NOT knowing when to fire someone, poor communication skills and expecting too much from staff all add up to make a bad business leader.
1. Expecting employees to be clones

Problems emerge when the boss places very high expectations on their staff to provide perfect service or put themselves on the line.
Leaders become disappointed when employees don’t demonstrate the same level of commitment, enthusiasm and performance as they have themselves - but it’s safe to say most staff probably wouldn’t feel the same way about their job as the boss does.
Failure, and for that matter simple indifference, is often regarded as unacceptable, leading to a breakdown in relationships and communication.

2. Micro-managing people
Good interpersonal skills are necessary to bring out the best in people. But certain attitudes can get in the way.
Micro-managing rather than leading people is a major fault.
Entrepreneurs can fall into the trap of getting their hands too dirty, trying to fix everything and overseeing almost all areas of responsibility, rather that delegating responsibilities.
As a consequence, leader effectiveness and delivering on a strategy is compromised.
3. Limited communication skills
Leadership involves communicating a vision and strategy to staff. Ineffective communication and poor listening skills hinder this process.
Managers often devote little time for small talk, along with those behaviours necessary for building and sometime sustaining interrelationships with employees.
4. Not paying enough attention to detail

Related to the problems associated with micro-managing and over-extending oneself is the tendency to push too hard in one area to the detriment of another.
As a result, bosses fail to follow-up on important decisions and fail to develop coherent organisational strategies that take key elements into account. 
5. Poor time management

Getting caught up in day-to-day firefighting, rather than delegating, prevents prioritising and negates spending valuable time with staff in order to build relationships and pass on knowledge through mentoring and coaching.
6. Not recruiting the best
When it comes to the most desirable employees, CEOs emphasise qualities of culture fit, versatility, an ability to hit the ground running, a desire to learn and to think, enthusiasm, drive, and problem-solving skills.
These desired characteristics reflect those of the CEO and can get in the way of recruiting the best people with the necessary technical capabilities.
7. Having personal gremlins

Everyone has his or her own personal gremlins. Entrepreneurs single out psychological issues to do with self-esteem, anxiety and depression as the most common.
A number of personality characteristics, including stubbornness, and being impatient and egotistical - assets in some circumstances but liabilities in others - can further complicate the picture.
8. Emotional decision making

Allowing emotions to creep into decision-making processes can be problematic, often leading to the heart ruling rather than what is best.
Moreover, because entrepreneurs want to make practically all the decisions, consulting with others is regarded as a hassle.
9. Festering over-exuberance
Entrepreneurs can be over-the-top - extremely passionate about their business, staff, and customers.
They can be highly committed to almost everything they do, working too hard, being over confident, and taking on too much.
As a result leaders can fail to treat themselves kindly and compassionately.
10. Not firing fast enough
Entrepreneurs identify with being compassionate and can be too soft, particularly when it comes to dealing with under-performing staff. They have difficulties firing quickly.
Compounding this problem is a false belief that they can make everyone in the business a strong contributor even when the personal fit is poor or staff are not up to it.
Empowering people beyond their capabilities is another fault.
- Professor Kosmas X Smyrnios is director of research in the School of Management, RMIT University.