The following tips helped me to become a successful Team Leader at Emirates Group:
1- Lead by example
2- Do not be a dictator
3- Praise in public, correct in private
4- Thank your team for a good job
Leading a team is the backbone of any day-to-day operation. It’s vital to retail, sport teams and even vital in airport operations. As the title suggests, as a team leader you are the spearhead of your team. Thus, one of the most important steps a leader must undertake is leading by example. This is an important step which will make your team members comfortable that you are there to help and support them, thus team morale goes up and it also builds up team chemistry, which is also very important.
Secondly, do not be a dictator. No team member likes a team leader who gives commands, but does not follow them himself or herself. Being assertive and explaining a task and how it should be accomplished will get the message across clearly to your team members. And like the first point, doing this will boost morale and have a positive impact on team chemistry as well.
The third point where 90% of team leaders fail is: correcting team members in front of clients/customers/passengers or even in front of colleagues. The negative impact here is that you are giving that team member a hard time in front of others, which is likely to affect his or hers performance in the long run. It will also reflect badly on you, as those who witness the act will see you as a weak team leader. The best way to deal with any situation is to call your team member and inform them that you would like to speak in private. Once no one is around you can highlight what they are doing wrong and help them to correct their actions, this is important to all team members as it raises team morale and chemistry.
High morale makes team members happy and comfortable working towards goals that are hard to achieve. Additionally, a good team chemistry means your team members are more likely to help each other out and practice/teach each other what you already have shown some of them.
Last but not least one of the most important steps is: Thank you! Praising your team members after successfully achieving a task/goal will make them feel they have done a good job. And it will encourage them to do more of the same next time. If a task was not achieved due to any reason, it is good to keep a high morale to boost confidence in your team. This can be done by giving helpful tips on how to achieve goals, or pre-plan for the day and in some cases go back to step one: Lead by example. And just say, “Let me show you how it’s done, now you give it a try. “
