If you’re just starting out as a leader, it can be overwhelming to know where to begin when managing your team. There’s no automatic reason why you should know how to lead others, simply because you were performing well in your previous role.

This blog will provide insightful advice on how best to handle the transition into a leadership role so that you can bring success and growth to your team.

We’ll explore topics such as understanding yourself and your approach to leadership, creating clear goals and expectations, providing meaningful feedback and project managing with ease. 

Follow these tips and watch yourself confidently lead your group towards lasting achievements.

We published a series of leadership blogs in 2019/20 that included amongst the references “Leadership Laid Bare. The Naked Truth of What Great Leaders Actually Do”. 

These timeless leadership principles for the 21st Century created by leadership expert and author Graham Wilson will help you create a high performance environment where success is inevitable.

Whilst it will take time to develop and embed your own ‘leadership brand’ there are some practical tips you can follow that will help you hit the ground running:

1. Define what success looks like for your team, and create measurable goals to track progress.

As a team leader, it’s essential to identify what success looks like for your team and create measurable goals that you can use to track progress.

This may take the form of benchmarks, key performance indicators, or milestone objectives that you and your staff can strive for.  Create a compelling vision for the team that will have everyone pulling in the same direction.

Setting up attainable goals will help keep everyone motivated, build confidence in the team, and make it much easier to measure how successful you have been in accomplishing specific tasks.

Regularly monitoring progress and celebrating successes is also an important part of keeping your team focused and engaged. Establishing a clear idea of what success looks like will also give you valuable insights into where improvements need to be made, allowing you to successfully lead your team towards success.

2. Get to know your team members – their strengths, weaknesses, and motivations.

As a leader in a new role, it is important to take the time to get to know your team members and their individual strengths, weaknesses, and motivations.

Knowing how each person functions can help you allocate tasks that are best suited for each member. Each team member has unique talents that should be tapped into and welcomed in order to build an effective workplace.

Listening actively and attentively to your team’s points of view and helping them become better versions of themselves will not only benefit the team, but also reposition the company as a thriving, adaptive organisation with the potential for great success.

And don’t forget, great leaders always have a great team around them… You won’t achieve success on your own!

3. Delegate tasks and projects based on individual skills and interests.

When a leader takes on a new role, one of the most important things they can focus on is delegating tasks and projects to members of their team in a way that aligns with their individual skills and interests.

By being aware of each of your team members’ strengths, you can ensure that tasks are given out more efficiently and effectively, as well as helping to foster higher levels of engagement from your team.

Not only does finding ways to delegate tasks based on individual strengths result in smoother operations, but it also demonstrates care and support for each member and encourages them to take ownership of the outcomes.

Allocating your team’s workload in this way can lead to better results and ultimately make everyone happier with the outcome.

4. Hold regular team meetings to keep everyone on track and address any concerns.

Holding regular team meetings is an effective tool for instilling confidence and accountability within your team. This helps build the trust and communication needed to keep everyone on track and accomplish team goals.

It also provides a platform to address any concerns that may be inhibiting progress and allow for open discussion in order to find solutions quickly. Furthermore, organising consistent team meetings creates an effective working environment, ensuring that everyone is aware of their roles and tasks at hand.

In summary, routinely holding team meetings at a frequency that is relevant (daily, weekly, monthly) is key to successful team leadership in any role. Old or new. Fact.

5. Be open to feedback from your team, and always strive to improve your leadership skills.

As a leader, one of your primary goals should be to continue learning and improving upon your current skillset.

According to Digits – “Leadership is by far the most important skill for a manager to possess, according to UK adults (47.85%)”

In their 2022 survey, it is clear to see empathy, teamwork, communication and genuine leadership qualities are at the forefront of looked upon leaders.

To help achieve this goal for yourself, seek out feedback from your team. By actively engaging with your team and listening closely to their input, you can build trust and respect that will form the foundation of your leadership style.

While it can be difficult to accept criticism, it is important that you remain open-minded in order to effectively grow as a leader. Ultimately, if properly implemented, feedback from your team can help create a positive climate where everyone feels heard and respected – so don’t be afraid to ask for it!

Open communication is the key to forming successful relationships with both coworkers and superiors alike.

And, don’t forget feedback works both ways, be ready to share your own story, even if this means exposing your own vulnerabilities and development areas. This is all part of your improvement journey and developing your unique, authentic leadership style.

How We Can Help

We can help leaders in new roles by providing our expertise, resources and guidance to aid successful team management.

Our leadership, development and coaching service is designed to provide experienced consulting with a focus on developing each individual leader’s skillset in order to maximise their effectiveness when leading teams.

We can provide advice and insight on how to effectively delegate tasks, manage change within an organisation and create a collaborative working environment with your team.

If you’re looking for more information or would like to speak with one of us about developing your leadership skills, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

Being a successful leader takes hard work and dedication.

But, by taking the time to define your team’s goals, getting to know your team members and delegating tasks accordingly, you will set yourself up for success.

Regular team meetings are essential to keeping everyone on track and addressing any concerns that may arise. And finally, always be open to feedback from your colleagues – it’s the best way to continue improving as a leader.

Always keep in mind that each member of your team, including yourself, is human. As a leader, you will only be successful if you treat everyone with respect and kindness as the individuals they are.