Why Highly Efficient Leaders Fail

With ever-increasing demands at work for both mid-level and senior leaders, the ability to execute and get things done is a key driver of success. But it can ultimately become a leader’s downfall, resulting in unintended costs for the individual, as well as for their teams and organizations. The high levels of efficiency that allow highly task-focused leaders to be so productive often come at the expense of a more people-based focus. Things like building relationships, inspiring a team, developing others, and showing empathy can fall by the wayside. Highly efficient leaders often lose their focus on people due to a limiting belief that more people-focused activities will slow them down and impede their ability to execute, and to ultimately be successful. The irony is that an intense focus on efficiency and getting things done makes these leaders less effective overall. The result is often a negative impact on organizational climate and burnout of team members. These leaders can also incur high costs themselves, such as having a promotion blocked, or even being fired. Great leaders are able to balance task-focus (getting things done) with people-focus (inspiring, developing, and empowering others). Highly task-focused leaders tend to have tunnel vision in their drive for results, rather than applying a broader lens that recognizes the need to sometimes “go slow to go fast”. Leaders who balance task- and people-focus are equally driven and also strive for results, but they keep the broader organizational needs in mind. They also recognize that it’s not just about being efficient — it’s about being effective. Few Important Reasons Leaders Fail:   They don’t have a clear alignment with the Vision of the Organization They don’t develop trust or healthy relationship with team members They don’t Share Feedback about Team Members Performance They become too negative or only being critical towards people performance They are not self- disciplined or organized well especially in time management and planning skills They say that the speed of the team is the speed of the Leader.