Common Mistakes In Leadership Decision-Making

I've seen a ton of poor leadership practices. Hell, I've made some of these mistakes too. So here are some tactical ways marketing leaders can avoid the 7 common mistakes in the post: ✅ Instead of being too prescriptive: Ask, “What would you do?” Let your team pitch solutions first. Coach, don’t dictate. ✅ Instead of assuming you know the answer: Pause and get context. Say: “Walk me through what you’re seeing. What are we missing?” ✅ Instead of blaming users for process failures: Audit the friction. Rewrite the instructions. Build guardrails. If users keep failing, the system is broken. ✅ Instead of hoarding information: Use public Slack channels, team updates, and shared docs as defaults. Make transparency the norm. ✅ Instead of treating your team like they can’t handle the truth: Share what you know—even when it’s not final. People prefer clarity over silence. ✅ Instead of delaying decisions: Set a timer. Give yourself 48 hours to decide on “B-minus” items. Don’t let the small stuff clog the system. ✅ Instead of projecting perfection: Say “I don’t know” or “I was wrong” when it’s true. Vulnerability doesn’t weaken you—it builds credibility. Leadership is built on hundreds of small choices like these. What do you most often see? What would you add? PS: I'm writing more about this in my weekly newsletter, search "The Marketing Operations Leader" on Google and subscribe for free to keep leveling up your knowledge. #marketing #martech #marketingoperations #leadership

𝟰 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 - Leadership is messy and complex, making it easy for well-intentioned leaders to do things that have an unintended negative impact on those they lead. Understanding how a leader's good intentions can cause unintentional but costly mistakes can help you avoid these four common leadership mistakes. 𝟭) 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲 - The ability to demonstrate healthy empathy is critical for effective leadership but like all strengths, there can be negative consequences for expressing too much or the wrong type of empathy. Overly empathic leaders can lose the ability to know what they want or need to do to serve the greater organizational good. Healthy empathy from a leader enables them to take the time to learn about others' perspectives, challenges, and goals so they can make better decisions for the greater good. 𝟮) 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐨 - In our busy and complex world, leaders will often bring the mindset that everything is of critical importance and merits the highest priority. The unfortunate truth with this mindset is that if everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority. Leaders must be responsive to urgent requests, just not at the cost of moving forward their most important goals. 𝟯) 𝐎𝐰𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 - Effective leaders have learned to let their employees take responsibility for resolving their ongoing issues through effective delegation and coaching. This allows the leader to focus on the strategic areas of building culture, setting priorities, building key relationships, developing employees, innovating, and creating efficiencies. 𝟰) 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 - Accountability often gets a bad reputation because employees are concerned that leaders will judge them unfairly if they fall short of expectations. A leader's desire not to be seen as a micromanager can create a team environment where employees are unclear about individual and shared accountabilities. High-performing leaders understand that accountability is about empowering - not control. Do you agree? Share your COMMENTS below. 𝗛𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 🔔 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 | Tony Gambill #leadership #management #careers #humanresources

Exceptional leadership isn't about collecting new skills. It's about avoiding critical mistakes. Right now, there's a chance you are unknowingly... • Driving away your stars • Eroding team culture • Killing motivation 7 Commons Management Mistakes (and what to do instead): 1. Hiring Hastily 🚩 Don't: Compromise on character when desperate ✅ Do: Hire slowly for humble, hungry, and curious Tip: Design interviews to assess key behaviors 2. Ignoring Expectations 🚩 Don't: Assume high performers can read your mind ✅ Do: Co-create excellence with challenge and clarity Tip: Write down non-negotiables to review regularly 3. Deferring Development 🚩 Don't: Let top performers settle as "already great" ✅ Do: Challenge your best with stretch assignments Tip: Ask "What changed your thinking this week?" 4. Generic Communication 🚩 Don't: Approach every team member identically ✅ Do: Adjust your style to meet each where they are Tip: Study what works like a leadership marketer 5. Protecting Poor Performers 🚩 Don't: Let mediocrity hide behind "they're trying hard" ✅ Do: Hold everyone to your top performers' standard Tip: Make excellence non-negotiable - A-players are watching 6. Dodging Decisions 🚩 Don't: Use consensus to avoid taking a stand ✅ Do: Make the hard calls and own the consequences Tip: Set a deadline for every big call - and hit it 7. Avoiding Conflict 🚩 Don't: Let small issues compound into problems ✅ Do: Handle issues quickly, directly, completely Tip: Frame hard talks around mission and values A cheat code for leaders: Spot these mistakes before they cost you. ♻️ Share to help someone 🔔 Follow Marsden Kline more Join our free session on July 24 @ Noon ET "How AI Can Make You a More Persuasive Leader" https://lnkd.in/e37ph8ib