Parasteh
Leadership is primarily about influencing the workforce or a group of people to work together and in harmony. Organizations must have a designated leader who helps facilitate the team process.
A leader plays a significant role in building a confident team and further enhancing the team’s strength to achieve goals. On the other hand, if the leadership is ineffective and incompetent then the workforce may feel disinclined, defeated and disappointed.
Developing team leadership involves learning specific leadership skills and understanding responsibilities so that the team or workforce can smoothly accomplish the set goals and objectives.
Also Read: Transformational Leadership? How New Thoughts Deliver Noteworthy Outcomes
What comprises the Leadership Skills of Team Leaders?
A leader must possess, acquire or learn the following leadership skills to benefit self and the organization:-
Good mentor
Team leaders must hold a solid understanding of the organisational dynamics.
A team leader must know how to teach and steer the group through the standard stages of team development, i.e., through forming, norming, storming, performing and transforming.
They mentor the team by making them aware of the possible obstructions to team performance and encouraging them to move from one platform of team development to the next.
A Mastermind
A team leader should be able to see the big picture. The farsightedness and understanding of how the team should be working to affect the goals and strategy positively.
This way the leader keeps the workplace group focused on the team’s charter and goals.
Also Read: Transformational Leadership: Style, Definition, Characteristics and theory!
An effective Coach
Influencing the workforce to work together and in harmony is what leadership is all about. Teams must have a designated leader who helps facilitate the team process as a coach. Thus a team leader should be able to act as a coach and instructor to appropriate team behaviours.
Leaders should be skilled at resolving conflicts, strengthening team ground rules, and in encouraging members.
Thus team coaching is done while keeping the process moving toward the shared goal.
Negotiator
Successful team leaders are excellent negotiators.
Leaders take responsibility for the team and negotiate wherever required to ensure the team has the necessary resources, i.e. people, money and time needed to accomplish their targets.
Communication skills
Having tactful communication skills is a must. A leader who is an excellent communicator will always be comfortable in giving valuable feedback to the team.
This skill is essential because it provides appropriate feedback which is helpful to fix conflict, brings solutions to problems and helps to develop trust and confidence among the team members.
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Capable of bringing resolution to conflicts
Team leaders with a solid understanding of team dynamics and understand that conflicts can be healthy if appropriately managed.
Leaders who own conflict resolution skills efficiently confront interpersonal team matters and strives to find win-win resolutions.
Along with leadership skills comes some responsibilities as well.
These are:-
- Development of team charter, goals and team expectations.
- Gaining high-level commitment to necessary team resources.
- Establishing goals, objectives and target deadlines for the team.
- Establishing and achieving consensus on team ground rules.
- Encouraging fair play with team rules and ensuring all team members are held accountable for their actions.
- Communicating expectations of the team and the importance of completing team assignments on time.
- Ensuring team establishes measurable goals.
- Taking proactive steps in eliminating team members who do not adhere to team rules. Helping the team with conflict resolution and educating them on how to solve problems constructively.
- Reviewing and monitoring teams progress.
- Assuring that the team celebrates successes.
If the team members understand their roles and responsibilities and they have the time, tools and training to do their job well and later are rewarded for doing a good job; then a leader will have a healthy, happy and productive team!
