Send to KindleDeveloping Energized Team Leaders
I was recently speaking to a leader who was wondering how to help team leaders learn to lead teams of their peers.
Leading peers is a daunting task for any leader but is even more difficult for someone who has no leadership experience or training. His question sent me back more than 30 years to memories of my first leadership experience.
It was Air Force basic training. Shortly into that experience, I was selected as a squad leader for a group of 10 other young men who were in the exact same position as I, except I was responsible for their actions too. Though I should probably apologize to those guys, we all made it through that ordeal.
Leading peers is difficult and it’s often a first leadership experience. I suggest three ways to make that experience more positive.
First, consider the assignment’s goal. If the team is transient, only chartered for a short period of time and focused on a specific task, consider assigning a team lead who is on your radar as a potential supervisor or manager. The team position provides an excellent opportunity to observe how they handle themselves. Remember though, he or she isn’t an experienced leader and they’re going to make mistakes. They will most likely need a little help and guidance along the way.
Second, provide the new leader with some basic leadership training. That training must include the transition from peer to leader because this is one of the hardest adjustments for new leaders to make. Training should also include fundamentals of communication, leadership styles, and especially what is and isn’t motivation
Third, treat him or her as a leader. As a squad leader, I didn’t really have a lot of authority, but when the sergeants called me in and shut the door, they made it clear to the rest of my team who they were holding responsible. The evidence often reverberated through the walls. While I don’t suggest your discussions should be heard through the walls, you do need to be aware that your actions will have a lot to do with how the leader is perceived by the team and will go a long way toward helping them make the transition from peer to leader.
That first leadership experience set me on a course that has given me many opportunities. With training and your support, the same can be true for your new team leaders.
