Bosses take the blame 

It’s not every day that supervisors fess up to their mistakes, but if they did, employees might be surprised by what they hear.

In a survey by staffing service Accountemps, 150 executives revealed their biggest management mistakes, from not recognizing staff accomplishments to overworking their teams. The most frequently cited issue was lack of communication (20%), while poor hiring decisions accounted for 13% of the response.
Not being supportive enough of staff was a definite regret, as seen by the following admissions:

• “I failed to clearly understand an employee’s situation and ended up losing him.”
• “I didn’t recognize associates’ birthdays or anniversaries.”
• “I didn’t understand that my staff had reached a limit on their ability to produce.”
• “I didn’t give recognition to someone who turned out to be one of my best employees and soon lost her.”

But in other cases, executives were too soft with employees, letting poor performance go unchecked — sometimes with dire financial consequences:

• “I delegated some work on a project and never checked to see if it was completed. A year later, I discovered it had never been done, and it cost the company about $1 million.”
• “I didn’t recognize that someone was in way over her head.”
• “I kept someone on who should have been let go.”

“Managing people effectively requires offering support and making tough decisions, and few people are naturally adept at both,” says Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Motivating Employees For Dummies. “Over time, however, most supervisors learn from their mistakes and are able to improve weak areas.”