Interesting summary of a new university study on leadership ineffectiveness. This study shows that, the more power a leader has, and the higher up they are in an organization, the less likely they are to seek advice from others on making decisions. In fact, the most powerful leaders are the least likely to ask for help, even for major decisions that may involve millions of dollars and countless jobs.

This study confirms what my own observations state in my new book, and probably what many of you have observed as well. If you want more info, check out the chapter “Believe your own PR” in my book. You can go to Amazon.com and preview it for free.

Sad. But very, very true.

And this is not all.

As I state in my book, to be truly effective leaders must encourage, invite, and reward dissent. They must seek it out and create an environment where it is not only encouraged, but rewarded.

Truly effective leaders must also not be afraid to admit their mistakes. They must be the first, not the last, to point out problems. They must acknowledge mistakes. They must admit their own part (which is usually a major one) in the problem. And, they must drive effective corrective action in resolving the problem. They must do this all sooner rather than later.

We have seen another fine example of this over the weekend, when the CEO of Netflix sent out a cryptic and complex mea culpa regarding that company’s recent rate increases. In doing so, I applaud his attempt to take responsibility, but I’m very dissappointed at both his choice of corrective action and method of communication. Spinning off the Netflix brand away from the bread-and-butter DVD rental that made the company great is a mistake in my opinion. And communicating this plan with a complex and confusing blog/email appears to be an attempt to satisfy an angry Board more than an effort to repair broken customer relations.

For more info on how to be an effective leader and avoid these common pitfalls, check out my new book, What Not to Do in Business, the leadership and management survival guide. It’s available now on Amazon, Lulu, and in the Apple iBookStore.