Great Leaders Build Great Teams
Amongst the most important traits a leader must have to attain success, the ability to influence the team and get them to follow are often the most powerful. Building high performance teams requires compassion, integrity, a keen understanding of people, and brilliant communication skills. Just as important as being a great communicator is being a superb listener. Trusting and empowering is essential, but we must ensure that our teams have the resources to develop, advance and excel. Show confidence and conviction in your team. As leaders, we must create direction to develop strategy and execute on a plan. Be confident but hold yourself accountable and be willing to course correct.
Know your teams’ respective strengths and weaknesses to bring out the best in them. Recognize their skills and expertise so as to acknowledge their value and drive motivation. Know your team well. Understand how they think. This will go far in activating the talent around you effectively.
Establish expectations and priorities. Communicate values to new team members. Clearly define roles and responsibilities and make certain the team recognizes others’ dependence and interconnectivity. Be fair and consistent with recognition as well as criticism. Show confidence in your team and their skills to ensure they feel capable, qualified and powerful. Inspire team members to meet company goals and objectives. Empower them to express their thoughts and take ownership of opportunities. Trust them to make things happen and they will do just that.
Celebrate, not just acknowledge, the team and each team members’ success loudly. This is particularly important in these current times of uncertainty. Motivate with positive reinforcement. Everybody loves recognition but are most appreciative of respect. Take the time to give your team the proper accolades they have earned and deserve. Building loyalty and trust is the path to glory. Forge great relationships with your team and encourage the same between them. Great leaders are masterful at building great teams.
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