20 Lessons for Leading Teams Effectively

Throughout my 18-year career, and having moved between several jobs, I had one manager whom I admired the most, learned from the most, and remember fondly the most. In fact, she helped shape my management approach. She was respectful, knowledgeable, focused, and friendly but firm. She taught more than she judged, she helped me build problem- solving skills, encouraged my exposure, and allowed me room to make decisions and navigate my job autonomously. She treated the team with trust and advocated for their growth. In my 18 years of career, I have managed teams and have been managed by bosses. My experiences made me highly value balanced management, and I strived to be the senior I wished I had as a junior.

I once read that your manager has more impact on your mental health than your therapist. This is about more than just the quality of the eight hours you spend at work every day and their lingering impact on the hours that follow, it’s also about the opportunities you are offered to learn, grow, develop, challenge yourself, build and advance your skills, achieve, and create. ?Having been in both shoes, the manager and the managed, I firmly believe that management isn’t about power over people, it is about empowering people.

Today, I share with you the key lessons of my humble experience in leadership and management.

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1.?????? Communicate adequately, clearly, and intentionally: explain work matters to your team, provide context for your decisions, expose them to your thought process, and transfer your knowledge to them. Communication is a powerful tool to ensure alignment and shared understanding and pursuit of goals.?

2.?????? Keep your team informed: this makes them not only feel they are part of the big picture, but also helps them understand the dynamics and the decision-making process on a more senior level and encourages them to build the skills for it.

3.?????? Delegate and distribute tasks clearly: don’t leave it too fluid. A clear and fair delegation promotes accountability and ownership of assignments.

4.?????? Create opportunities for team members to work together: one of the skills you want to build within your team is the ability to work with different personalities and working styles and find a way to achieve goals collaboratively. ?

5.?????? Address inconveniences proactively: misunderstandings, disagreements, and conflicts may occur among any team. Never opt for a passive aggressive approach and be the person to address the issue first. It falls under your responsibility to contain team members and difficult situations.

6.?????? Give feedback regularly: let your team members know they did great, acknowledge their effort, and highlight their improvement. Give them feedback on good results publicly and give them feedback on improvement privately. Moreover, conduct thorough performance reviews and provide comprehensive insights into their work results, their skills and strengths, and prospects for advancement and progress.

7.?????? Give credit and recognize accomplishments in the larger work context: besides giving feedback regularly, give your team members credit for their efforts and achievements within the organization and among the larger work networks.

8.?????? Focus on their improvement when giving feedback on shortcomings: during performance reviews and when giving feedback on weaknesses or shortcomings, instead of stating what they aren’t doing well, address what and how they can improve. You’d want to motivate them to enhance their performance and give guidance on the way forward rather than highlight the shortfalls.

9.?????? Don’t micromanage and encourage autonomy: onboard your team to their roles and gradually relax the strings. Allow them room to handle assignments their way, not your way, and be there for them for feedback and inquiries.

10.? Make decisions together: let your team be part of the brainstorming and decision-making process and take their input and ideas into consideration. Listen attentively to their ideas, concerns, and trail of thoughts and give them serious consideration. Managers who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say.

11.? Seek and accept feedback from the team: allow your team to give you feedback on your management style, things they wish you would do more or less of, and how you can support them better.

12.? Create a social vibe in the team: get to know your team well and do regular one on one with them. Break the formality and inject a friendly and warm vibe. You can plan social activities and allow yourself and the team to connect with each other beyond work. ?

13.? Lead by example: demonstrate the same level of commitment, discipline, adherence to values, loyalty, and effort that you expect your team members to offer. ?

14.? Maintain an equal distance with all your team members: while you may find it easier to work with one specific team member, and may even get along with them personally, avoid showing favoritism and treat everyone equally. Additionally, do not involve one team member in what is happening with another. It encourages gossip, may influence how they perceive each other, and may lead to bias and toxic competition.

15.? Foster exposure and representation opportunities: you have the ability and responsibility to open doors for your team members. Encourage them to engage in exchange and learning programs, have them lead in meetings, and facilitate speaking and international exposure opportunities. ??

16.? Respect their experiences and build on their expertise: your team members will have expertise and skills you may lack. Learn from them, trust their expertise and let them help expand the way you work as a team.

17.? Treat them with respect and humility: never use authority to disrespect or intimidate or treat your team in a condescending manner. Respect is the foundation for leadership. ?

18.? Trust them and make them feel trusted: your trust in them will build their trust in themselves and help them navigate their way with more confidence.

19.? Prioritize their wellbeing: keep an eye on their energy and motivation and support their wellbeing to ensure they can perform at their best. Help them achieve work-life balance and treat them with empathy.

20.? Designate one team member to lead the team in your absence: this nurtures a stronger sense of responsibility, and prepares them to handle tasks, attend to the needs of the team, and provide support for the tasks of others simultaneously. ?