Terrible Advice New Leaders Keep Getting … and How We Can Fix It

By: Hugh MacPhie

There is so much garbage out there in management literature and what we read on LinkedIn, from supposed experts spewing nonsense. And, given the state of the world today, this should come as no surprise. We therefore feel a moral obligation to debunk bad advice, to support the leaders of tomorrow.

So here are Bad Ideas that have gained popularity and have no place in today’s professional context, and our corresponding Good Ideas we’d encourage you to practice instead.

#1 Bad Idea: “Multi-tasking”

How doing more than one thing at once ever emerged as a good idea isn’t clear to us. But doing three things at once badly, rather than one thing at a time really well, makes multi-tasking our first bad idea. This is especially true for any leader when meeting with a colleague (or for that matter) a client. There is no worse message you can send than to show how busy and important you are by taking another call or working on something else in the middle of a meeting. Multi-tasking when you are meeting with someone else – apart from parking in more than one space with a BMW – is douchebaggery at its worst.

Good Idea: “Be present.”  Anyone you have the exceptional good fortune of spending time with should feel like they are the most important person in the world. I remember learning this lesson early in my career. When I was a Finance Intern at Procter & Gamble, it was still the era of the land-line phone. And at the time, when I was in my manager’s office for a one-on-one meeting and the phone rang? He wouldn’t even flinch. He stayed entirely focused on me, and our conversation. He’s a hero and inspiration for me to this day.

Fast forward to another manager I had a few years later when I worked in another organization. In my one-on-one meetings (which were pretty rare, BTW) the manager didn’t appear to ever be truly listening, and would inevitably pick up the phone if it buzzed. How motivated and inspired do you think I felt when I left that person’s office? Just bad leadership.

The lesson? In any leadership position, when you are 100 percent focused on the person you are with, truly and authentically participating with them, it is magical.

The same principle of laser-like focus also applies to ‘think’ work: you can’t do your best work or deep thinking if your brain is distracted and unfocused. One of the best rules we’ve learned for being in the zone is the ’90-minute rule’. That’s how long our brains can optimally focus on one thing, before we need to take a break. But after 90 minutes – take a break. Otherwise you reach diminishing returns.

# 2 Bad Idea: “Never show any flaws or weaknesses”

We’ve heard this advice given first-hand to new managers and leaders, and it makes us cringe. There is a regrettable school of management that tells new managers to show strength, and to be perfect. There are two big problems with this. 

First, flawlessness isn’t authentic. Einstein was probably bad at playing rugby, Wayne Gretzky is a terrible actor, and I am such a bad dancer that they had to change the choreography of the Grade 10 high school musical I was in rather than politely ask me to leave the production (thank you, Mr. Bricker!). My dancing is still terrible – and when my wife suggested we take ballroom dancing lessons, I respectfully declined. I’m good at management consulting. Terrible at dancing.

Second – and this is the more important point for those who try to pretend they are perfect – people will hate you. This is what we call “Kathy Lee Gifford’s Disease” – named after the talk show host (and singer!) from morning TV in the 1990s. She wanted to come across as ‘perfect’ – never admitting any imperfection in any aspect of her life whatsoever. And people hated her.

Good idea: “Be vulnerable.” We do a lot of work with business leaders and politicians defining and articulating their personal brands. And while they need to be highly-respected for what we call their ‘differentiating competency’ – which is the thing you are really good at, that other people aren’t – we also help them consider an endearing flaw. Barack Obama once famously shared on the Jay Leno Show that he often left his socks on the floor, which made his wife cross with him. Perfect example: as it is relatable to most people, and has nothing to do with one’s competence as a decision-maker or leader. The best leaders are willing to show who they truly are – warts and all. That makes them more endearing to those they lead – and psychologically encourages their team members to want to follow them, and be supportive.

# 3 Bad Idea: “Just focus on the Big Picture”

There is a myth that managers and leaders need not get into the details. But there is a difference between doing the details, and understanding the details. Micro-management in and of itself frustrates people to whom you have delegated a task, but that doesn’t mean as a leader you can abdicate providing clear direction, or checking in so that you have a strong understanding of what your team members are working on, and how well things are going.

One senior leader with whom we work is unequivocal about this. He doesn’t want his direct reports doing the jobs of the people on their respective teams, but he sure expects them to know what’s going on, and to be able to report on progress and market dynamics with confidence and without hesitation.

Good Idea: “Know Your Stuff.”  What changes when people move from being ‘doers’ to ‘managers’ is the nature of work. A lot of people struggle with that. Being on top of things, and setting the tone and direction for others to thrive and deliver is part of the manager’s new job description. Being able to answer questions and demonstrate to even more senior leaders that you are on top of things is the other. Which leads us to the next bad idea…

# 4 Bad Idea: “Forget it, I’ll Just Do it Myself”

By definition, all new managers get presented with work that is sub-par, or not what was expected. And too often the default – especially if you are under a time-crunch – is to just fix it, rather than going back to the person who did the work and discussing what needs to change. When you default to ‘I’ll just do it myself’, your team members know it – and it makes them feel bad. Worse, they don’t have the opportunity to learn how to deliver better work, and are thus both demotivated and haven’t learned or grown in a positive way.

Good Idea: “Give Thoughtful and Detailed Feedback.” Most people want to get a good mark on their report card. So rather than just ‘doing it yourself’ and thus implying to your subordinate that they are getting a failing grade, take the very few minutes required to provide thoughtful feedback and guidance with respect to how they can do better. In the short term, this is an important investment of your time: and requires a mini lesson plan. But it will build your organizational capacity by helping others to learn and growing your own coaching and leadership skills.

# 5 Bad Idea: “Make sure you put that in writing so that it’s on the record…”

I can’t tell you how often we hear this advice to this day. New managers (or Directors, or VPs) are told to put difficult feedback or a criticism in an email or formal correspondence. Partly this is to ensure clarity and reduce the risk of misinterpretation – which is a noble goal. But too often it is because an employee may need to move to a performance plan and the lawyers like it when things are documented in advance of a termination. In which case the purpose of putting things in writing comes down to risk mitigation – not actually coaching or providing support.

People are often also encouraged to put things in writing so that they, or their divisions of the organization, don’t get blamed when things go wrong. We don’t like that either, as it creates an ‘us vs. them’ mentality within an organization. And a root cause analysis often reveals that there was bad decision-making earlier on establishing unrealistic goals that set people up for failure, just a bad and toxic internal culture of ‘blame’, or some combination of both.

Good Idea: “Meet with your colleague and let them know you are on their side.” Even better when this can be in person. Set up a coaching conversation with the person having trouble. If the issue is with a peer, same thing. Invite them to a two-way conversation, rather than engaging in a useless email war. In either case, heed the advice of that great leadership theorist Ted Lasso, and be curious. Don’t go into the conversation with a point to make or position to defend; genuinely and authentically listen. Another great thing I learned during my time at Procter & Gamble was ‘seek first to understand, and then to be understood’. Which is a great idea to find common ground and reduce conflict in any situation.

We have strong views on all of this because we believe that good leadership, a productive and well-defined aspirational culture for an organization, and consistent manager training can be a source of sustainable competitive advantage for any organization. And during these crazy times, stability and consistency matter more than ever. So share this thinking with your colleagues, and build a better, stronger, and more resilient organization.