5 Tips For Leading Groups And Teams
Leading groups and teams is not an easy task. No matter how many leadership skills we have, we can make mistakes if we neglect some essentials. So today we are going to discover 5 tips to be good leaders.
Contrary to what we might believe, a person without leadership skills can become a leader. You just have to work on this aspect and take into account everything that we are going to highlight next. Without leadership, a group will hardly know how to reach the proposed objective.
Important advice for leading groups and teams
1. Bet on effective communication
As pointed out by José Antonio Viveros in his book Leadership, effective communication and conflict resolution, to communicate effectively we have to observe the group we lead, know how to manage emotions and listen. Once this is done, we must be clear in our directions.
The indirect or double meanings are not characteristics of a good leader. A working group needs clear and transparent guidelines. Only then will they know what to do. Otherwise, the results won’t be very good.
2. Not appealing to authority
Appealing to authority is something we’ve seen in our home since we were very young, with phrases like “because I’m your father” or “because I said it, period.” This is a mistake we cannot fall into when leading groups and teams.
The reason is that the group does not see as a leader those who exercise leadership on the basis of authority. This position must be earned because it is not just a label. Appealing to authority will reduce our credibility and this will affect the group as well as the goals and objectives we set.
3. Set periodic goals and objectives
When we are leaders of a group, the moment there are no goals or objectives, it becomes stagnant. This situation can be very harmful, as it leads to loss of motivation, not knowing where we are going and bringing us closer to our comfort zone.
If a group or team does not advance, our leadership is failing. Therefore, we have to have a plan to establish weekly or monthly goals, challenges or goals. It will all depend on what we want to achieve.
4. Resolve conflicts
To effectively lead groups and teams, we have to resolve the conflicts that arise. That’s why it’s important not to see them as something negative, but rather as opportunities to learn and do things differently.
It is important to keep in mind that groups and teams are made up of different people. This is enriching as long as it is well managed. Conflict resolution will strengthen the group and allow it to achieve the proposed goals.
5. Changing Roles and Responsibilities
To avoid the comfort zone, it’s important that everyone on a team doesn’t always do the same thing. Of course, each of them will have some unique abilities that are very important to the group, however, it’s always good to explore other paths.
If each member of a team always does the same, in the end it will be very difficult for them to stay motivated. Routines often end up tiring. That’s why, from time to time, it’s good to make changes to roles and responsibilities.
As we could see, leading groups and teams is not easy, but with effort and will, the tips above will allow us to lead the group to a good result. Ideally, once a month, taking into account the advice discussed, we analyze how the situation is.
Are we not getting closer to the defined goals? Are several people on the team unmotivated? Is there an unresolved conflict? Is something wrong in communication? Answering these and other questions will help us improve the way we lead groups and teams.
