More about leading others

Managers plan, organise and control in order to achieve goals. They make sure the day-to-day tasks are getting done, and everything is operating as it should.

Leaders influence, motivate and enable others to grow and achieve goals.
They are people-focused and consider how they can utilise their team’s strengths to improve outcomes.

Leading by example, being passionate and authentic, and recognising others are key leadership skills.

Setting expectations and building accountability can be challenging, however they are crucial in maintaining a productive, motivated and aligned team. You can do this by setting clear expectations and explain why they’re important. Confirm team members understand what is expected of them and hold others – and yourself- accountable. This involves having a conversation when expectations are not met, and finding a solution to meet expectations in the future.

Empathy is being aware of other peoples’ feelings and imagining yourself in their place, experiencing their perspective and emotions. Actively listening, creating a safe and supportive space and putting yourself in their shoes are ways to demonstrate empathy.

Being courageous is an active decision. Courageous leaders have confidence in their team’s ability to make decisions and carry out their mission. They have the courage to seek feedback, be vulnerable and own their own – and the team’s – mistakes.

A team brings individuals with diverse skills, passions, and backgrounds together to work toward common goals that benefit everyone.

Team dynamics refer to how various personalities, work styles, and behaviours interact. These interactions can be positive when people work well together, or they can be negative when people clash.

Characteristics that contribute to positive team dynamics include trust, communication, alignment, optimistic, supportive and the ability to capitalise on each others’ strengths.

Poor communication can quietly erode team rapport. Employees may misinterpret what another person has said or take a remark out of context. People with different communication styles may struggle to understand one another. Also, lack of communication can allow issues to fester and grow out of control.

What to do: Facilitate clear and regular team communication. Try to encourage face-to-face communication as much as possible—especially when discussing differing viewpoints or conducting meetings in which diverse (and potentially conflicting) ideas will be presented. Also, step in and mediate conversations as necessary to help “translate” messages between team members who have different communication styles.

Clashes in personalities or working styles are the second cause of conflict.

An introverted employee may get annoyed by the constant chatter of a more extroverted coworker. A team member who works best with ideas and talking about big-picture items may clash with a colleague who prefers working with numbers and details. In these situations, neither person is right or wrong; they just have different strengths, personalities, and working styles. So, what can you do about it?

What to do: Talk about differences in personalities and working styles openly. Also, regularly communicate why your team benefits from having people with diverse strengths, perspectives, and ways of doing things. And help your team celebrate the unique contributions each member brings to the table.

Conflict is also inevitable when team members have competing needs or interests. An employee may focus on achieving their personal interests, instead of focusing on the shared goals of the team or organisation. Employees may compete for resources like time, status, money, and so on.

What to do: Communicate shared team and company goals, and help your team stay aligned with them. Also, work to understand employees’ individual needs—and fulfill them. Create a culture of collaboration and abundance rather than a culture of competition and scarcity.

Another common source of conflict is different values—or what people prioritise and care about most. For example, imagine that your team is deciding on the best approach to a problem. An employee who values relationships may care most about reaching consensus and giving everyone a chance to be heard. In contrast, an employee who values efficiency may push to make a quick and effective decision—regardless if everyone’s ideas are included.

What to do: Create a culture in which all employees feel heard and valued. Facilitate discussions in which the team agrees on criteria for making decisions to help employees consider which ideas are best for the team, rather than which ideas best align with their own perspectives and personal beliefs.

Next, conflict is often a result of ambiguity in workplace roles, goals, policies, and procedures. Tensions can arise when employees aren’t clear on what’s expected of them or others. Disagreements break out if there aren’t clear procedures and policies in place to govern workplace behaviours. Also, ambiguous team or company goals can create confusion or conflict over the team’s direction and priorities.

What to do: Establish clear roles, systems, and processes for your team. Communicate shared goals, and make sure that everyone is working toward them.

Finally, performance issues can also strain team relationships and create resentment and frustration among peers. This happens when an employee consistently underperforms—and other team members are forced to pick up the slack. Or, it can happen when an employee receives negative feedback and blames others for their own shortcomings.

What to do: Don’t ignore performance issues. Address them promptly and directly. Also, encourage accountability on your team. Make it OK for team members to make mistakes, as long as they learn from them and make appropriate changes to their behaviour.