How to Lead a Strong Team Part II

“There is only one way... to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it.” – Dale Carnegie

Whether you believe it or not, being a good leader requires more than telling others what to do. Successful leadership qualities come from training, practice, and true effort. If you want your team to trust and support you and to work to their fullest potential, you will definitely want to take your role as a leader seriously. While being a leader is not always easy, it is one of the most important jobs and is a necessary role. Use the following tips to learn how to lead a strong team:

• Always do what is best for the group. Being a leader at times means making decisions that might not make you the most popular but will ultimately help the team. Be willing to take risks in order to benefit the whole.

• Learn how to work with different personalities. Remember that each member of the team has unique qualities. Once you have effective communications skills and can interact with different personalities, knowing how to motivate and get the best work out of every person on the team will be a simple task. A great leader possesses flexibility, patience, and open-mindedness. This will ultimately help your team reach its fullest potential.

• Along the same lines, leaders should not just tolerate different personalities but also celebrate them. Make an effort to show that you admire each team member’s personality because it truly does enrich and cultivate a better company culture.

• Utilize competition to gain cooperation and success. Friendly competition generates results. Leaders of strong teams keep the competition between the team and its own past results—not between individual team members. Make competition exciting and remember to keep competition friendly so that it generates healthy relationships within the team. If you are worried about utilizing completion, ask yourself this: “Who would you rather have working on your team—a competitive individual or someone who is simply satisfied with average results?”

• Always keep the lines of communication open. If you notice that members of your team tend to avoid others, it is your job to make sure everyone is on the same page. Once communication barriers are in place, teams can quickly create cliques with insiders and outsiders that will ultimately hurt the team. Look for ways to increase understanding and break down these potential barriers.

• Remember that each team member is there to contribute to the team’s goals and mission. Focus and work on results rather than tasks. By allowing team members to focus on successfully achieving results, they will enjoy their roles because they are able to show their unique strengths in their own way while still contributing to the overall team effort and goal.