One of the challenges that senior leadership teams face is what I call an "interesting duality."

On on hand, a senior leader is often responsible for a functional unit or team within an organization. On the other hand, they are asked to be on a team with other leaders - usually headed by a Director, VP, or CEO.

Here are 4 real-life excuses that will scare off a retail customer every time.

Excuse One: “It’s our policy.”

Ah, the dreaded fallback position from employees and organizations that have no clue about what the customer needs. Smells like complacency to me. In other words, corporate has my hands tied and I can’t do anything for you.

Excuse Two: “My manager is on vacation for the next week.”

This seriously happened to me. Right after excuse number 1. Sounds a lot like "my dog ate my homework."

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Another  common and costly leader mistake that can result in a loss of  credibility and trust.

MISTAKE: Drawing clear lines in the sand.

The challenge in many organizations is that most leaders don’t get to know their people well enough to create a motivating environment. They like to draw lines in the sand between business and personal.

Actually, our business and personal lives often intersect and have a huge impact on each other.We need to make business personal.

Another  common and costly leader mistake that can result in a loss of credibility and trust.

MISTAKE: Leading with answers instead of questions.

Jim Collins said it best in Good to Great:

Another  common and costly leader mistake that can result in a loss of credibility and trust.

MISTAKE: Solving problems others should solve.

It’s not uncommon for new leaders to solve problems for their team members instead of helping them learn to do it on their own. For the overly controlling leader, you may find it faster to take care of it yourself than to take the time to teach.

For the less assertive leader, it might be easier to do it yourself so you can get around confronting an issue directly.

What is your team's purpose?

What is your team supposed to do that no other team does?

These are important questions for all teams - whether you belong to a management team, a functional team, a project team, or other.

The challenge in most organizations is that teams don't have clarity about their purpose. They brush it off as something too fluffy to consider. Or, for other teams, their purpose ends up on a pretty poster in a conference room and does nothing but take up wall space.

Another  common and costly leader mistake that can result in a loss of credibility and trust.

MISTAKE: Imposing goals on team members.

I can’t stress enough the importance of making the goal-setting process collaborative. Imposing individual goals on someone is the fastest way to lose commitment. And, leaders should be leery about imposing their expectations through online collaboration tools. Technology can be successfully used to support the goal-setting process, but should never take the place of crucial conversations.

Another  common and costly leader mistake that can result in a loss of credibility and trust...

MISTAKE: Leading by email (or by texting, project management tools, online chat, or other technology) instead of Leading by Example.

A common and costly leader mistake that can result in a loss of credibility and trust...

MISTAKE: Getting caught up in the Popeye Syndrome – “I am what I am.”

The implied message here is: “I am the way I am and if you don’t like it, who cares?”

Leaders often exhibit this behavior when doing things like conducting meetings without involving team members, and when resolving team member issues without asking for input or engaging them in the problem-solving process.