It can be daunting to be a team leader as you have to concern yourself with your team member’s success and your own, which can be a huge responsibility.
- Optimism
You must always remain optimistic as a team leader; you must look on the bright side of any situation which is thrown your way. Remaining optimistic can have a knock-on effect on your team members and cause them to have a more optimistic outlook on their work and any projects thrown their way.
- Competence
You must be competent in your job as people often respect knowledgeable, competent leaders. You need to know what you’re doing as it helps team members to have faith in you and know that if they need help or have any issues, they can come to you to seek your guidance.
- Listening
It would be best to learn to always listen to all of your team members; they can offer important feedback. If team members have a problem and think a task or project needs to be approached a different way, it is important they feel they can talk to you about it as you are a good listener.
- Valuing
It will help if you value every single member of your team. Every team member has a different set of skills and a wide spectrum of abilities; some people are good at one aspect of a project but might be awful in another. It is important to appreciate everybody’s individual strengths and weaknesses.
- Example
Lead by example; you want your staff members to look up to you; therefore, you must act in the way you want your staff members to act. You must show them that you work hard, are a valuable asset to the company, and can follow orders and complete work in time. If team members see you acting this way, then natural human instinct tells them they should follow suit and be the same.
- Feedback
It is essential that team members feel they can give you honest feedback without fear of retribution, whether through an honest comment box or simply verbal interactions. Feedback helps you see where team members have issues or are struggling; Feedback also helps you reflect on how you conduct yourself as a team leader. Feedback can tell you if your methods are ineffective and help you figure out where any problems are and address them.
- Appreciation
It is crucial to appreciate every one of your team members, regardless of job role or position within the team. People want to feel valued and appreciated, and it’s nice to hear compliments and acknowledgments for the hard work they have put in. People who feel appreciated and praised want to work harder, and this is a win-win situation for both team members and team leaders.
