6 Leadership Traps from Masters of Scale

Marissa Mayer created "PB and J" to foster a culture in which employees felt empowered to report processes, bureaucracies, and jams that didn't make sense to them.

It is important for all leaders to keep on reviewing, modifying, and scrapping processes while also inventing new processes that drive creativity.

Eric Schmidt, Google's former CEO, learned that it is better to take an iterative approach to avoid the trap of being a bullhorn and to look out for signs of miscommunication mismatch.

According to Eric, being an extreme listener can be just as stifling as over-communicating. He also learned that culture does trump everything else and that it is important to take the time to listen.

“The first thing I push back on with the young entrepreneurs is the idea that you are going to be successful almost overnight.” — Maëlle Gavet

Speed is certainly important but can be detrimental. Some things are better done properly to be able to move faster in the long run.

"If you try to be authentic by blindly adopting methods that work for other people, you’ll come across as inauthentic. So avoid this trap by adapting advice so it fits your personality and your goals."

This deserves a list of its own. But I related.

"It’s hard to spot this trap because leaders can become hyper focused on being the main hero, the main innovator, the sole captain. They begin to think the position is just about them. However, as a leader you need to realize that leadership is not just about you. Leadership is about the I and the we."