Good leadership becomes visible in everyday life. In conversations, in reactions to mistakes, or in how consistently commitments are kept. That is where many leadership mistakes happen – often unnoticed, with noticeable consequences for motivation, trust, and collaboration. They are frequently simply driven by time pressure, old habits, and a good dose of operational blindness. At Great Place To Work Switzerland, we have been supporting organizations for years in making patterns visible early on. Learn more here about typical leadership mistakes in employee management.
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Why leadership errors can be expensive
Hardly any leader starts with the intention of holding their team back. Nevertheless, we regularly experience companies where dedicated people do not reach their full potential. The reason for this is often less about qualification or motivation. Much more frequently, habits creep in that unnecessarily complicate everyday work.
A decision remains untouched for several weeks. An important conversation is postponed repeatedly. A project ends successfully, but no one acknowledges the team's performance. Each individual situation seems manageable. Over months, however, this creates a leadership behavior that unsettles employees and strains collaboration.
Our Employee surveys frequently show how leadership styles are experienced. Together with our consulting team, we analyze the results and develop measures that fit your company's culture and goals. This creates changes that have a long-term impact and become noticeable in daily work.
Typical leadership errors start small
Many common leadership mistakes do not arise during crises or under extraordinary pressure. They develop in the course of day-to-day business. Experienced leaders, in particular, often rely on routines. However, what worked in the past does not automatically work for new teams, changing markets, or different expectations.
Many companies know this example: A leader answers every question immediately themselves. At first glance, this saves time. After a few months, the entire team waits for decisions, even though many employees could have acted independently long ago. Out of helpfulness, dependency is unintentionally created.
The same is true for tasks. If responsibilities remain unclear, several people end up working on the same issue, or no one feels specifically responsible. The actual work gets delayed, frustration grows, and avoidable problems pile up.
We see these leadership mistakes particularly often:
- Decisions remain unresolved for too long.
- Priorities change without a clear explanation.
- Responsibilities are not clearly assigned.
- Good achievements receive little attention.
- Discussions about difficulties only take place when conflicts have already escalated.
None of these situations alone determines the success of a leader. However, if they occur regularly, they change a company's culture. Employees lose trust, make fewer decisions of their own, and contribute their ideas less often.
5 Common Leadership Mistakes
| Leadership error | A typical scenario within a team | What Usually Helps |
|---|---|---|
| Unclear Communication | Misunderstandings, duplicate work, frustration | Short, regular conversations instead of rare announcements |
| Wanting to control everything oneself | Lack of initiative, bottleneck at the management level | Deliberately relinquish responsibility and decision-making latitude |
| Lack of appreciation | Declining Motivation, Quiet Resignation | Specific, timely praise instead of generic platitudes |
| Decisions Postponed | Uncertainty, growing rumors | Make clear and even uncomfortable decisions |
| Blind Spots in Self-Assessment | Leadership behavior remains unquestioned | Gathering regular, honest feedback |
When Unclear Communication Creates Uncertainty
Almost every executive considers communication important. Nevertheless, it is one of the most common causes of misunderstandings. This is rarely because too little is spoken. Many companies spend a large part of their working time in meetings. A different question remains crucial: Does the relevant information actually get through?
We frequently experience the same situation. Management decides on an organizational change. The team learns about it in a few sentences during a meeting. For the manager, the topic feels settled. For the employees, the real questions only begin after that.
- Why is the procedure changing?
- What are the company's goals?
- What does this mean for my work?
Leaving these questions unanswered creates room for speculation. Rumors spread faster than reliable information. At the same time, trust in supervisors declines. Good communication explains the context from the very beginning. It puts decisions into perspective and creates clarity before uncertainty arises. This doesn’t require long presentations. Often, clear language, honest answers, and a willingness to listen are enough. Especially during times of major change, this approach determines whether people will support the next step or distance themselves internally.
How controlling behavior affects people differently
Many managers know this feeling: a task has been delegated, yet their gaze constantly wanders back to the interim status. Are the numbers correct? Was everything thought of? Should I take another look myself just to be safe? A quick glance at the control or an assertive follow-up seems harmless. If this becomes a fixed part of the collaboration, it changes the behavior of the entire team.
How much control is useful depends on various factors. Team size, industry, employee experience, or the respective leadership role influence how closely a manager should supervise. A start-up with ten employees has different requirements than an internationally active company with multiple hierarchy levels. Likewise, new teams often need more guidance than well-established departments.
| influencing factor | Effects of controlling behavior |
|---|---|
| Team size | In small teams, spontaneous coordination is easy. As team size grows, numerous approvals quickly lead to delays and bottlenecks. |
| Team experience | New employees initially need more guidance. Experienced teams, on the other hand, expect more room for decision-making and personal responsibility. |
| Industry | In regulated sectors such as healthcare or pharmaceuticals, controls are often necessary. Nevertheless, room remains for trust and independent work. |
| Leadership style | Anyone who practices situational leadership adjusts the level of control to experience, the task, and the situation. A permanently authoritarian style often dampens initiative. |
| Corporate culture | Organizations with a strong culture of trust usually deal with mistakes more openly and promote independent action. |
Some managers take over a new team, others transition into a leadership role for the first time, or face high schedule and cost pressure. In such situations, the temptation grows to make decisions themselves or closely monitor tasks. In the short term, this provides a sense of security. In the long term, however, the opposite often happens: decision-making paths become longer, responsibilities blur, and employees contribute their experience less frequently.
