There is no doubt that effective team leadership is the very cornerstone of business success. Without an inspirational leadership figure to follow, team members will not have the motivation or opportunity to perform to their best abilities. If you are a team leader or wish to become one in the future, you need to unlock the keys to successful team leadership. This will not only make you a personal success in the given role but will also allow your team to flourish.

There are many ways to go about it from a business and personal relationship perspective. Make sure to understand both and take time to build great working relationships with your team. Successful leadership is about how you get the best out of the people you manage to drive stellar performance. The importance of this cannot be overstated. It is not enough to merely be a leader; you must make sure that you are an effective one that people want to follow. 

What makes a successful team leader?

Being a team leader that truly shines takes into account many things from interpersonal skills and knowledge to experience and business acumen. By fully rounding out your leadership skills, you can make sure that you are giving yourself every chance of being a successful leader. Here are some practical tips on what you can do to get started:

• Excellent communication – this is probably the biggest factor in what staff say makes a great leader. Be clear and consistent in the instructions that you give to staff so that they know what you expect and what they need to do on any given task. Make sure that you are approachable so that they can ask if they are not sure what they should be doing. The manner in which you communicate is also key. Use a positive, encouraging tone rather than being negative or critical all the time.

• Show your gratitude – no one likes a manager who only talks to them when they want to reprimand or complain about something. Instead, build respect and trust with your staff by showing your gratitude on a job well done or when they have gone out of their way to help you or the team out.

• Take responsibility – at the end of the day, you are being paid the extra money at a higher grade to do this! A successful leader will step up to the plate every time they are needed to take any blame or responsibility for their team. Doing this will show your staff that you care for them and will protect them, even if you end up getting into trouble instead. Don’t ever let one of your team take the blame instead – this is a sure-fire way to lose any authority you may once have had.

• Be fair – this is a massive point and something that you must do! Nothing will sow discontent and resentment in a team faster than you not being fair in allocating work or in how you deal with people. Great leaders treat everyone fairly, regardless of who they are, to make a united, happy team.

• Lead by example – most team leaders will be sat near their team members. Make sure to set the tone that you expect from your team. Work hard and don’t spend all your time on the internet or gossiping. This will enhance the respect that your team has for you and make you into a leader to inspire others.

• Consider setting up a lottery syndicate – the best team leaders know to mix some fun in with work for best results. One great way of doing this is by setting up a team lottery syndicate, and to avoid the difficulty of agreeing on lottery numbers, you can use the LuckyNumberPicker tool. With lots of previous stats on the winning numbers for past draws, it is a simple yet fun way to implement this strategy.

• Show some empathy – all successful leaders have some degree of emotional intelligence – they can show empathy for others’ thoughts and feelings even if they don’t agree with them. Work on this yourself so that you can show empathy and demonstrate to your staff that you listen to them.

Unleash your potential as a successful team leader

As a team leader, you play an essential role within your organization. Within you rests the power to inspire, to achieve, and to motivate – get it right and you will lead a team that would run through a brick wall for you. The tips above give some great practical ideas on how to be a successful team leader and how to work towards this goal.