Being a leader is about living your life in a way that inspires or encourages others. Here is the 13th in my series of monthly newsletters, each with a section on the skills you need so you can be a leader of your life. To lead is to serve. If you make it your goal to do the best that you can and to help people, then you can't fail. I encourage you to commit to keep learning.

The content below is extracted from Mike Holt's Leadership Skills - Taking Your Career to the Next Level.

When you work together, and when you work as a team, you achieve results. Whether you’re the newest employee, the owner of the company, or a job supervisor, you are part of a team and your efforts contribute to the team’s success and the financial well-being of the company. Each individual is required to perform to his or her best ability, but it’s the total team performance that determines success or failure.

Your favorite football team won’t ever win a game if each player tries to do everything alone rather than working together as a unit. There’s a certain amount of interdependence required of all members of a team for any endeavor to succeed. Each team member is 100 percent responsible for their own performance, and at the same time must depend on the work or contribution of others for overall success.

Teams either pull together or pull apart. When a team pulls apart, conflict and dissension can undermine self-confidence, disrupt concentration, and interfere with individual performance. The leader does their own part to set the example—guiding, pulling and pushing the others towards the goal line. A successful team leader makes sure each individual has the tools and the knowledge to do their part.

The following will help you get your team to pull together:

• Set goals and encourage everyone to work toward achieving them.
• Help your team see the consequences of pulling apart—poor individual and team performances, unhappiness, conflict, and so forth. Explain how pulling together will help the team be more successful and help everyone reach the goal.
• Hold each individual responsible for promoting this pulling together attitude by supporting and encouraging them.
• Identify and address any problem employees that are hurting company morale or are poor team members.
  

As a leader, don’t overlook your group as a source of information to improve the way your team works. Ask questions. Listen. Be open to feedback. Welcome new ideas. Above all, have the flexibility and willingness to change if there’s a better alternative. Remember, they say that a leader who doesn't listen, soon finds himself surrounded by people with nothing to say.

Empower people through teamwork. Don’t be afraid to delegate responsibility to others. If you believe you have a great team, you should have confidence in the individuals to whom you delegate responsibility. You should be fiercely dedicated to your team. If you aren’t, ask yourself why, and then build that team that you can be proud of and fiercely dedicated to.

We'd love to hear from you about this series, and the ways you're using it. Send us your comments and feedback by clicking on Post a Comment below. Look out for the next part in this series a month from now, and please share with your colleagues.

To review or catch up on previous newsletters on business and personal development click here.
The above content is extracted from Mike Holt's Leadership Skills textbook.

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