Know Your Team (KYT) - If you are a team leader.

If you are managing a team, you should know them thoroughly. 

I learned this from my super boss at the start of my career. He was a great team leader. His team trusted him and was always ready to go beyond their responsibilities. He was a natural mentor and used to share his guidance and advice. I learned many management lessons during his usual evening discussions with us, where he used to have general chit chats on how we are doing, etc., and give us his guidance. 

I got the chance to manage a team even though I was a fresh recruit. During one of his conversations, he said -

If you want to become a good team leader, you should know your team thoroughly, professionally, and personally.

You should know

• Who all are in his family, his life events, his life stage, home-town, etc. 
• How is his health, motivation levels, what drives him, what doesn't inspires him? 
• On the professional front, you should know his strengths, weaknesses, skill sets, awareness levels. 

And for understanding the same, you need to routinely engage with your team members and give them a chance to express themselves. During these times, you need to be a good listener and not get tempted to dominate with authority. 

The most crucial point is that you should be keen on developing your team members and be sincerely interested in seeing them progress.