The Top Five Mistakes New Leaders Make and How to Avoid Them

After years behind a desk working for someone else and only responsible for your product, you are finally given the opportunity to lead a team and soon you find yourself confronted with a new and unexpected reality. You are now held accountable for the work of others – both their successes, and more troubling, their mistakes and poor performance. One of the easiest pitfalls that new leaders can face is sliding back into "doing" rather than "managing".

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School's Dave Hofmann, Leadership and associate dean of the MBA Program, shares his thoughts on how not to fall victim to the above pitfall or make these other top five new leader mistakes:

* Doing rather than leading
* Not forging relationships with lateral peers
* Not gaining support from above
* Not delegating effectively
* Failing to establish or project credibility