Do you manage a team? If you do it is important that you recognise the common mistakes that managers make that endanger the team’s success. In this short article, which is based on the experience of the tutors who run management courses at Spearhead Training, some of these mistakes are highlighted.

Mistake number one is the “channel hopping” syndrome. This is where the manager, faced with a multitude of tasks, hops from one task to another, never quite finishing anything and over time reducing their ability to concentrate fully on anything. Time management courses focus on the keys to avoiding channel hopping, which need to be backed with a healthy dose of self-control and self-discipline!

Mistake number two is the assumption that a good manager does not need any help. Strength and self-confidence are positive values but taken to excess can lead to isolation. Good managers need to build a network of relationships with colleagues and employees. This is not a sign of dependency or weakness; it is essential to managerial success.

 Another common mistake is the manager who sees all decisions as fights to the death – if one person wins then the other loses. All the power, all the prestige and all the success are therefore indivisible. This win or loose mentality reduces teamwork to a competition between the best people and their ideas. It encourages conflict and confrontation and ultimately damns teamwork to failure. Managers need to learn basic negotiation skills and would do themselves – and their teams – a favour by attending management courses in positive influencing techniques.

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