Knowing the people who you work with is an important part of being a leader. It is impossible to create stronger teams without building strong relationships. At the heart of any productive and successful company is a team which performs at its best.
How to Know the Type
Getting to know your team members goes much beyond knowing their favourite TV shows or the names of their siblings, spouses and kids. These bits are trivial and to manage your team in an effective manner you must understand and be aware of their personality type.
On the internet you will find tons of personality tests which have been designed to place people in categories based on their innate characteristics and provide insights into their tendencies, strengths and behaviour. While these tests may not read people accurately they are handy tools to make their personality type known roughly to you.
Knowing Yourself
New hires are often asked to undertake a personality test. It is a good way to start conversations and allows the company to become acquainted with their employees. Reviews of those who have taken the test speak of how accurate the results of these tests are. If taken honestly the test can help you to know yourself better. It is the first step that you can take in working successfully with others and leading a team.
Creating an Environment of Leadership
When it comes to an environment that reflects leadership one cannot help but look up to the military. Each organisation wants to inculcate a culture where every person remains loyal and serves those that stand besides them. But leaders can foster such attitudes only by creating a culture and environment which reflects leadership and discipline.
Making the Team Feel Safe
Leadership and management are different disciplines. It doesn’t take management skills to lead a team into combat. They have to be led into it. It is difficult for a person to feel safe in a combat situation. You feel an overwhelming sense of comfort when you known that you can rely on those to your left and right and can trust the leadership.
Imagine how successful a company can become if each employee follows this kind of philosophy. But it is something that has to be implemented in a top to bottom order with those at the top providing resources, communicating effectively, remaining calm in tense situations and removing obstacles.
Lead By Example
Great leaders are aware that they cannot ask their team member to do something they haven’t done themselves. The type of behaviour that they want their team members to exhibit should also be demonstrated by them. The leader is the role model of the team and their attitudes and daily habits impact those of the team.
It is also important that they believe in himself or herself and stand by their beliefs no matter what situation gets thrown at them. Merely faking those traits may not work as these revelations often result in loss of trust and credibility. It is therefore important to be honest, open and passionate and treat each person on the team without favouritism and with respect. A leader’s body language should clearly reflect that they are motivated to work towards achieving the bigger picture.
While being with them at every step of the journey may be too much to expect, making a sincere effort once in a while can go a long way in establishing an environment of leadership.
Appreciate the Good and Learn from the Bad
A trait that every leader must possess is successfully recognising a good performance and rewarding it when it rightfully deserves to be acknowledged. While not every leader has the authority to reward employees with promotions and raises a little bit of verbal praise can go a long way in showing them that you know and that you care.
Make them Have some Fun
As a leader it is your responsibility to lift the pressure off the team by making them do something fun from time to time. A good way to begin this practice would be to take them for a corporate days out experience and take part in some team building exercises.