HOW TO HIRE TEAM LEADERS

In today’s business setup, one in all the most important recruitment challenge is hiringteam leaders.

In the previous few years, organisational hierarchies have shifted in response to new business pressures. Teams, instead of departments or other business functions, became the new fuel cells powering innovation and productivity. Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2016 report notes that over eightieth of respondents are either presently restructuring their organisation or have already done so. Rigid hierarchies are being decentralised and replaced with smaller, nimbler teams designed to resolve specific business challenges and to keep pace with unpredictable global markets. But a team—no matter how cooperative and self-reliant—still needs a leader.Each and every structure unit needs somebody who can coordinate, coach, prioritise, and make the tough choices. This is often why team leaders are quickly turning into one of the foremost vital roles in any organisation. What should you search for when finding and assessing team leaders?

CONDUCTORS, NOT VIRTUOSOS

Although teams are typically centred on specialised or technical areas, don’t get trapped in choosing a team leader with technical brilliance in this space. Beyond having enough subject-matter expertise to guide the process, a team leader’s worth comes from coordinated efforts, cultivating collaboration, and creating synergism. Like an orchestra conductor brings all the instruments along, a team leader brings team members’ skills together. Rather than hiring team leaders for technical proficiency alone, search for competencies like facilitating, decision-making, and managing conflicts.

SUPPORTERS, NOT SUPERSTARS

The epic personal brands of CEOs like Richard Branson and Donald Trump could have raised the profiles—and profits—of their respective firms, however there’s no room for big personalities and self-promotion among team leaders. the best team leaders keep a low profile and concentrate on serving to other team members to shine. Meta-analytic studies have shown that transformational and empowering leadership, in which the leader often asks for input instead of imposing his or her own concepts, leads to better outcomes and performance.

OPEN-MINDED, NOT SINGLE-MINDED

Does a team leader have to be compelled to be unwavering and laser-focused? Analysis suggests otherwise. In fact, being receptive a variety of concepts and perspectives are that the hallmark of an effective team leader. A study from EY, parenthetically, identified the ability to create an open and inclusive team culture as one of four essential team-leading attribute. In addition, fostering diversity and inclusiveness enhances profit and innovation. A McKinsey and Company report showed that companies with a diverse executive board have a 95th higher return one equity.

TOOLS FOR identifying great TEAM LEADERS

An effective team leader possesses various skills, evaluating candidates are often difficult. Online skills assessments for team leaders can be invaluable in shortlisting the list of candidates to those who have the requisite technical knowledge and have demonstrated skills  like leadership, management, and business communication.

Also useful is this series of context-based questions that talent specialist Lou Adler created for interviewing team leaders. according to Adler, these questions will uncover the candidates who have successfully assumed leadership roles with progressive responsibilities within teams.

These are:

1. What’s your most significant team accomplishment?

2. What role did you play? Why were you assigned that role?

3. What were the team’s objectives? Did the team meet them?

4. What was your biggest contribution? how was it recognized?

5. What was the biggest team problem you faced? how did you handle it?

As teams become progressively integral to business performance, interviewing team leaders and identifying candidates with the distinctive mixture of skills for success is crucial. By knowing the attributes to look for, the abilities to assess, and the inquiries to raise, you’ll be equipped to hire team leaders who  will succeed in this vital role.