17 Misconceptions of Young Leaders: Part 3

The last part of CleverControl’s investigation of which errors do modern leaders and companies’ executives make more often.

Says Brian Ortega, the managing partner of the Agency Global Nota:

"The most serious mistake is to fall into two kinds of illusion. The illusion of independence: you feel as if you are separated from your subordinates and communicate with them on the level of "I'm smart, you’re not." After all, management is the interdependence, the art of identifying and meeting the needs of the team to achieve a common goal.

The second illusion is the illusion of control. It may seem that the result solely depends on our efforts. This is not true. Two people can make the same effort but get different results. There are metaphysical circumstances, such as good luck, good karma. And you can see how one and the same idea with a difference of some 2 months may be welcomed or, on the contrary, alienated and misunderstood."

Comments by Doris Contreras, CEO of PR Lines:

"As a rule, managers who are making their first steps in business believe that they will achieve instant success, but it should be understood that for visible results you may need at least a year: you will have to work hard to create a good team, a good service, your customer base, and business reputation. Do not ignore the rather important point of business planning. To the moment of creation (and throughout the entire time of the company’s existence) there must be a development plan for at least a year or two ahead. It also happens that the head sometimes forgets that his or her entire business is built on teamwork. Therefore it is necessary to be aware of how colleagues interact with one another, how motivated and productive each specialist is, and which most comfortable conditions must be created for the team."

Doris Contreras continues:

"Experienced managers often underestimate the importance of crisis management. In any business in the event of a force majeure or some unfair actions of competitors leaders must be able to calculate the risks and have a prepared plan of action during emergency situations. It is necessary to create some kind of financial "insurance fund" of the company and create a clearly defined set of rules of conduct in a crisis."

Comments by the author of the marketing strategy of the online service for ordering various home improvement and maintenance services OnlineRenovate Adam Hicks:

"The most common misconception of a leader is that he or she can supervise people effectively. A young leader is always a difficult case, since, despite the fact that the leader is by default a strong personality, the boss still requires experience, in my view, as well as specific skills such as the ability to understand people. I believe that the basic functions of any leader are planning, controlling, and HR. Without these three minimal competencies, the manager is not the manager.

Sophisticated experienced managers often go to extremes. As paradoxical as it is, as every coin has two sides, a really talented and strong manager must be a conservative and a democrat, a pedant and a chaotic creator, psychologist and humanist and a tyrant. Especially sad, if a manager has reached the level of his or her incompetence, and has crossed the maximum level and proved to fly too high. Such leaders explicitly or intuitively suffer and bring an unhealthy atmosphere of uncertainty and chaos. This last mistake: the young "non-boss" should not lead, and the older ones should be wiser and "stick to his last."

Comments by Harry Fernandez, an expert in innovation and the commercialization of import substitution:

"Today, the most common misconception is that 97.5% of executives believe their business to be a product. No! Business is not a product or a service but a problem-solving process for the client’s money. Unfortunately, most of the leaders are in love with their product, have no connection with the market, and do not notice that the reaction that comes from consumers, whether it is positive or negative. The second thing that leaders are wrong about is the value to the customer. You may ask what the value is. It is the problem for which the other person is willing to pay. Therefore, if your clients do not understand the value, they will not buy. And they don’t buy your product (or service) then they don’t understand what you have to offer, which value. In this case, you are focusing on something else."