Unclear goals waste time and energy
Clear goals are among the most important prerequisites for successful leadership. Nevertheless, in our work with companies, we repeatedly experience that expectations are understood differently. The consequences are rarely immediately apparent. Tasks are delayed, priorities shift, or teams work in different directions even though everyone wants to achieve the same goal. The extent to which unclear goals have an impact depends on the respective framework conditions. Industry, team size, leadership style, and the organization of collaboration play an important role here.
| influencing factor | Typical challenge | What management should pay attention to |
|---|---|---|
| Team size | With every additional team member, the need for coordination increases. Information is more easily lost or interpreted differently. | Prioritize goals clearly, define responsibilities unambiguously, and regularly check whether everyone has the same understanding. |
| Industry | In dynamic industries such as IT or consulting, priorities change frequently. In regulated fields such as pharma or healthcare, on the other hand, regulations must be adhered to with particular precision. | Adapt goals to workplace reality and transparently explain why priorities change or remain constant. |
| Business phase | Growth, restructuring, or mergers often lead to new roles and responsibilities. | Provide guidance, clarify expectations early, and communicate changes continuously. |
| Leadership style | Participative leadership involves employees more strongly. Authoritarian leadership usually dictates goals directly. Situational leadership adapts the intensity to the team and the task. | Consciously choosing the leadership style while ensuring that goals remain transparent and understandable for everyone. |
| Work model | Hybrid or distributed teams cannot spontaneously resolve open questions in the office. | Write down goals, document responsibilities, and schedule regular check-ins. |
Leadership becomes especially demanding when several of these factors come together at the same time. A growing company with multiple locations has different requirements than a well-established team in a small organization. Leaders must therefore continually check whether goals are clearly formulated and interpreted in the same way by everyone.
Analyze as a first step towards greater clarity of goals
At Great Place To Work, we observe that unclear goals are rarely limited to individual projects. If a shared direction is lacking over a longer period of time, leadership behavior changes. Decisions are postponed more frequently, priorities shift at short notice, and employees lose a sense of security. At the same time, the coordination effort increases because more and more questions are only clarified during the work process itself.
Our Employee surveys provide valuable insights at this point. They show whether leadership provides orientation, explains decisions comprehensibly, and communicates shared goals clearly. Together with our benchmark comparisons and consulting, these insights help companies systematically develop leadership and strengthen collaboration in the long term.
Together with our consulting, we analyze the results and develop measures that fit your company's culture and goals. This creates changes that have a long-term impact and are noticeable in everyday work.
Hesitant decisions, avoided conflicts, and the blind spot
Two other sources of error are closely related: postponed decisions and avoided conflicts. If a manager keeps postponing uncomfortable topics just because Friday afternoon is currently so peaceful, the pressure within the team quietly continues to build.
Often a gap arises between self-perception and how one is perceived by others. This is deeply human, but it becomes dangerous as soon as someone stops questioning their own leadership behavior. Those who take their leadership role seriously regularly seek honest feedback and are willing to adjust their own behavior when conditions or team compositions change. Three questions that have proven to be a good starting point in our coachings:
- When was the last time I actively asked for critical feedback on my leadership behavior instead of just waiting for it?
- What decision have I been putting off for too long in the last four weeks?
- Who on my team would have told me honestly if I currently had a blind spot?
A reorganized team, a new tool, a changed market situation: in moments like these, people look very closely at whether their manager is learning too or stubbornly holding on to what they are used to. Especially in times of major change, this willingness to learn often determines whether a team goes along with it or mentally checks out.
How Great Place to Work Switzerland supports your company
At Great Place to Work Switzerland, we help make this connection visible. Through our employee surveys, we show where trust is already established and where it is still lacking—not as an abstract metric, but broken down by teams, management levels, and specific topics such as communication, recognition, or participation in decision-making. What we care about is long-term cultural development., Consulting and Certification. These modules interlock meaningfully for us and form a holistic concept.
A culture of trust strengthens collaboration, increases employee retention, and creates good conditions for sustainable business success. Now Consultation schedule a call and find out which solution best fits your company!
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
Why do employees leave their boss and not the company?
Resignations rarely have just a single reason. Frequently, a lack of appreciation, unclear communication, missing development opportunities, or a narrow scope of action play a role together. Managers directly shape the day-to-day work of their teams. If trust or orientation is lacking, this often has a stronger impact on satisfaction than the company itself. Employee surveys help to identify such patterns early on and address them in a targeted manner.
How can I recognize my own blind spots as a leader?
Self-perception and the team's perception often differ. Managers frequently experience decisions, communication, or feedback differently than their employees. Regular employee surveys, feedback sessions, and comparison with external benchmarks create a well-founded basis for objectively identifying strengths and areas for development.
What role does missing feedback play as a leadership error?
Feedback creates direction and strengthens collaboration. When it is absent, employees often do not know what expectations exist or how their performance is perceived. At the same time, managers lack important insights into how their decisions and leadership style are received within the team. An open feedback culture supports both sides and helps prevent misunderstandings at an early stage.
What are the most common mistakes made by managers?
Common leadership mistakes include unclear goals, a lack of communication, excessive control, a lack of trust, inconsistent decisions, and a poor feedback culture. How severely these mistakes impact the organization depends on factors such as team size, industry, corporate culture, or phases of change. Therefore, what matters is not perfection, but the willingness to regularly reflect on one's own leadership behavior and develop it further together with the team.
