Team leads are individuals within the team, entrusted with driving team performance while guiding and motivating their teammates to meet shared goals. These individuals echo the team’s tone to management and also they act as a bridge between the team and higher level management.
The role of team leads is to guide and motivate team members to perform while you, the manager focus on developing important ways to move the business forward; but not all team leads fulfill this responsibility.
Team leads are your first level of management, and the transition is often difficult, from that of an individual team member to manager – and the essence of management which is probably the hardest job, is where your team leads most times actually fail.
Not Everyone Is A Manager
Management is a very complex process and not anyone can be a manager. For example, your sales rep may be good at all things selling and still fail to lead the team when assigned a managerial role.
Understanding that not everybody is supposed to be in management is key. There are technical specialists, who are exactly that, specialists in their own field, and do not want the burden of the management of others. Your team lead may be immensely experienced and exceptionally good at their individual tasks and yet lacks management skills to guide others.
How To Avoid Your Team Leads Failing
If you are struggling with identifying why your team leads fail, the first step is to clearly, from the outset, understand who has the potential to be a team lead. These aspects can be identified through TATC’s assessment process. Once you can identify the potential for management, TATC can comprehensively unpack the developmental areas required before the individual takes on the role of the team lead.
With regards to the development of your team leads, particularly staff that is already sitting in the team lead role, TATC also offers tailor-made solutions targeted at specific areas that need to be developed as opposed to a one-size-fits-all approach.
Final Thoughts On Team Leads
It is important to understand that as a manager, you can not do everything yourself. Hence, this is why it is important for you to delegate using team leads.
However, ensure you delegate tasks diligently based on not only skills and experience, but also leadership and managerial capabilities. Ensure that the individual you select as team leader has what it takes to accomplish their tasks and manage others simultaneously.