So, the first thing I’d like to point out is that the title doesn’t say “why so many leaders fail.” It says “so many people in leadership positions.” Authentic Leaders seldom fail. They, and the people they lead, regularly overcome challenges to accomplish their goals and objectives.

Holding down a leadership position in an organizational chart doesn’t make you a leader. In fact, if you’re in one of those positions, I’d highly encourage you to look behind you on a regular basis to make sure someone is actually following you. If no one is truly following you, then you’re not leading. No matter your title or position.

So let’s take a look at exactly why so many people in these positions of leadership do in fact fail at leading.

1. They don’t understand the vast difference between managing and leading.

This is likely because they have bought into the easy-to-believe myth that there actually is no difference between managing and leading. They miss the fact that “stuff” is managed, but people must be led. Budgets, buildings, equipment, inventories, spreadsheets, and the like can be managed. People, human beings, strongly resist being managed. They insist on being led.

People who merely hold down leadership positions never seem to figure out that most of what they would describe as “personnel issues” are caused by them trying to manage another human being. Low employee effort, poor attitudes, disengagement, and unreliability can be traced directly to a lack of Authentic Leadership. And, in fact, much more can be attributed to that.

Authentic Leaders know that truly leading their people results in most, or even all, of those issues disappearing. People who are led commit to their leader and will work their butts off to help their leader, and the organization succeed.

2. They lack essential communication skills.

Many leaders fail to grasp the need for speaking frequently to the people they wish to lead. In fact, many of them intentionally withhold information that could help their people in a myriad of ways. Information can help people understand their role in the organization. It helps them understand how they “fit” and how they matter to the organization. That helps keep them engaged.

True leaders know something important. That the most expensive employees aren’t the highest paid ones. They are the least engaged ones. Disengaged employees take home a paycheck, but leave behind few results in return.

Information is also the key to motivation. No one truly commits to a leader without knowing where that leader is leading them. Authentic Leaders have a clear vision and they share it with their people on a regular basis. Informed people are inspired. So, Authentic Leaders use tools like podcasts, blogs, newsletters, and emails to keep their people informed.

People merely holding down leadership positions will literally withhold information from their people because of the false belief that knowing more than their people somehow makes them more powerful or important. They miss the fact that their people can’t use information they are unaware of. This limits the potential success of their people and the organization.

3. They have low Emotional Intelligence

People in leadership positions struggle to lead because they fail to understand the importance of making a human connection with the people they are responsible to lead. Authentic Leadership is about people, and it’s only about people. People need to know that they matter. They need to know that what they do makes a difference. They need to know that the person leading them cares for them as a person, not just an employee.

Authentic Leaders understand the difference between caring “about” and caring “for” someone. While people holding leadership positions may say they care about their people, Authentic Leaders consistently demonstrate that they care for their people.

People in leadership positions often feel that making an emotional connection makes them look weak to the people they hope to lead. They are wrong. That is one of the biggest “misses” that leaders in name only experience. They miss the reward of improving lives. They barely know the people they would lead. So, they barely try to manage them, much less lead them.

4. They “lead” the way they were led.

Most people in leadership positions were promoted there because they did their previous job well. I love organizations that promote from within. But, there’s this one little fact: the skills needed to do their old job are quite different from the skills needed to lead.

When you add that to the fact that nearly 85% of promoted people won’t receive any formal leadership training, you have a big problem.

Absent that training, most people in leadership positions will lead in the same manner in which they were led. If they were led by a leader in name only, then that’s how they will attempt to lead. If their previous leaders were autocratic bosses, then they too will follow that example.

That cycle will continue until it is broken by someone who decides to be better than the boss they had. When they choose to be the leader they wish they had, then they will seek out formal leadership training and learn to lead effectively.

Once that happens, they can create a new cycle. A cycle where they produce more leaders who will one day produce more leaders themselves. That creates an opportunity for explosive and sustainable growth for their organization.

It all begins with a person in a leadership position deciding that they will lead people instead of attempting to manage them. It begins with a decision that says I will Lead Today. I won’t lose another minute; I’m going to start building myself into the leader I needed before I was promoted. I’m going to help my people reach their full potential and succeed.

So what do you say? Are you in a leadership position or are you actually leading? If it’s the former, then only you can change it. The question is, will you?

Your answer could change a lot of lives, including your own.