Leading a team is not an easy task; that is if you want to lead effectively!
A leader has many responsibilities: setting direction, formulating strategies, planning, aligning stakeholders, motivating, being a spokesperson, being a change agent, developing team members, etc. Unfortunately, we can’t do all of them well; even a super talented person has his limit.
During my conversations with leaders, one leadership topic keeps showing up. Specifically, how a leader could create an environment that encourages learning.
It’s not as simple as just providing training for your team. I know of many leaders who’d gladly send their staff for training; even providing time and funding for them. While emphasising training is good, that alone would not create an environment that encourages learning.
Continue reading “The Key to Creating an Environment that Encourages Learning”
One major challenge of all team leaders is to keep their teams motivated. A motivated team would not only give their best but also stay together longer.
I was privileged to be with highly-motivated teams and have led several ones too. But not all teams started that way.
One team that I led was particularly challenging because they were already demoralised when I took over as the team leader!
You have probably heard the saying that “Leadership is getting things done.” or, “Leadership is getting things done through other people.”
A good leader, however, needs to realise that leadership is as much about the people as about the tasks. You can only succeed as a leader if your team succeed!
Continue reading “Five things your team need from you, the leader, in order to succeed.”
Leaders are a busy lot of people.
We are responsible for getting our team (or organisation) to the goals and making sure the team accomplishes its mission. Apart from our primary objectives, we also have secondary responsibilities, like taking care of and motivating our team, among others.
Each day, many things demand our attention: not only those we’re primarily responsible for but sometimes those we are not directly responsible for. With so many things to deal with, we tend to be very busy most of the time; though some leaders actually wear “busyness” as a badge of honour!
Continue reading “Why Every Leader Should Have a Regular Reflection Time”
