One of the most important attributes of being a good leader is empathy–as well as the ability to understand and react correctly to your employees’ emotions when they are expressed. According to a 2015 Harris Interactive survey, 91 percent of employed American adults believe that interpersonal communication issues prevent leaders from leading effectively. This is a huge problem that directly and very negatively impacts the bottom line.


According to the Harris Interactive survey, the following 9 issues (in rank order, starting with the worst) prevent leaders from being effective, and make them look really unprofessional.

1. Not recognizing employee achievements

One of the ways of making your employees feel worse than they should about the work they do is by not giving credit where it’s due. Recognize and give weight to your employees’ achievements when they accomplish noteworthy tasks. Even just a simple, but sincere, thank you will work wonders.

2. Not giving clear directions

By not being precise with goals and expectations the first time around, it’s easy to cause confusion among employees and members of your team. People never know exactly what you want unless you tell them–clearly and unequivocally–so don’t assume they do.

3. Not having time to meet with employees

Person-to-person contact is the most important thing in this world dominated by excessive technology and constant virtual stimulation. Make time to meet face-to-face with your employees to avoid the kind of falling out that can occur without personal contact.

4. Refusing to talk to those who work for you

Giving the impression that you think–by being a leader–you’re better than those you work with won’t help you gain the respect of others. Never look down on those who work for you. Treat them as equals, and they’ll respect you even more.

5. Taking credit for others’ ideas

As a leader, it can sometimes be easy to assume that the work your team does is simply credited solely to you–but it’s important to remember that each small part deserves to be credited to the person who did it. Otherwise, people will feel discouraged from the lack of recognition.

6. Not offering constructive criticism

If you forgo giving feedback, especially when it’s painful to provide, people won’t know how to improve and will assume that they should just keep doing what they’re doing. Give your team a chance to grow by giving more feedback–faster and more frequently.

7. Not knowing employees’ names

Learning names requires the most basic of efforts–and not doing so definitely gives the impression that you don’t care to know your team on a personal, more human basis. If it seems unfair that they should all know your name, and that you don’t know theirs, it can’t be so difficult to learn them.

8. Refusing to talk to people on the phone/in person

While text messages, email, and virtual communication can be incredibly useful as business tools, they aren’t that great for building real relationships with your employees and gaining their trust. This can best be done in person–or at least on the phone, where you can hear their voice, and they can hear yours.

9. Not asking about employees’ lives outside work

People love divulging details about their personal lives, so why not get your team to share what they enjoy doing when they’re away from the office? They’ll appreciate the inquiry–as well as the opportunity to talk about what’s important to them.