Team leadership is the management of a group of people brought together to work to achieve a common goal. In order to get everyone to work as one functioning team, the leader must motivate and inspire his or her followers. Leadership of a team involves assigning followers to tasks, supporting members, and overseeing projects.
Keeping track of projects in team leadership situations means taking responsibility and being able to switch gears. The leader must be adaptable and flexible when things aren't going according to his or her original plan. The leader is responsible for making sure everything gets back on track and having the team working together to make the project successful. Good leaders know how to inspire their team through all types of situations, including setbacks and challenges.
A good leader never hands off a project or task to team members without following through and offering support and guidance. Team leadership is about accomplishing a goal through many people working together, but this cannot occur efficiently unless everyone knows his or her role. Leaders give team members specific responsibilities that suit their experience and job description. The leader is not only responsible for the outcome of a project, but also for building a strong, effective team. Effective leaders understand how much as well as the type of support each team member needs in order to fulfill his or her role in a project.
For example, an effective team leader wouldn't give a worker without much experience a large responsibility in a work project. Rather, he or she may pair the employee with a co-worker with strengths in working well with others and understanding the work that needs to be completed. Building a strong team through well thought out working relationships is a common strategy of good leadership.
The leader's job is not to do everything himself or herself, but rather to oversee projects and make any needed changes while empowering the team to cooperate to achieve work goals. If followers aren't empowered by their leader, that is, made to feel that what they do is respected and important to the company, the team becomes weakened. Effective leaders make team members feel motivated to work. They understand their own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of the people who work for them. Good team leadership focuses on the proper strengths for specific tasks and uses the best people for each part of a project.
