Top Ten Mistakes

I was recently looking at some of my leadership books and noticed a volume written almost 20 years ago (copyright 1994) by Hans Finzel called “The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make.” I remember how relevant it was when I first read through it well over a decade ago. I pulled the book off the shelf and began to review the material between the covers. I quickly realized that we have not learned that much since the 90s. Many of the top 10 would still make the most wanted list. I thought it might be helpful to review Dr. Finzel's ideas with a few insights from my own experience. During this post I will explore the first five mistakes and in the next few days conclude with the last five leadership errors.

Mistake #1: The Top-down Attitude. The abuse of power, authority and position to accomplish the leader's agenda seems to be at the heart of this mistake. Finzel summarizes this deadly fallacy in the following quote, “You would think people would have learned by now. Yet it still keeps cropping up, that age-old problem of domineering, autocratic, top-down leadership. Of all the sins of poor leadership, none is greater and none is still committed more often, generation after generation” (p 22).

I call this the Rehoboam syndrome. When Rehoboam became king of Israel after the death of his father, Solomon, the people approached him with pleas of mercy and cooperation. Solomon had ruled the people with a top-down attitude that is depicted as a heavy yoke. After contemplating the request of the people, here is Rehoboam's reply (found in 1 Kings 12): “My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” That's the kind of statement that makes you want to sign up for volunteer work, doesn't it?

Mistake #2: Putting Paperwork before Peoplework. Finzel makes a powerful statement in this chapter of his book, “It is almost necessary to be a workaholic to make it as a Christian leader” (p 41). There is something about the American view of success that demands a full schedule, an overflowing plate of responsibilities, and a calendar with very little margin. Leadership effectiveness is often measured in the number of tasks accomplished off the ever-growing to do list. The buzz word in today's society is multi-tasking not multi-sensitivity to the needs of others.

Even with the explosion of social media, the emphasis is on the media more than the social. Close friendships, strong relationships, deep conversations, quality time of dialog and discussion rarely happen in the network of Facebook or the electronic world of email. In fact the availability of social networks has curbed the skills of verbal communication. Listening is become a lost art form and empathy has been replaced with a quick text ending with a sad face.

Mistake #3: The Absence of Affirmation. Finzel points to five significant ways that we can affirm others: Listening (James 1:19); Empathizing (Romans 12:15); Comforting (2 Corinthians 1:3-4); Carrying burdens (Galatians 6:2) and Encouraging (1 Thessalonians 5:11). I really like this quote from the book, “Even if you have to correct someone, good supervisors are people who can step on your toes without messing up your shine and give people a shot in the arm without letting them feel the needle” (p. 60).

There are many people (myself included) that live for words of affirmation. A genuine compliment and words of honest praise fuel my motivation tank for weeks. The opposite is true as well – harsh words of criticism and blame shifting pointed in my direction will crush my spirit and send me in a spiral of discouragement that is difficult to stop.

Mistake #4: No Room for Mavericks. I believe that innovation, ideation and creativity are absolutely critical for the health of every and any organization. However, the creative individual is often labeled as a rebel, a misfit, and a maverick. Their ideas are often squelched, ignored, and discounted by those in the ivory tower of authority. Finzel shares that one of the best ways to eliminate the innovation of the maverick is to send his idea to a committee for review. The book shares a few comical (but painfully true) statements about committees, “An elephant is a horse designed by a committee....A committee keeps minutes and wastes hours... The best committee has three members – with two of them out of town.... A committee is made up of the unfit trying to lead the unwilling to do the unnecessary.” (p. 74-75)

Mistake #5: Dictatorship in Decision-Making. I have worked for many dictators over the years and have not enjoyed the experience very much. Collaboration and a spirit of joint decision making can do so much to empower the members of a team. Some of the insights of Finzel are well summarized in his description of how dictators operate: They 1). hoard decisions. 2). make decisions alone, in a vacuum. 3). view truth and wisdom as primarily their domain as the leader. 4). restrict decisions to an elite group. And 5). surprise their workers with edicts from above.

Finzel concludes this chapter with some words worth repeating, if not framing, “When the best leader's work is done the people will say, 'We did it ourselves'” (p. 96).

Note the emphasis on people in these first five mistakes. Authority and power need to be shared. People need to be affirmed and empowered. These mistakes do not involve a lack of commitment to the work at hand, a laziness that leads to mediocrity, or an incompetency in the talents needed to perform tasks, Rather, they are all about relationships and the failure to connect with grace, sensitivity, and mercy.

Coming up....mistakes 6-10.

Finzel, H. (1994). The top ten mistakes leaders make. Wheaton, Ill: Victor Books.