Team Leader

Quick reference

• 00:04 Hello, I'm Ray Sheen.
• 00:06 Let's look at the role of the team leader.
• 00:08 This entire course is devoted to helping you become an effective team leader.
• 00:13 We'll start by understanding some of the leader's attributes.
• 00:19 So what is the role of a team leader?
• 00:22 Well in a nutshell, it is whatever the team needs him to be.
• 00:25 At various times in life cycle of a team,
• 00:28 a team leader may take on the role of facilitator, coach, communicator,
• 00:32 integrator, archivist, motivator, disciplinarian or even team member.
• 00:37 The role varies based upon the experience, maturity and needs of the team members and
• 00:41 what is happening in the business around them.
• 00:44 Weak team leaders, often do only a few of these things.
• 00:47 They may do them well, and if that is all that is needed on that team,
• 00:50 it may appear that they are good team leaders.
• 00:53 But put them on a different team and they fail badly.
• 00:57 That is because strong team leaders understand
• 00:59 that they need to adapt to what is happening on the team.
• 01:02 The team leader serves the team, not the other way around.
• 01:05 The team leader needs to provide whatever is necessary to keep the team engaged and
• 01:09 moving forward towards the team goals.
• 01:13 Let's take a moment to discuss the difference between a team leader or
• 01:16 a team manager.
• 01:17 But first let me emphasize that these are not mutually exclusive.
• 01:21 A team manager can lead a team and
• 01:24 a team leader may need to manage some team activities.
• 01:27 The difference is in the focus of the activities.
• 01:30 Generally, managers are about control and leaders about change.
• 01:34 Managers are trying to ensure that the team stays on track
• 01:38 to achieve team performance goals.
• 01:40 And leaders are changing the performance or behavior of the team or organization.
• 01:45 Again both of those may be needed for a team to be succesful.
• 01:49 Management strives for stability and
• 01:50 predictability, leadership strives to achieve a new level of performance.
• 01:55 In most cases, teams need both management and leadership and
• 01:59 these may be coming from the same individual or different team members.
• 02:03 Let's look at some of the actions that managers perform and
• 02:06 some that leaders perform.
• 02:08 Leaders create the vision of the desired change, help to develop a change strategy,
• 02:13 build relationships with team members to ensure they understand and
• 02:16 buy in to the strategy, keep the team motivated while implementing the strategy,
• 02:20 and finally, solve problems that will inevitably arise.
• 02:25 The goal of a team is to create or
• 02:26 implement change, the leadership role is paramount.
• 02:30 Managers plan, budget, and
• 02:32 organize the activities of the team to ensure the team objectives can be met.
• 02:36 And they then monitor and
• 02:38 control team activities to ensure the results are going according to plan.
• 02:42 Inevitably, something will go wrong and
• 02:44 just like leaders, managers need to be able to solve problems.
• 02:48 When the goal of the team is to provide stability and
• 02:50 process excellent, the management role is paramount.
• 02:55 A long standing question is whether leaders are made or born.
• 02:59 A few years ago, the Harvard Business Review published a list of
• 03:02 traits of successful leaders in business.
• 03:04 These traits apply to team leadership in addition to business leadership.
• 03:08 As you will see, some are traits you may be born with,
• 03:11 but others are clearly traits you establish and grow.
• 03:14 So the answer to whether leaders are made or born is, yes.
• 03:18 So let's look at the traits.
• 03:20 Industry and organizational knowledge.
• 03:22 You need to understand the environment where you're working.
• 03:25 Take the time to learn your organization, its history and culture.
• 03:29 And read up on the issues effecting your industry.
• 03:32 Relationships in the firm and
• 03:33 industry, develop a network of people who you trust and who trust you.
• 03:38 Reputation and track record.
• 03:40 Team members need to have confidence in the leaders before they will follow them.
• 03:44 Build a track record deep and wide to gain credibility in the organization.
• 03:49 Abilities and skills.
• 03:51 This trade includes both the interpersonal abilities and
• 03:53 skills such as communication and
• 03:55 facilitation, along with business skills such as analytics and decision making.
• 04:00 Personal values, this one was interesting.
• 04:03 Some values were obvious, such as integrity and respect.
• 04:06 But, in some cases, it didn't matter as much what the personal values were, as it
• 04:10 did that the team members knew your values and that you acted consistently with them.
• 04:14 This includes values such as work life balance, or timeliness.
• 04:19 Finally motivation, leaders want to see the changes occur.
• 04:22 They devote energy, enthusiasm, and commitment to the goal.
• 04:27 So why do we need leaders?
• 04:29 The business environment of today has created a demand for
• 04:32 leadership, often more so than for managers.
• 04:36 The pressures of business today of innovation, product proliferation,
• 04:39 competition, and personnel turnover means that the recipe for
• 04:43 success is constantly changing.
• 04:45 Leaders are needed when change is required.
• 04:48 In addition, the business environment is increasingly complex.
• 04:52 Organizational complexity, cultural complexity and technical complexity.
• 04:56 With the constant change in teams and
• 04:58 businesses, leaders are needed to navigate this complexity.
• 05:02 Add to that the element of urgency.
• 05:05 Teams must react to the changes in real time.
• 05:08 Strong leaders are needed to help them keep up with all that is going
• 05:11 on around them.
• 05:12 Leaders are an essential element of successful teams.
• 05:18 Throughout the rest of this program I want to help you develop your leadership
• 05:22 skills and abilities.

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