What makes an effective team leader
How Can One Be An Effective Team Leader?
Below article discusses what makes an effective team leader highlighting some of the main attributes of an effective team leader.
The terms effectiveness and efficiency have their own importance and value in the context of any business organization, as on the basis of which not only are the goals and objectives achieved in a successful manner, but they become a good cause for attaining sustainable development. Hence, it is important for a team leader to be effective and efficient to lead the team in a way as needed. Here are some ways showing what it takes to be an effective team leader.
A team leader is a person who is supposed to lead a team. And leading a team necessitates having or acquiring some attributes by means of which a team may be led successfully. Before the discussion is made about what attributes are needed to be an effective team leader, it is important to differentiate the terms effectiveness and efficiency. Both words have their distinct meanings and so they are important to any business organization.
The difference between them may be easily understood if we consider the adjectival and adverbial form of the words, right. For example, a manager does right things; a manager does things rightly. In the first example sentence, the word right shows the effectiveness of the manager. And the efficiency of the manager is understood from the second sentence. Thus, effectiveness indicates doing right things and efficiency connotes doing things in the right manner. Effectiveness also implies producing or causing the results, especially the desired or intended results and producing favorable impression, whereas, the word efficiency denotes the ability to do something well or achieve the desired results.
So, what we get from the above definitions of the words effectiveness and efficiency is that a team leader should be both effective and efficient in order to lead a team successfully. And this is one of the best qualities of a successful team leader. In this way, it may be rightly said that if a team leader is effective and efficient, he is not only able to produce the desired results but can also get the things done through people successfully.
An effective team leader, in addition to contributing to the growth and development of the business organization, instills confidence among his team members and motivates them by translating his ideas into actions, so that they may achieve their own objectives in a desired way. While working as a facilitator, he helps his team members in understanding their objectives as well. He possesses such a combination of traits and characteristics through which the subordinates are not only encouraged but are also willing to follow his footsteps. It is thus he takes initiatives while his subordinates follow his footsteps.
Effective communication is the life-blood of an organization and at the same time it is one of the keys to the success of an effective team leader. It must also be noted that communication can continue to be an effective life-blood of a business organization as long as the leader maintains it and directs his followers in a way as needed. Effective communication requires acquiring both communication skills, verbal and written. He maintains communication in such a way as to produce the desired effect on his subordinates and the related activities may be done as planned or intended.
Based on the qualities, such as, fairness, integrity and respectful, a team leader is not only well-liked and well-respected among his team members, but is also acknowledged as an influential person throughout the organization. He is a person who seems to believe in this saying and works accordingly, “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers” Thus, an effective team leader is considered as an asset to a business organization to add value to it and is valued as well.