Professional Academy has compiled this list of common management mistakes for business managers so they can avoid making costly errors that impede growth and cause harm to people and stall success. Aspiring and current small business leaders alike should read this document as it will assist them in avoiding potential pitfalls in management practices.
Refusing to treat employees like people is a serious management misstep that can increase staff churn and undermine team spirit. This includes overlooking wellbeing issues, permitting presenteeism and dismissing physical and mental health concerns as they arise.
1. Not Setting Priorities
Failure to establish priorities properly is among the most detrimental business management mistakes, leading to difficulty when making decisions for team members. Without properly defined and communicated priorities, leadership teams struggle with making decisions on behalf of team members – leading to further confusion when trying to prioritize things which don’t align with long-term company goals.
Erika Strong (Sales Operations Manager at Shopify) recently spoke out during our #ManagerChats to highlight that not setting clear goals and deadlines is a common misstep among leaders and managers. To stay on track for success, Erika recommends revisiting goals every 3-6 months to assess progress towards them.
Gustavo Guimar (Product Manager at Luxclusif) shared that failing to set clear expectations can result in miscommunication and frustration within your team. For optimal results, set ambitious goals with clear timelines so your team can adjust its efforts appropriately.
3. Not Delegating
Delegating can be one of the more challenging business management skills to master, yet it is crucial for team performance and business expansion. Many managers find delegation difficult due to believing they could do the task better themselves – while this may be true, doing everything yourself wastes both your time and energy!
Take the time to determine each member’s capabilities and assign tasks that play to their strengths, this way ensuring your projects will be completed accurately and efficiently.
Before assigning any task to your team, it is also crucial to establish clear expectations regarding communication frequency, metrics and reporting of progress.
Make sure that, after delegating a project, not to micromanage. Doing so will only aggravate your team and may create unnecessary confusion among team members as it becomes unclear who is accountable for certain parts of the task at hand.
4. Not Planning for Growth
One of the worst mistakes a small business owner can make is failing to plan for growth and expenses. This includes failing to set goals, prioritizing short-term fixes over long-term ones and not adapting management strategies over time. While temporary solutions may be appropriate sometimes, making changes that last is essential – be that implementing sales training for your sales staff or revamping marketing strategies to drive more traffic to your website or increasing employee training for sales staff – without including growth planning in strategic plans it may lead to lost opportunities and wasted money.
No one is immune from making mistakes in business management; however, learning more about the most frequently made errors will help you identify and avoid common missteps and make an effort to support employees while growing the company.
5. Not Taking Risks
Failing to take risks when necessary can be among the worst errors made in small business management, according to Forbes. According to them, replacing top performers costs up to twice their salary so investing in employee training and development programs, as well as developing a growth strategy can reap significant returns for your business.
Professional Academy suggests that when managers encounter an issue such as poor attitudes or subpar work performance from team members, they may attempt to ignore it in order to avoid making their team member uncomfortable – however this only serves to worsen the problem and further damage trust with those affected by it.
Erhard suggests acknowledging the unique strengths and needs of all team members, taking time to observe and listen can help adapt your management style accordingly, increasing productivity and motivation while decreasing employee churn. Studies estimate a minimum cost to businesses of $1 trillion each year associated with employee turnover expenses; investing in employee training and leadership development programs can significantly decrease this figure, making management training essential for any aspiring or current small business manager.