for the signs of
ineffective communication knowing that early intervention is the secret to
unlocking the communication conundrum.
6. Difficulty dilemma
Often trying to solve problems as a leader involves disappointing someone.
You are then faced with the difficult decision of which option to choose. Other
times there can appear to be no satisfactory solution and everyone is left
unhappy. For some new leaders there can be a tendency to avoid these
difficult situations.
Some simply ignore the problem hoping it will go away. Perhaps they
convince themselves that it is a left over from the last leader and that, with
time, it will resolve itself. Whilst sometimes this can be the case, often the
situation does require some intervention from the new leader if only to show
the team their personal style. Others try to push the more difficult situations up
to their leader or out to the Human Resources department, claiming they are
better equipped to handle the problem. They believe that if someone else
makes the decision and they simply implement it they can retain their positive
image with the team. The new problem becomes that the leader may remain
popular but they won’t earn the respect that comes from dealing with the
difficult aspects of their role.

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7. Learning limited
There is a belief amongst some new leaders that once they reach a position
of authority that they need to be seen as “all knowing”, especially if they are
tasked with teaching others as part of their role. This thinking can stop them
from continuing to learn once they have been promoted based on the false
assumption that they must present an air of competence at all times.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Great leaders are lifelong learners. They know their role requires constant
reinvention, as there is always something new happening. They also know
that you can teach and learn at the same time. In fact they see teaching as a
form of learning as the teacher often learns as much in the process as the
learner.
Average leaders encourage their team members
to get involved in development programs but
outstanding leaders role model the behaviour by
setting an example. They are willing to recognise
the limits of their understand and then strive to
increase their knowledge to help themselves
perform better which in turn helps their team to
perform better.
8. Networking novice
When taking on your first role as a leader there can be a tendency for people
to become so focused on the operational aspects of their job that they ignore
the important part that networking plays in their success. Some of a leader’s
responsibilities include promoting the work of their team, sourcing information
to assist their team and staying in the loop on important developments in their
field. These can all be achieved in part from effective networking both
internally and externally.
The reason some leaders avoid networking is because they have the false
belief that it gives others the impression they are out to promote themselves
perhaps even in the pursuit of another role. By changing their mindset to see
networking as a way of furthering the interests of their team, and the
organisation, new leaders can start to reap the rewards of this influential
activity.
The most effective leaders are well connected. They know which relationships
to nurture and when helping others achieve their goals will have a positive
impact on their credibility. They want to become part of a community of
leaders rather than operate alone. They also know that having a presence
gives their team confidence in their ability to represent them at a senior level.

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9. Help hindrance
A new leader failing to ask for help when they need it is a typical example of a
hindrance that will delay their progress. It stems from a belief that asking for
help is a sign of failure when it fact the opposite is true.
Leaders who ask for help are sending a message to their team that it is not a
sign of weakness but rather a sign of being smart enough to know what you
can and can’t cope with. The leader who asks for help is sending a message
to their team that they should feel comfortable doing the same. To other
leaders, asking for help is a sign that the person is a team player. They are
someone that other leaders can rely on for help when they need it. This is the
kind of attitude that creates good teamwork.
The leader who fails to ask for help wastes time, money and effort as they
struggle on alone. This can result in permanent damage to their reputation. It
is generally less painful to ask for help early than it is to admit down the track
that you have made a mistake that could have been prevented or minimised
by a simple request for assistance. Talk to many experienced leaders and
they will tell you that not putting up your hand will, more often than not, hinder
your career.
10. Quick change quagmire
New leaders can have a tendency to want to be seen as making a difference
early on in their role. However, this presents them with a precarious situation,
especially if they may have been brought into the role specifically to make
changes.
Often they are keen to leave their mark and show
their appointment was a good decision. Smart
leaders avoid the “clean broom” mentality of making
sweeping changes at the start of their role, knowing
they need time to understand what is going on. They
avoid jumping in and making ill informed decisions
they will later regret knowing that making changes
too quickly can mean they are only dealing with the
surface issues rather than underlying root causes of
the problems.
This also stops them from making change for the sake of change, as they
know it is a recipe for disaster. They don’t want to be labeled as a “nouveaux
riche” leader, someone who changes their mind with the latest fashion to the
irritation of those people who have to implement their current whim knowing it
is ill advised and will probably change again soon anyway.

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11. Narrow focus narrative
When a leader has a narrow focus narrative going on in their head, they are
only concerned with the needs of their team. Also known as the silo mentality,
this creates competitive cultures with an “us and them” mindset the norm.
Other teams and their leaders are seen as an enemy to be beaten rather than
allies who can work together to achieve a common goal.
This way of thinking rubs off on team members and, in the extreme, can mean
that they start to operate more as individuals than a unified group. In turn this
actually makes the leader’s job more difficult.
Inexperienced leaders believe they are showing their commitment and
support of the team by thinking this way when the result is often the opposite.
By having tunnel vision the leader can deny their team opportunities, as
information is not shared between other leaders or teams. This type of leader
is forgetting that they are part of a leadership team that needs to work
together to help the whole organisation reach it’s goals, not just help their
team reach goals.
12. Development disconnect
An important responsibility of any leader, that is not
always made clear to them at the start of their role, is
to identify and develop new leaders. Once a leader
has settled into their role they need to get started on
this important task.
For some leaders there is a disconnect between their willingness to develop
people as team members and their willingness to offer the same support and
guidance when it comes to taking a step up in the organisation.
It could be that the leader is more interested in keeping their current team
intact. If they groom someone to be a leader that person may attract the
attention of other leaders who might poach them before a spot can be found
in their current team. Some leaders are afraid to let others surpass them in
achievement so they hold them back by denying them development
opportunities.
The best leaders realise that anyone who becomes an effective leader as a
result of their assistance can only reflect positively on their skills as a trainer
and role model. They are proud to see their former team members go on to
have successful careers as leaders knowing the part they have played.

10. www.letsgrow.com.au
Let’s Grow!
Growing engaging leaders
Let’s Grow! is in the business of assisting organisations to thrive by showing
them how growing their managers into engaging leaders will harvest bottom line
results.
Director Karen Schmidt is an award winning speaker, workshop leader, facilitator,
coach and author.
Karen’s philosophy is simple . . . she believes that being a great leader is like
being a great gardener. She uses this philosophy to help people understand how
to develop a more natural approach to leading that yields results.
Originally a Human Resources practitioner, she has been
nurturing leaders for more than 20 years. Karen’s experience
comes from working with organisations of all shapes and
sizes representing industries as diverse as IT, financial
services, direct selling, manufacturing, retail, the military and
professional associations.
Along the way she has led teams of permanent, temporary
and volunteer workers. She also believes that educating is a
form of leading that deserves more recognition.
To add to her practical experience she holds a degree in Adult Education and
formal qualifications in Human Resource Management and Facilitation.
Karen is the author of “Lessons in leading from the
garden” and “Keep ‘em keen: a guide for
managers on engaging people of all ages and
career stages”.
Today she works with current and future leaders across Australia, New Zealand
and South East Asia. Her clients include corporates, government, professional
associations, educational institutions and not for profits.
Her services include:
• Individual coaching
• Leader development strategic planning
• Leadership team facilitation
• “Budding Leaders” development program