On your journey to the top, at some point, you’re going to need to recruit team members to help achieve the strategic goals. Despite what you may think, you cannot, and I believe you should not do everything.
As a leader, you’ll need to successfully lead these team members. In this blog post, we look at some of the strategies you could use to lead a successful team.
Find individuals that are right for the roles.
It all starts with recruiting the right individuals and placing them into the right roles. This involves making sure that their talents are utilized and put to best use. Placing people into roles that don’t fit could lead to demotivation and cause team disruptions.
Set Clear goals for the team and individuals
Teams and individuals need to know where they are headed. As a leader, it is up to you to steer them in the right direction and ensure goals and objectives are clearly defined.
By having clear goals, people will know what they are working towards and will feel motivated as they understand the part they are playing.
In contrast by not having clear objectives, individuals could become demoralised and feel unappreciated if they don’t see the value of the work they do.
Show your commitment to the goals
The team will expect you to be on the same side as them. Therefore you will also need to show your commitment to achieving the goals.
If the team sense that you’re not working towards the goals, they will also lose interest, which could slow down progress.
Encourage others to take responsibility
Great leaders encourage their team members to take responsibility in ensuring goals and outcomes are achieved. Team members feel empowered to make decisions and have ownership for their contribution to the success of the goals.
Build & Maintain team motivation
A successful team is one that is highly motivated to achieve the desired outcomes and goals, and it is down to the leader to ensure everyone is motivated. This can be achieved bringing the team together to review progress, recognise the success the team delivers as well as communicating information in a timely manner
Get to Know you team
When leading a team it is important to get to know your team members. You’ll need to understand what motivates them to ensure you can keep them motivated. You’ll also need to understand how they like to be managed.
A good leader can adapt their management style to each individual and situation.
Create a buzz
A successful team is one where there is lots of excitement, lots of energy and team members are enthusiastic.
A part of the leader’s role is to ensure energy and enthusiasm levels are kept high. Remind people of vision, and celebrate achievements.
Have some fun
Finally, have some fun. A successful team is what that can have a laugh and inject some fun into the proceedings. This might be an outing, such as going out a meal or a few drinks. Or it could be having some fun in the office, such as fancy dress day, cake days or even the corporate barbeque.
Work can often be seen as this grey corporate image; who says you can’t inject some fun into it every now and again.