Avoiding Managerial Self-Sabotage

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Renata has just been promoted to manager of her department. She's always done a great job but now she doubts her confidence and ability. She's got several high-performing players on her team who are smart, creative, confident, and outspoken ? and she feels threatened by their skills and experience

Worried that her team members and her own manager will think that she's not up to the job, Renata feels that she has to show them who's boss. So, she's decisive and sets the rules. She downplays other people's ideas and double-checks their work. She feels in control. But two months later, half her team has left and she feels more anxious than ever.

Instead of relishing the fact that she had an outstanding team that she could have helped to excel even more, her fear of looking weak led her to taking a course of action that ended up destroying a great unit and reinforcing her anxieties. Not only did Renata's behavior wreck her team, it was self-destructive, as it severely damaged her previously good reputation.

In this article, we explore why and how some managers can unwittingly sabotage their own chances of success. We identify some common self-destructive habits, and look at ways to change them and become a leader other people admire.

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/avoiding-managerial-self-sabotage.htm