8 Tips to Become a Successful Team Leader

It is never too early or too late for you to develop your leadership skills. Strong leadership skills will benefit you in every role and at any stage of your career. Leadership is about understanding your strengths, weaknesses, and motivations. 

The role of a team leader isn’t quite the same as that of a manager since most aren’t allowed to hire or fire team members.

As a team leader, you can demonstrate leadership skills early in your career. You can demonstrate your leadership skills within your organization even before you reach a managerial level.

Good team leaders encourage employee growth and development and give and receive feedback.

Whether you’re leading a new team or taking over an existing one, leading and managing a team for the first time can be intimidating.

Even though leading a group may seem intimidating, it’s not as difficult or frightening as you may think.

The majority of people want leaders who will be there for them and look out for them. The team leader provides direction and guidance to other team members while working toward a common goal. 

As a team leader, you must monitor progress toward achieving this goal and report to your supervisor or manager.

Leaders have a significant impact not just on their teams but also on the entire company. Great leaders tend to motivate their employees to work harder and do better.

Tips to Become a Successful Team Leader

Here are eight tips to become a successful team leader.  Using these tips, you’ll be able to build and maintain productive teams and develop your leadership capabilities. 

Lead by Example

Leading by example sounds simple, but just a few leaders are successful and consistent in doing so. Especially for new leaders, applying what they preach can be a challenge.

A leader needs to lead by example and do whatever leaders expect from others. Consider what behaviors you want your teammates to exhibit.

Show the behaviors you expect from your team members and foster a positive work environment. 

Be honest, open, and passionate. Respect all team members, treat them fairly, and don’t show favoritism, and you will see the same behavior returning to you. 

You need to be true to yourself and believe in yourself.  You should clarify that you are all working towards the same goals and success.

The team leader usually works alongside the team members. You will lose respect from your team if you’re gossiping.

Don’t speak behind the backs of team members or others. Never criticize others in front of the team. Put in your best effort instead. Your teammates should see you as an example.

You are the team leader, so your actions and words will influence your team’s work habits and behavior. Work hard yourself if you expect hard work from your team.

Act Fairly

A guideline and rule should be communicated and followed consistently.  The team leader’s role often includes assigning tasks and setting schedules for teammates. 

Establish a working environment that is fair and free of favoritism. You may prefer and like some team members over others.

However, that does not mean you should express your preference for particular team members.

Give Honest Feedback

Recognition will boost productivity. A productive work environment is created when employees receive positive feedback. 

It’s important to give your team honest feedback to guide them in the right direction, even when it’s criticism.

Recognize good performance employee accomplishments and provide honest feedback and reviews. Make sure to recognize team members when they do something great.

It might not be possible for you to give team members a pay raise or promotion, but you can give them some verbal praise to show you are aware and appreciative of their work.

Gratitude for their efforts is a great way to celebrate their wins. Honest feedback could help team members identify areas for improvement.

As a true leader, you should also listen to the feedback from your team members to better identify the areas that require improvement.

For the team to remain productive, feedback sessions should occur constantly.

Open and Effective Communication

Establishing open communication with your team members is one of the most important aspects of effective leadership. Don’t hide anything from your team.

The entire team should know what’s going on. Be honest with the team. No matter what the news is – good or bad. Gaining the trust of the team is always easier with effective communication. 

You should set an example of transparency and honesty for your team members. To be an effective leader, you must have excellent communication skills.

Using active communication skills and displaying transparency can help your team build trust and improve morale.

Resentment and frustration can result from a lack of communication. Communication isn’t just about expressing what you want. It’s also about listening to others as well.  

If you want to enhance team communication, read this article: How to Enhance your Team Communication?

Keep a Positive Attitude

Positive attitudes are the trademarks of successful leaders. You can handle life’s daily challenges more easily with a positive attitude.

Your life will be more optimistic, and this positive attitude will help you avoid worries and negative thinkings.

It is essential to have a positive attitude to be an effective team leader. A positive attitude determines your level of contentment and impacts how others interact with you.

As a result, it would bring positive changes into your life, make you happier, and help you achieve greater success.

Whatever the situation, the way you handle the negative situation leaves a lasting impression on your leadership abilities.

If you focus on the positive aspects, people will react more positively. Having a positive work environment will increase employee engagement and productivity.

Be Decisive

Decisiveness means you are capable of making a decision. You must be able to make key decisions effectively as a leader. Making effective decisions is essential to achieve goals and complete tasks.

Decisiveness is essential for successfully executing plans and achieving set goals in the workplace. As a decisive leader, you must gather the information to make good decisions. 

In many situations, it’s too easy to put off difficult decisions, but this is costly to the job and your image as a leader.

Even if you can’t solve a more significant challenge at once, it’s okay to take several smaller steps that will build momentum and help you reach your goal. 

Take a deep breath, gather all the necessary information, and decide if something goes wrong. Discuss this with your team.

By discussing with team members, you may make more innovative and impactful decisions. Seek help whenever you need it. 

Delegate

A good leader should learn how to delegate work. Having the right delegation would positively impact the career development of whole team members. But keep in mind that leaders can only delegate authority, not responsibility. 

Leading a team does not mean doing other people’s work or micromanaging at every step. Let everyone know what is expected of them and allow them to get on with it. 

Don’t simply add each new problem to your list. Give your team the power to find solutions themselves with your support.

You should not impose solutions but rather encourage team members to develop ideas.

Give your team space to develop innovative solutions to become more creative, develop their confidence, and feel more ownership.

When delegating, keep these points in mind:

• Identify the goal of a project. 
• Think about who is best suited to handle the delegated responsibilities. Selecting the wrong person can lead to a major failure.
• Ensure that the person you are planning to assign has the skill set you need.
• Make sure you select the right talent using objective criteria.
• Specify the time details. 
• Discuss and have communication about roles and responsibilities with the team.

Be There for Your Team Members 

Always be there for your team members. You must be prepared to support them even in their failures if you want to celebrate their successes. Rather than simply blaming employees for mistakes, you should strive to fix them.

Conclusion

It takes time to become a great leader. Having good leadership skills is not something one is born with; anyone can learn and improve. 

Being a great team leader isn’t about dominating people. Instead, it’s about guiding and inspiring team members towards a common goal.

You can motivate your team by praising their efforts and rewarding them when they achieve. It is possible to lead your team to success with dedication, hard work, and strategic planning. 

What other qualities do you believe a good leader should possess?  Please let us know in the comments section below. Subscribe to us for more informative and interesting blogs.