Six Habits of Effective Team Leaders
Serve in business or ministry long enough and the odds are high you will experience the good, bad and ugly of leadership teams.
If you have been blessed to be part of an organized, highly proficient, united team, count yourself among the fortunate. Too many have experienced the dark side of leadership teams: the kind that are disjointed and unproductive.
There are enjoyable “teams” and then there are “those teams” which are only a collection of people. Just being in a meeting with this group causes you to consider “sticking sharp objects in your eyes” if you have to spend one more moment in the room together.
So, what makes the difference?
Why are some leadership teams highly productive? Why do the team members actually enjoy being together when other teams dread meetings?
It has a great deal to do with the individual members of the team; but the “lion’s share” of the responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of the Team Leader. It is the Team Leader’s responsibility to help develop each member of the team. It is also his/her responsibility to develop them into a unified organism..
With that serving as our backdrop, let me suggest Six Habits of Effective Team Leaders. Each of these practices helps promote healthy leadership teams. Effective team leaders will:
- Coordinate – They serve as the conductor of the orchestra keeping all the participating parties involved.
- Collaborate – They are not afraid of other’s ideas or input, utilizing brainstorming and focus groups.
- Communicate – They keep people informed and creatively distribute information, using this as a teaching tool.
- Delegate – They maintain a proper view of delegation, viewing it as a way to develop others not as a means to rid themselves of unwanted responsibilities.
- Evaluate – They see the value of consistent evaluation and personally communicate ways to improve effectiveness.
- Celebrate – They are quick to celebrate the victories with sincere praise and encouragement.
Over my years of ministry, I have watched leaders develop into highly effective team leaders because of a desire to make a difference.
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Some people produce the same effect by bullying, but the effects are very short-lived, the team members are not developed, and underneath, no one is truly happy.
Skeff, unfortunately often people in positions of leadership are diluted into believing compliance equals commitment. The acid test of effective leadership is the team desires to reproduce in like-kind. An effective team is a roaring river, not a stagnant pond. Keep leading well. Mike