As the director of a company, you’re more than just a leader. You’re a role model to staff and a navigator towards the future. With all of this pressure, you have to be careful to handle your responsibilities effectively. Missteps can be costly, and consequences can be serious — even if your company has D&O insurance. That said, there are some common leadership mistakes that represent what not to do as a leader. Check out the following four gaffes, and make sure you don’t fall prey to any of them!
Mismanaged Budgeting
Budgeting is the backbone of a company, but there are plenty of common mistakes that can break your company’s back rather than support it. If you don’t want to financially sabotage your company, avoid these money mismanagement moves:
- Mispricing services or products offered
- Not producing enough cash flow
- Failure to understand consumer behavior
These mistakes are common, but they’re also simple to avoid if you pay attention, prioritize profits, and ensure your company’s financial structure makes sense. You can emphasize culture or branding all day, but if your budget isn’t in order, your company is bound to take a nosedive.
Insufficient Communication
Perhaps just as important as budgeting is company communication. You can’t read minds, and neither can your staff, so it’s vital that you verbalize your ideas and confirm that your intended audience understands them. Too many company directors rely on their associates’ ability to infer, and inference is certainly an important skill, but it’s unwise to rely on it. Instead, communicate important ideas with clarity and intent so that staff members of all communication styles can understand what you’re trying to say.
Ignoring Feedback
Have you ever given a person or company feedback, only to watch them completely ignore it? How do you think your company’s customers or staff would feel if you did the same to them? Naturally, they would feel unheard at best and perhaps resentful at worst. Still, this is one of the most common missteps for corporate leaders. Ignoring feedback can be a fatal flaw that costs you the respect of the people you rely on the most. The next time somebody offers constructive criticism, lend an open ear and take what they say into account.
Avoiding Accountability
Accountability often has a negative connotation — you might associate it with “getting in trouble,” but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Rather, accountability is about avoiding trouble and equipping people with the tools they need to act appropriately. You get into trouble when you avoid accountability! If you are faced with the realization that you’ve made a mistake that may or may not be covered by D&O insurance, you must accept responsibility for that mistake and make a public effort to improve. This is accountability in a company environment.
About The Hilb Group
Deciding what coverage you need and what limits and deductibles make the most sense can be tricky. Founded in 2009, the Hilb Group has been helping clients to make sense of their options and make the smartest choices for their circumstances. Whether you need Warehouse Insurance or any other type of business or personal coverage, we encourage you to contact our friendly, experienced, and capable team today. Call us at (800) 776-3078 for a consultation.