Team Work & Leading

Being part of a team

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

A team is made up of individual members who rely on each other for collective success. The team can only succeed if the parts work together.

 

Team dynamics

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.

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So, what are the characteristics that contribute to positive team dynamics?

• Trust. Positive teams have trust in one another. They are confident their team members will deliver quality work, on time.
• Communication. Each member knows what they need to do, when they need to do it and to what standard. The roles and responsibilities have been defined and expectations are clear. They meet regularly to monitor progress, problem-solve and celebrate success. They use various communication channels for different purposes.
• Alignment. Each member knows the team’s objective and their role in achieving it. This vision unites the team as they work towards a common purpose.
• Capitalise on each others’ strengths. They recognise that a diverse team offers a range of skills and ways of thinking that they can use to their advantage. They know each others’ strengths – and their own – and use them to increase the quality of the outcomes. They use group-think to brainstorm and generate ideas, and find effective solutions that they might not have discovered individually.
• Optimistic. They are resilient and remain positive through challenges by supporting one another and not losing sight of the end goal.
• Resolve conflict. They are committed to resolving conflict and other barriers to team success. They refrain from blame and are solutions-focused.
• Supportive. They are generous with their time and expertise, and support others to grow.

“A team is not a group of people that work together. A team is a group of people that trust each other.”
Simon Sinek

Leading Others

Leading others is about understanding how to manage, motivate and engage people. It incorporates social-awareness and relationship management. They’re the skills required to be an effective leader.

You might lead others when you’re:

• The captain or coach of a team
• Teaching someone how to do something
• A team leader of a team at work
• Leading a team project or assignment at school or work

Managing VS Leading

Although the terms ‘management’ and ‘leadership’ are often used interchangeably, they are quite different.

Watch the video below to learn the difference between management and leadership.

See below to summarise the differences between managing and leading.

How to lead others

Leadership skills

Watch the video below to discover four essential leadership skills.

In summary, four key leadership skills are:

1. Lead by example
2. Be passionate
3. Be authentic
4. Recognise others

Navigating Expectations

Setting expectations and building accountability can be challenging, however they are crucial in maintaining a productive, motivated and aligned team.

Tips to setting expectations as a leader:

• Set clear expectations and explain why they’re important. People are more likely to meet expectations when they understand the purpose behind them.
• Confirm team members understand what is expected of them. Better yet – involve them in the process of setting expectations. This will help you get buy-in and will be more likely to hold themselves to them.
• Build accountability. This is where ‘leading by example’ is vital – being a leader does not make you exempt from being held accountable.

When expectations aren’t being met

There are a few ways to approach this issue depending on the situation. Generally there are two: either the team is not meeting the expectation, or one team member is not.

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Communication is key! Don’t assume someone has the same understanding as you do. Confirm the deadline/deliverables/process, invite questions and maintain an open dialogue with regular check-ins to ensure your team’s on track.

Empathy

Empathy is being aware of other peoples’ feelings and imagining yourself in their place, experiencing their perspective and emotions.

Empathy is caring for others’ health and wellbeing, showing genuine compassion and supporting others through challenging times. It builds trust, respect and deeper connections with team members.

Demonstrate empathy by:

• Actively listening to others
• Putting yourself in their shoes
• Providing a safe space, free of judgement, for people to open up about what’s happening in their lives
• Showing vulnerability by sharing your own emotions
• Refraining from offering advice (unless they ask for it)

Watch the video below to learn more about empathy.

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Theodore Roosevelt

Courage

What is courage in leadership?

A courageous leader:

• Has courage in themselves to make the right decisions
• Has courage in their team that they can perform autonomously and deliver results
• Gives their team the courage to feel empowered to make decisions and inspired to carry out their mission
• Has courage to openly seek out feedback, listens intently without defence, and takes the feedback onboard to improve
• Has humility to admit when they don’t have all the answers or have made a mistake
• Owns the team’s mistakes, rather than blaming their team members
• Has the courage to be authentic and vulnerable in sharing their emotions