Jack Ma: Story of Alibaba E-Commerce and Online Retail by GineersNow GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue No. 013, Jac | Page 36

7 Mistakes
Engineering
Leaders Do When
Leading A Team
And here’s how to correct them.
I
f you are currently leading a team of genius
employees or a bunch of technical wiz guys, you
must read this. These are common mistakes
engineering leaders do and how to avoid them.
You do not follow the rules you want your
colleagues to follow.
Never make promises that you know you cannot
keep. A habit a lot of leaders make, doing this will
only end up with you disappointing everyone in your
team. So be careful with the promises you tell to
them.
If you don’t want your colleagues to lose respect
for you and if you want them to follow the company
rules, you should be the first one in the team to
follow rules. If you end up breaking them, your team
will only do the same things. You are the leader and
the team just follows what a leader does. You think you’re the most important
person in your team.
You say you’ll do something, but you end
up not doing it at all. You cannot handle criticism.
Learn to keep your word so that your teammates
will learn to trust you as a leader. Don’t disappoint
them with words you know you couldn’t keep. Talk
the talk. Walk the walk.
You do not admit you’re wrong.
Don’t believe that saying about being weak
whenever you admit you are wrong. If you find
yourself in situations where you really are at fault,
don’t be afraid to admit it.
Not only will that help correct a mistake, but it also
helps improve your relationship with the rest of the
team.
36
You cannot keep promises.
E-Commerce, Online Distribution and Management • March 2017
Don’t steal the spotlight on anyone. Remember,
your job is to lead and guide everyone in your team.
You’re not supposed to be the most important
person in your team.
As a leader of your team, you are obliged to give
constructive criticisms to each of its members.
However, you have to be reminded that you are
growing as a leader as well. Keep yourself open to
criticisms and don’t take any of them as insults.
Learn how to handle criticisms like a good leader.
You only believe yours is the right way.
In order for you to help improve every member of
your team, you should know that the right way isn’t
limited to only one approach. More importantly,
the right way doesn’t exactly mean your way. So
brainstorm different approaches to the challenges
your team faces, then choose which is the best
solution that could work for everyone in the team