Leading a team can be difficult.
You have to manage different personalities, different skillsets, and help them work towards a common goal. How can you get your team on side, and enthusiastic about working towards the vision? Read on.
Gain Their Trust
Gaining the trust of your team members is important. Creating a “them and us” feel is divisive and serves no purpose. To get your team on side, win their trust by being personable. Take a genuine interest in them, without being too intrusive. Develop excellent communication skills and learn to relate to people at different levels. Gaining their trust will make them want to support you, and it will help them to trust your leadership decisions.
Hold Regular Meetings to Ensure Everyone is on the Same Page
A divided team can never win because everyone will be looking after their own interests. Having regular meetings is good for two reasons; it helps the team to feel unified, and it also means that you can identify potential issues before they arise. Some people hate meetings, but the key is to ensure that you stick to the point, and you don’t allow anyone to drag them out for longer than necessary. I have used meetings to identify weak spots, and potential points of conflict, and I’ve resolved them without haste. Having regular meetings will enable you to do this.
Adopt a Thought Leadership Stance
As a leader, you should be ahead of the curve, and constantly seeking out new ideas. Being a thought leader will help your team to be on side, because the more that you grow, the more that they grow. Being a leader does not have to be boring. You have the responsibility of shaping the team, and the way to do that is to think several paces ahead. This includes technologically, and in the field of personal development. Thought leaders are sometimes considered to be “new-agey”, but they are not. They are forward thinking, and not afraid of change. You should lead your team in the same way.
Praise in Public, Correct in Private
“You’re rubbish!” Imagine if someone said that to you in front of a team of people? It would make you feel humiliated, and it could also affect your self-esteem to the point that you underperform. It’s
never ok to say that to anyone, but some leaders correct their team in the open, to the point where it effects their self-esteem even more. In order to keep your team on your side, correct people in
private, and be careful of your word choice. Positive correction works. The opposite tears down.
Getting your team on side is deliberate, and it should be a constant task. The above tips should help you to do just that.
About the author
Dr Monique Charles is a lecturer and leadership expert. You can see more about her here: www.drmoniquecharles.com
