We are always told that being a good team player is important. Previously we have looked at the roles people play in teams, now we are going to look at how you can lead a team.
There are different management styles, bosses who shout a lot and stay really strict and those that take a more relaxed approach. Styles of leadership can change, especially in different situations or as the team faces new challenges. You might find that as a leader you become stricter as the project comes to an end, you might start out with a softer style of management to encourage ideas and ways of working in the beginning. The more you practise the easier it is to find what leadership style works for you.
Taking the lead
Being put in charge of a group of people can be exciting and scary all at once! You are now responsible for making sure that the whole project comes together (no pressure). It’s important that a team has a leader and that you really step in to that role but it is just as important for you to know that the whole team have your back on this and you are there to facilitate.
Facilitating:
You didn’t think we were going to drop that word and not explain it did you? Facilitating means to help move an action forward and to make it less difficult. Every person on a team is responsible for a project but as the leader it is your role to make sure that everything comes together.
You’ll make the project easier to complete by encouraging the team to discuss their ideas and skills and setting out the plan for how it will all come together. You will need to be ready to move the project forward when challenges crop up. You will set deadlines and break actions down so everyone knows what they are doing and that absolutely everything gets done. Your role as a leader is to pull all of this together to make sure the team is working efficiently
You might find your organisation skills need a refresh to make sure that the project stays on track.
Delegating:
When you are first put in charge of a project your initial instinct can be to try and keep as much control as possible, people can fall in to the trap of not sharing out tasks and skills. A great leader isn’t one that has to take control of every single task, if you think your team aren’t doing something properly you need to first look at yourself, have you shared the load and communicated to the team properly?
We’ve mentioned it more than once now, but thinking about your communication skills is key, you will be communicating non stop including leading meeting and setting tasks both in person, on the phone and in email.
Motivating others:
A team works best when it is motivated to do well, the first step in this is to make sure that as a team leader you are letting your team know:
- What the big plan is
- How you will get their
- Their role in getting the team there
We’ve covered motivation before, you can refresh yourself here.
Have fun:
You will also motivate the team by treating your team members right and having fun
Being a strict boss has its benefits but you have to encourage a nice environment to work in too. Keep the balance between delegating and bossy tyrant at the right level. Thank people for their work and listen to their ideas and challenges fairly. Make sure that you celebrate when the team does well, and spend some time talking and getting to know the team.
Remember:
The great thing about team work is that you get to work with lots of different people, you learn new skills from them, overcome challenges with them and you might even make some new friends too.
Test Yourself:
- What skills do you need to lead a team?
- What does facilitating mean?
- Can you think of three benefits to working in a team?
