Ten Ways To Be a Good Leader

Ten Ways To Be a Good Leader

1. Be enthusiastic

This is your team. If your attitude about teams is negative, then right from the

start you set your team back, and it may not recover.

2. Provide direction

In the Cautious stage, help the team focus on what its goals will be. Ask and

answer questions about expectations. Clarify the members’ roles. Work

together to develop ground rules for how you’ll operate. 

3. Supply resources

Teams sometimes need help in working as a team. Resources such as books,

videos, classes, field trips, consultants, and visits or interviews with successful

teams at other properties may all help. Or teams may need help compiling data

to solve problems or measure success. Surveys of guests and employees, or

some training in problem-solving techniques may be useful. Encourage your

team to ask for resources. An important part of leading the team will be

providing those resources.

4. Ask questions

When the team has a problem, should you:

a. Handle it because you know the solution?

b. Ask questions that may lead the team to find its own answers?

If you said (b), you have the right idea. Even working together, team

members may not come up with a solution they’re satisfied with; maybe you

can offer an alternative approach for the team to consider. You’ll probably be

asking questions in all of the stages.

5. Provide information

At any of the four stages, when there’s information about company policy or

operations that the team members should be aware of, it’s up to you to give it to

them. Like supplying resources, this is one of your most important functions in

leading a team.

6. Keep everyone informed

Your team is part of the big picture at your property, and good

communication about your activities is very important. Keep other

managers and non-team employees informed about what your team is

doing. Be sure to consult with other managers ahead of time if your team’s

work will involve their areas. This is especially important when your team

is gathering information. Springing a surprise visit on another part of your

property is not a good idea!

7. Offer support and encouragement

Sometimes your team will get bogged down and discouraged – you can

count on that. It’s most likely to happen in the Conflicted stage. Listen to

the team and express your confidence and support. Make sure the team

knows how to use its communication and problem-solving skills

effectively. Be patient and let the team process work. (To learn more

about effective communication, see the “Interpersonal Communication”

handbook in the Management Skill Builders series.)

8. Keep track

As the coach, you need to know what’s going on. As a team moves into the

Cooperative and Collaborative stages, you may not attend all the meetings,

but you should be talking with the team leader on a regular basis. (As they

mature, many teams rotate leadership; you’ll need to know when that

happens.)

9. Provide feedback

Take stock at least quarterly, more often if you think the team is having

trouble. Ask the members to evaluate how things are going, and work with

them to make any changes in mission, goals, or ground rules that may be

needed.

10. Be a model of effective team behavior

It’s not reasonable to expect actions from your team that you’re unwilling

to do yourself. As the saying goes, walk your talk. The prize-winning poet

Gwendolyn Brooks puts it another way: “Each of us must be the change

we want to see.”