What is Makes Up a Good Team Leader/Manager and Newly Appointed Team Leader?

The number one trait for any good team leader is great listening skills. Contrary to popular belief, the meaning of leadership is “to be of service”. To be of service, you need to be in the listening with your team and with your customers. Your basic job as a leader is to clarify what needs to be done and to remove those obstacles that prevent it from being done. That’s it! Easier said than done!
What happens many times is that we let our ego interfere with our leadership and listening transforms to telling, clarifying becomes confusion or chaos and the obstacle becomes you. Being of service doesn’t mean that you are weak. It is the opposite. When you are of service, you provide your team with strength from your knowledge, your experience and your wisdom.


The three steps of a great listener are as follows:

1. Be an active listener. Allow your team members to express themselves fully without interruption. Then if needed, you can respond and be heard as well because you let your team member speak first (this technique works real well with personal relationships too).
2. Ask clarifying questions. Many times, asking a better question is more powerful and efficient than having all of the answers. By asking great questions, you’ll show that you’re still in the listening and you may be accessing a great answer through those questions.
3. Tell a story. To show your team member that you really do understand their challenge or issue, you reiterate the general meaning back to them in a form of a story. Stories are magical ways to influence others without telling them specifically the solution to a problem. Even if you don’t know the solution, through your story, you may have become the catalyst to the solution itself.What is my advice for a newly appointed team leader? Exactly what I just shared with you above. Be a great listener to your team members, your customers and the leaders that you report to daily. Provide clarity to your production. And lastly remove those obstacles that prevent you from doing your job.
   As a bonus, I would also recommend to any newly appointed team leader to do the following three things:
   
   

• Find a mentor that reflects those attributes that I just outlined.
  
• Read, read and read more about leadership. (see gift below)
• Keep learning. Constant and never-ending improvement is the best we to stave off your ego from taking over. And for a newly appointed leader, ego can be dangerous!
  

To help you get started as a leader for your team. I’m gifting you a virtual copy of my book, iLead, When will It Be Your Time to Cut Down the Net?

Just click here now or on the book’s title to receive free eBook.
Enjoy!