As we grow in our professional career, at some point of time we get responsibility to lead team. Sometimes we are very good about what we do, but when it comes to leading a team we need behavioral skillset to become a good leader. I have seen people who are great in technical or domain skills, but not able to lead a even a small team to success. There are top 10 things which I believe are very important to become a good leader (which I follow, and I am not suggesting that they are the only way to become a good leader)
- Good vision - Sometimes we take the organization vision very lightly while doing our regular job. But it is very important for the product/application success that the roadmap is aligned with the organizational vision/goal.
Also, a leader needs to have a vision for their team also to lead their team in right path. All the below qualities are results of good vision of a leader. A great vision differentiates a leader from tactical/operational to strategical.
2. Setting up action points - Defining clear action points is a trait of good leader who understands the vision and have the capability to breakdown and convert into quantifiable and achievable task. When team don't have the clarity on what needs to achieved, that impacts the timeline & quality of the project/assignment very badly.
3. Delegation of task - As a team leader, do not try to do all task by yourself. Trust your team members and delegate work to them. When people get extra responsibility from their leaders, people feel motivated and valued. This is a great way to reduce your operational workload and focus on the strategical work.
4. Lead by example - This is very important thing from my perspective. When people see their leader is doing great job, leading from all fronts, setting up examples & benchmark of performance - team members automatically get charged.
5. Communication: Transparency in the team can only be achieved if there is a clear communication in the team. This is also very important for understanding and engaging with team members. Try to connect with people one to one, understand their problems, aspire etc. In this way people will also feel safe and confident to discuss things with you.
6. Feedback: Providing feedback to team members periodically will help them to grow. This is not about the positive feedback (which is definitely needed), but also the negative feedback in a constructive way. The feedback giving process needs to have a proper structure and channel to make this process more effective.
7. Showing Empathy: Understanding the feelings of others, see things from their perspective, putting yourself on their shoes etc. - these are the great qualities of a leader. This helps to build solid relationship which in turn helps to create positive environment in the team.
8. Develop and Empower team - As the leader grows himself/herself, it is also very important that the team members also grow themselves. Try to understand the career goal of team members and nominate people for different training, certification, workshops. When work is aligned with the career goal, the team always get the high performance.
9. Appreciation and recognition - Always appreciate your team member even for a small success. This will motivate people to perform more. Even via a small email of appreciation or verbal appreciation makes a huge difference.
10. Diversity and inclusion - Treat each and everyone same. Discrimination brings negative environment in the team. If someone is not able to perform, help him/her to grow rather than criticizing.
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