7 leadership mistakes

Leadership consultant Marcus Haycock reflects on mistakes he made after his promotion and how he fixed them

When I was promoted to lead a business consulting team, it wasn’t a role I sought—it was recognition of my track record. Yet, despite my experience, I found myself unprepared for the leadership challenges that followed. I’m honestly sharing my experiences here today so you can avoid my mistakes if you find yourself in similar circumstances.

MISTAKE #1: THINKING MY APPROACH WAS THE ONLY RIGHT ONE

Experience and recognition had secured a leadership role and the internal belief I should have all the answers as the leader. I was wrong.

Yes, I had a wealth of knowledge, but leading a team differs from being a well-recognised contributor. I lacked awareness that a highly talented team doesn’t want to be told what to do — they want to explore, experiment, and find insights for themselves. They need encouragement, not direction, all the time, and in an environment where creativity and empowerment are a core critical success factor, my directive tone stifled rather than nurtured.

MISTAKE #2: MICROMANAGING THE MINUTIAE

I thought closely monitoring team members would ensure better performance, but instead, it created the opposite effect. It gave my team the impression that I didn’t trust them. They were talented individuals, but my overzealous monitoring felt more like micromanaging than supporting them.

I wanted to optimise and support their performance, but the result was a culture where I checked up on them rather than checking in with them. As a leader, I had to shift my focus from micromanaging to trusting the team with autonomy and empowering them to take ownership of their work.

MISTAKE #3: NOT SETTING CLEAR GOALS FOR MYSELF

I failed to set daily goals that would keep me focused on highpayoff activities and increase my effectiveness and productivity as a leader. I didn’t naturally delegate.

The result? I wasn’t developing my team or helping them grow. I quickly realised that by focusing on the tasks I could only take ownership of, I could achieve significantly more, and the team’s confidence increased as members gained encouragement from me to lead more projects.

MISTAKE #4: FAILING TO COACH MY TEAM

One of the most significant areas where I fell short was in coaching. I initially missed the opportunity to adopt the nonexpert role and act as a coach, channelling thoughtful and powerful questions to team members during 1:1 meetings. I had this urge to show that I had all the answers, but in doing so, I wasn’t helping my team learn and grow.

My role wasn’t to be the ‘answer machine’ to every question and every challenge. I was indirectly and unintentionally creating an environment of dependence on myself. Independent thinking and action were in short supply and I needed to empower my team to find solutions. By reflecting and pivoting to a coaching mindset, I supported each team member to recognise the value in learning, experimenting, and believing in their core strengths to find solutions.

MISTAKE #5: NOT BELIEVING IN MY TEAM’S POTENTIAL

With much more leadership experience and world-class training, I now understand that every employee has untapped potential, and my role as an empowering leader is to help harness the latent talent in each team member to create a culture where everyone flourishes.

My role today isn’t about managing projects but unlocking people’s potential.

MISTAKE #6: FAILING TO DEFINE THE CULTURE AND VISION

We were all working together, but there was no clearly defined vision, direction, or purpose for the team to align on. Early on, it became evident that we needed to discuss things honestly together. I held a meeting where I proposed that we all have an open conversation about how we want to work together and how we can motivate and recognise each other. The results were profound, allowing us to align on a shared vision. People were invested straight away in the future they could build together.

MISTAKE #7: FIXATING ON FIXING PROBLEMS RATHER THAN PLAYING TO STRENGTHS

I was so fixated on addressing challenges that I overlooked my team’s strengths, and instead of focusing on what made us strong, I spent too much time trying to ‘fix’ what wasn’t working.

I learned quickly that playing to individual strengths is the secret to building a high-performing team.

TURNING IT AROUND

The turning point came when I admitted I was failing as a leader. I gathered the team for an open, honest discussion about what was working and what wasn’t. I introduced a ‘doppelganger’ character called Todd to help us critique my leadership style. It worked wonders! We shared feedback, laughed, and devised ideas to improve Todd’s performance. Todd was essentially me on a bad day instead of Marcus, the empowering leader they had glimpses of. The meeting concluded, and the team felt heard, valued, and, most importantly, empowered. A year later, we received an international team award for contributions to business consulting and were recognised as a leading high-performing team in Europe.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Admitting and learning from your mistakes is uncomfortable but necessary for growth and human connection. Leadership isn’t about being perfect — it’s about being authentic, caring, and playing to your team’s strengths, creating a culture where everyone can thrive. As Simon Sinek says, “Leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge.”

I hope this honest account helps you avoid my mistakes. Please connect if you want a sounding board to discuss your leadership challenges and create your winning team.

MARCUS HAYCOCK

Marcus Haycock is a distinguished leadership development coach and trainer dedicated to empowering managers and business owners to become transformational leaders who deliver transformational results. He has acquired over 21 years of medical aesthetics consulting, business training, and leadership expertise. He is now an associate director for LMI, a globally renowned people development organisation established over 60 years ago, with over two million successful participants graduating from its world-leading development programmes. 

https://transformationalleadershipconsulting.co.uk/my-services/manager-training/