ATLANTA, GA – OCTOBER 20th, 2022 – CEOs appear as confident decision-makers, capable of navigating complex issues that affect entire organizations and determine the future of companies and their employees. With that level of authority, there are common downfalls that CEOs must be aware of to build high-performing and effective teams around them.

“One key characteristic of many CEOs and other top leaders is their willingness to learn, and turn mistakes into opportunities. However, based on past experience, there are several behaviors that can detract from that willingness to learn and inadvertently affect the productivity, motivation, and collaboration among their teams,” Deepak “Dee” Agarwal, long-time C-Suite executive and eCommerce entrepreneur.

To help guide budding leaders navigate through their role and power to create impact in their organizations, Dee Agarwal outlines three key missteps for CEOs to avoid.

Taking All the Credit

When leaders take all or even most of the credit for the accomplishment of others, whether it’s in a team or a large corporation, they can lose the opportunity to improve their organization’s performance. Crediting others for team or organization accomplishments not only improves overall morale and performance, but sets an example that is likely to be mirrored by other  managers.

Deepak Agarwal points out, “CEOs who take all the credit for themselves don’t realize that giving credit to their teams or organizations actually makes them more effective and respected leaders. Recognizing the team effort around accomplishments and wins helps to not only win the trust of employees, but also other stakeholders.”

Conversely, when things go wrong, leaders shouldn’t blame their teams or other members of their organizations, which can increase insecurity and lessens the likelihood that they’ll take ownership of initiatives in the future. 

“When things go awry, it’s much easier to point the finger at team members than to own the responsibility, but when leaders take responsibility for situations under their umbrella, their employees will respect them more and feel supported,” Deepak Agarwal says.

Ignoring the Big Picture

Decision-making is an important leadership skill, especially for CEOs, when each decision will have a ripple effect impacting external and internal stakeholders. While there are many factors that influence their decision-making process, it’s essential for leaders to consider the long-term impact that their decisions will have, not only on consumers and profitability, but on the morale and performance of their employees.

“There’s a method to sound decision-making that has many components. The most important of these is thinking in the long term and trusting in the capabilities of the team. Let these guide you in consistently making sound decisions that benefit everyone,” Dee Agarwal says.

Taking a step back to see the big picture is not always simple. When decisions are pressing, it’s easy for short-term benefits to outweigh the predicted long-term effects. One way to re-frame the situation to focus on the big picture is to look at the company’s strategic focus and mission statement and consult key stakeholders to learn how potential changes could impact them. Does the decision align with the organization’s goals? Another way to put the scenario into perspective is to list the possible outcomes that this decision could have in a few months or even years down the road. 

Cutting Corners

It’s no secret that every organization wants to improve its bottom line and increase profitability, but when doing so, it’s essential to be strategic about which costs to reduce. In the long run, trimming expenses and cutting corners on the quality of the product/service and labor will cost more in refunds, unhappy customers, and employee turnover. Sacrificing the quality of the products and services can also have a lasting and harmful impact on a company’s brand identity and reputation.  

“Although it’s sometimes easier in the short term to cut costs that affect quality, it’s crucial for leaders to invest in the areas that best support overarching strategy and growth,” notes Dee Agarwal.

While there are always key learnings for CEOs, focusing efforts on those that affect leaders’ relationships with their employees and the success of their organizations remain paramount, as they can have the most significant impact on improving team performance and productivity for the entire organization.

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