Four Things Your Team Needs from You

If you are a team leader, you will have followers. To do the job well, you have to provide them with some important things. Here are four of them.

Clear expectations. It is difficult to read someone's mind. When you clearly share what needs to be done and what the priorities are, your team members can plan their work accordingly. When in doubt, spell it out, but don't be patronizing!

A listening ear.  You can learn a lot by listening to your team members. Prompt discussion. Ask questions. Find out how things can be better, from their point of view.

Time. Particularly if you are new leader, your team will need time to learn how you like to do things. Don't expect them to adjust to your preferences over night.

Space. Micromanaging doesn't help anyone. Give your team members some authority over their projects. For example, allow reasonable freedom in writing and formatting documents. Allow them to suggest changes to a long standing task...you might find a much more efficient method to getting it done!

While there are lots of things you will need to do to be a good team leader, these four are an excellent start!

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Four Warnings for Team Leaders

Do you want to be a leader? Consider these warnings first.

It's not about you. Obvious, right? Not so fast. How many people take on a leadership role because it positions them for advancement or recognition? Many natural "leader types" also can struggle with affirmation addiction. You must instead serve your team and that could mean a lot of time staying in the background.

Eventually, they won't need you. That is if you do your job right. Your goal in leading this team is that they will eventually handle the project, do the tasks, or fulfill the mission with less and less input from you. The best sign that you are a good team leader is when people don't even notice you at all, but instead see the great work your team has done.

Attitude flows down, not up. If you are in a critical, grumpy mood, prepare for a listless, fearful team. If you are over exuberant, expect your team to be skeptical. Find a reasonable balance within your personality that consistently provides your team with a positive, effective atmosphere in which to do their best. You don't need to have a celebration party every week, but you could take them out to lunch once in awhile. You don't have to have an open door policy all day long, but staying tucked in a cubicle never wanting to be interrupted doesn't work either. Be approachable, but also hands off when necessary.

Change is coming. All organizations evolve and change over time. What requires your leadership now may not be needed in three to five years. Take it from me. I had leadership roles in two different organizations and in both situations, the position I started out with eventually faded away, leaving me unemployed (once by choice and once not) after 10 and 5 years respectively. Yet it's always led to the next great step for my vocation.

Team leadership is a great, rewarding challenge. Know what to expect when you take on that role. 

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Four Ways Criticism is Good for You

It zaps the energy from your day--that snide comment you overheard about how you handled the project or that email from a disgruntled customer. Criticism. We've all experienced it, and if you are in any position of leadership or influence, you'd better be prepared for a higher dose of it than some.

But criticism can actually be good for you--if you handle it right. Here's why.

Criticism humbles you. Pride is a dangerous thing. On the one hand, being appropriately pleased at a project you have accomplished or something someone you supervise has done can be a healthy element of team building. But thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to can lead to bad feelings and embarrassment eventually. Criticism can be a helpful early warning sign that you think too much of yourself while others don't feel the same way.

Criticism might contain some truth. Yes, some criticism is completely unreasonable. But most "jabs" do have at least a small element of truth to them. For example, a very friendly person can be a great asset to your team, but could also be too talkative. A criticism of "She just dominates the conversation all the time," could hurt, but may very well be true. When you receive a criticism, ask yourself what part of it you can actually benefit from.

Criticism can open dialog. Often a critic doesn't welcome face-to-face dialog about the problem, especially if he/she has used a protected means to take the jab (i.e. email, Facebook comments, voice mail message, etc.) If you are courageous enough to confront the critic with sincere questions and a teachable spirit, you may actually build a deeper relationship that greatly improves from where it started.

Criticism can help you improve how YOU give feedback. If you've ever received a harsh, unfair criticism, let it remind you not to give criticism in the same way. We often don't realize how we approach things until we've received the same treatment ourselves.

No one enjoys criticism but there's plenty of it to go around. While it is unorthodox to consider it a gift, it really can be one.

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Team Building Tip: Make Employee's Jobs a Little Easier

A simple tip today...pick one or two employees on your team and ask them this simple question: "What would make your job easier today?" Then, as quickly as possible, try to act on that suggestion if it can be reasonably applied. If not, suggest an alternative that will help improve that employee's day.

For example, let's say one of your support staff has to drop off the outgoing mail at the post office each day after she leaves work. Is it possible to hire a courier, or erect a secure mailbox at which she can put the outgoing mail instead?

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