What qualities make a good Team Leader in a company/organization?
In my opinion, the greatest things you can do as a Team Leader in an organisation are: –
1) Hire people who can do what you can not; it’s otherwise redundant to the vision
2) Hire people who ‘own’ the vision not those who feel it’s ‘your’ vision; also, always listen to them even when criticism is harsh
3) Give your team creative freedom & autonomy to make decisions; if they blunder, fine, they learn, guide them to grow from their mistakes
4) Never assume you are grooming someone to ‘take over’ from you – perhaps that’s not what they want, maybe (& usually) they have their own ambitions. Help them transition smoothly to this, then recommend them as they leave amicably when it’s time
5) Take very good care of their needs – keep them motivated
Inversely, as a team member, if your team leader lacks the above 5, that would be a red-flag for you to consider moving to another company/organization.
The above 5 are things I had to painfully learn experientially, the least I can do now is share them with the young professionals – there, you have a head-start!
Phanice Wamukota
Yes. I have also had to learn to be patient as well as let people make their mistakes if it means they will learn from them without doing so much harm. I mostly lead by example though. Demostrate how to go about stuff repeatedly, creating time consciousness, appreciation and just having fun while at it.
In my opinion integrity and wisdom is key to make any decision
Manser Thelua
I have always thought of the open and horizontal leadership structure. Having one figure head with more authority and privilege than others is the root cause of conflict in Africa. If organisations tried out the horizontal system, maybe people can be more productive.
Elkana Frin
In my opinion it’s to have a plan and team work to do