The Basics of Leadership

There is much debate, theory and confusing jargon surrounding the issue of leadership. What is it? Who does it? How to do it well? If you are only a newly promoted team leader then there is only a few things you need to know to start leading and take control.

When you first get promoted and are put in charge of the performance of a team you become a leader. But nothing inside you has changed to make you a different person ready for this role. In fact, it will probably take you over a year to get used to your new role and start to really get the best out of your team.

You’re a leader because your team put you there and treat you like one, if you lose their support you have no other power left.

It may seem weird but when you become a leader your power actually reduces. As a team member you have the power to put in more effort and do a better job to increase your performance. When you are a leader you’re responsible for the performance of a group and the group ultimately decides your performance. They choose whether to act or not and how much effort they will put in.

When you become a leader your power may go down but you have gained influence with your team. Your team looks to you and what you say and do  and adjust their behavior based on that.

The result is that you use your behavior  to influence the behavior of the people in your team to achieve your goal.

Achieving your goal is not your only role as a leader. Caring for your team and looking out for them is also a big part of leadership, you rely on them so you should also look out for them.

It can be possible to achieve short term results without caring for your teams well being. But in the long term your success will be worse as team moral and other issues cause your people to work at a minimum standard.

Overall you can measure your leadership based on those two criteria. Did we reach our goal? Is my team better off because of it?

Source Leadership Quotes