Send to KindleDo We Need Team Leaders
Ever heard of self-led teams? Sometimes they’re called leaderless teams. Are they real? Maybe so; I’ve heard of them, but never actually seen one. What I have seen are poorly led teams and team members that spend most of their time vying for position. Whether by plan or by human nature, your teams will always have team leaders.
When people are put together in a team situation two personality types tend to emerge: the go along type and the take charge type. Notice I didn’t say leaders and followers. In fact, sometimes leaders will go along because they don’t see the benefit of jockeying for control. Often the take charge types don’t really have any leadership experience. They just want to be noticed.
To prevent a deep discussion of personality types, let’s cut to the chase. When forming teams, it’s essential to understand that someone is going to try to take the leadership role. Especially with short-term teams built for a specific task, it’s important to have a team leader who everyone recognizes as such and who understands the accompanying responsibility.
So, where do you find this person? You can assign someone who already is leading and give them more responsibility. Here’s an alternative. Go to the worker who you see has some potential; the one who you are looking at for a leadership role in the future. This is an excellent opportunity to observe them while they learn a little about leading. Make sure the team’s mission and goals are very clear.
The next step is perhaps the most important. Keep an eye on your new team leader. Don’t hover, but stay in touch and offer suggestions and a little coaching from time to time. Yes, this will take a little more of your time, but the payoff is a more effective team and an emerging leader.
Pretty good return on investment I’d say.
