The Simple Mistakes That Leaders and Managers Should Avoid

Some of the points I’m going to mention in this post may seem obvious, ones that even mid-level engineers can recognize and understand. However, I’ve witnessed experienced managers and team leaders repeat these mistakes time and time again. Generally speaking, having a few of these issues might not be so bad to a certain extent, but it becomes a significant problem when you have many of them and they become strict rules for your team. I will discuss situations in the software QA and testing field, but most of the points apply to other fields as well.

Common Pitfalls

• Micromanagement: I won’t explain the meaning and harmful effects – everybody knows it, but there are still teams that work in such a management style. Maybe you want to tell everyone what to do and how to do it and you want to have an updated status every couple of hours because you think it’ll increase your team’s productivity but it won't help you to do your job more productively and definitely won’t help your team. You will just waste your and your team's time instead of doing something useful. When managers closely monitor every detail of their team’s work, it kills creativity and new ideas, making team members feel like they don't own their work and can't make decisions on their own. And you always will be busy and overwhelmed which will affect your productivity and decision making significantly.
• Lack of trust in your team members: do not delegate tickets in Jira; delegate responsibilities. Avoid dictating how your team should perform testing, as they often know better than you. If you have assigned someone a responsibility or task, stand by your words. Do not second-guess all their decisions or override them with your own.
• Attempts to control everything and everyone: do not create an environment where no one can decide without you. While it might be tempting to play a significant role in every aspect of the team’s operations, as a leader, your goal should be to foster independence and confidence within your team. Encourage team members to make decisions and trust in their abilities. This ensures that the team can maintain the same level of productivity and efficiency, even in your absence. Your goal is to build a resilient and self-sufficient team capable of handling challenges independently. If your team can’t do this – you’ve failed as a leader.
• Not giving and not asking for feedback regularly: regular feedback is crucial for growth and improvement. Without it, team members may feel directionless and unappreciated. Encourage open communication by both providing constructive feedback and seeking input from your team. It’s helping to avoid serious issues in performance and mistakes. If you don’t give feedback timely then there will be failures because of the lack of feedback –  you’ve failed as a leader.
• Not using effective tools and processes: messengers are not suitable for bug tracking or planning. Without proper tools, no one can see the real status without constantly asking for updates. If you repeatedly post who should do what and when in a messenger, there won't be any visibility or traceability, and you can't track progress without falling into micromanagement. Effective tools and processes ensure transparency and efficient tracking without the need for constant oversight. Use Jira, poker planning, burndown chart, Jira boards, filters, etc, whatever is suitable for your team, there are plenty of best practices for any case. Assign estimations to tasks, use due date fields, and have a proper test plan available for everyone.
• Asking for too many updates and status reports: your team members shouldn't have to message you every time they finish a task. If a task is ongoing, you don't need to ask for updates several times a day. As a team leader, you don't need daily reports in any form. If you don't understand what your team is doing and have done without constant updates – you’ve failed as a leader. Standups are not just for you to dictate what and how your team members should do their tasks or to ask for status reports again. They are about sharing information about your tasks with the team, asking questions, raising concerns, and giving advice to each other. They are about collaboration, open communication, and mutual support, ensuring everyone is aligned and can address any issues together.
• Inability to listen for improvements and accept criticism from your team: effective leadership requires being open to feedback and suggestions for improvement from your team. Ignoring or dismissing their input will kill innovation and growth. Accept your mistakes, if you can’t –  you’ve failed as a leader.
• Lack of mentorship and development of skills for your team members: failing to provide mentorship and opportunities for skill enhancement can lead to stagnation and decreased motivation. Invest time in guiding your team members (not telling them what and how to test), offering learning opportunities, and encouraging continuous improvement. If you do not allocate time for this, if you prefer to come up with some “useful” tasks instead of developing skills, if you believe that your team should do tasks that you said them to do and that this stuff is for HR  – you’ve failed as a leader.

Conclusion and Steps Towards Effective Leadership

If you feel that you’re a great tech expert, go ahead and help your team instead of spending your time on useless managerial activities and bossing your team members around. 

Any conflict with your team members or mistakes that lead to a layoff is also your mistake; it means you’ve failed as a leader. 

You have done a good job as a manager and leader when you can leave your team for a couple of months and they don’t lose their productivity. If that's the case for you, it’s also your responsibility.

Assess your processes and the situation in your team with the points from this post. If you recognize yourself and your team in these descriptions, you have some problems as a manager and leader and are holding your team and business back with an ineffective management style. However, if you can recognize your mistakes and accept them, this is the first step to fixing the situation and starting to move in the right direction.

Leadership and management are continuous processes, and it's natural to encounter challenges. By identifying and addressing these common pitfalls, you can create a more supportive and effective environment for your team. The goal is to foster a culture of trust, collaboration, and growth. Recognizing and accepting your mistakes is the first step toward positive change. By doing so, you not only improve your skills but also improve your team's productivity, work processes, and morale, and get more time for yourself to do more challenging and interesting tasks. Think about the opportunity to grow together with your team, and you'll find a way how to achieve it. This is a matter of mindset. If you have the right mindset, you can overcome all current issues, even if you have slipped into some (or all) of the mentioned pitfalls.