Essential Leadership Skills For Effective Team Building

What makes a leader different from a boss? Being in charge of a company comes with a lot of responsibilities, and knowing how to lead is important for success. A good leader possesses the skills to oversee the effective functioning of a workforce set on achieving a goal. Leadership is important to team building because leaders serve as guides for teams. They don’t just dish out instructions. Instead, they are involved in every single step of the working process. They direct the group toward bringing the vision to life. They make sure members of the team collaborate and communicate with each other, and they are the overall driving force behind the team.

While leadership skills may come naturally to some, it is still possible to develop them. Employers look for applicants with these skills when hiring managers. However, everyone should learn leadership skills, regardless of their position.

Here are some qualities to look out for to identify a good leader.

Decisiveness and Logical Thinking.

A good leader must know how to make crucial decisions. Whenever a team encounters a hurdle, it’s up to the leader to direct them to their next step. These decisions are made in response to rising problems and will usually have to be made immediately. A good leader also takes suggestions from the team and makes the final decision by weighing the best (or worst) possible option. Logical leaders ensure that each decision they make is properly calculated in order to avoid future faults.

Calmness.

When issues arise, it’s normal for team members to panic. In the midst of a crisis, leaders need to maintain calmness, no matter what. Calmness helps one identify underlying issues and find solutions to them. It gives leaders an edge over situations because they can easily and effectively navigate the way to a solution with a sound mind. A calm leader is also a beacon of hope for others who do not immediately know the next step to take. For this reason, calmness exudes a maturity that makes others look up to them. This is what employers seek when hiring managers and team leads.

Problem Solving.

Anyone can identify a problem, but not everyone can find a solution to it. A good team-building leader is actively able to do both. They identify underlying issues with root cause analysis and are able to solve them through innovative methods. Problem-solving makes the path clearer for a team, and it is the responsibility of the leader to guide the team through the solution to any issues that may be faced.

Empathy and Emotional Intelligence.

Empathy and emotional intelligence are essential for teamwork and team building. They help one to understand the nature of others as well as communicate and collaborate effectively. Empathy is the quality in people that makes them willing to sympathize with others. A good leader makes sure all the members of the team are heard and their contributions are valued. Emotional intelligence comprises self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, and relationship management. These qualities help you to identify your emotions and keep them in check, as well as identify the emotions of others and interact with them.

Take a look at this report by Gallup: Employees who had managers with high emotional intelligence were four times less likely to leave than those who had managers with low emotional intelligence. From this, we can deduce that emotional intelligence leads to low retention rates. This is because it is a morale booster. Leaders should not focus only on the logical aspect of leading. Empathy and emotional intelligence go a long way in building a team.

Accountability.

Capable leaders take ownership of their responsibilities and hold themselves accountable for the outcome. They don’t blame others for problems caused; rather, they find a solution and fix the problem. Holding yourself accountable for your actions and contributions is a sign of integrity. Accountable leaders are responsible for each member of their team, the decisions that are made, and the outcome of those decisions.

Self-Confidence.

Self-confidence is the ability of a person to be sure of his or her capabilities. A self-confident leader is able to tackle problems head-on without shifting the blame to others. It is one of the key factors needed to take risks. For someone to be confident, they must have a positive image of themselves. Self-confidence allows a leader to be sure of the decisions they make. When a leader is confident in their abilities, they are able to influence others to be confident in them.

Collaboration.

Strong leaders possess the ability to work with people. Building partnerships and establishing trust are very important qualities for team-building. A capable leader should be able to communicate effectively and flow with each member of the team. The collaboration of a team leader often influences the collaboration of the team members.

How does one build Leadership Skills?

While these qualities are naturally and effortlessly found in some, developing them if you don’t have them yet is still possible. Everyone should possess a leadership skill, regardless of their position. Mentorship programs, taking on small leadership responsibilities, and leadership-focused learning and development initiatives are ways to improve leadership abilities.

Final Thoughts…

Martin Luther King once said: A genuine leader is not a searcher of consensus but a molder of consensus. A good leader is the thread that brings a team together to agree on a common goal. When identifying them, one should look out for decisiveness, calmness, problem-solving, empathy and emotional intelligence, accountability, self-confidence, and collaboration. These skills are what differentiate a boss from a leader. The role of a leader in team building is very important. A good leader promotes teamwork among team members. A smart leader knows that the efforts they put in to collaborate with a team will pay off in the form of motivated team members who are driven towards success.

Proten International holds a buoyant selection of learning and development initiatives aimed at building leadership skills. Reach out to us today, and let’s get you equipped with the qualities needed to push your team and your company to greater heights.