- Leadership Skills. Leadership of a team is quite demanding. In a sense, in a team in many situations, leadership is shared – everyone must feel and take responsibility for meeting the task and process (people) needs of the team. As discussed under the definition of the team, the emphasis is on mutual accountability’. Moreover the leader will be required to vary his style depending on the situation – style flexibility. Hence the appropriateness of the situational leadership model discussed earlier in this chapter. A leader may also need to use a combination of transformational leadership and transactional leadership skills to maintain his team at a high level of performance.
- Interpersonal Skills. In a team, the interpersonal skills of a leader come into play in a major way. A leader should develop a sense of belonging, pride and commitment amongst the members of the team. He will have to ensure that no one feels left out and everyone feels fully involved in the purpose of the team” Ensuring this is a part of the team process that the leader may have to concentrate upon.
- Conflict Resolution Skills. While disagreements and conflicts are part of the team development process and would ensure dynamism, and avoid stagnation and decay, it is also necessary that the levels of conflict in the team be kept within the zone of optimum levels. Therefore, the team leader’s role in conflict management or resolution. Conflict, should not be ignored, avoided or suppressed, but must be brought out into the open and resolved effectively.
- Communication and Felicitation Skills. The key to open communication is trust. A leader’s role in creating an atmosphere of trust and open communications is crucial. In a team, the leader must encourage discussion of problems and key issues. It must be seen as OK to ask for help or to seek advice of other team members. A leader shall encourage team members to open communication and maintain trust by,
à Being dependable,
à Pitching in and helping other members who need assistance,
à Reading and responding to non-verbal cues that suggest a lack of openness, and
à Candidly sharing views and encouraging others to do the same.
- Other Skills. Besides the foregoing there are indeed more skills that a team leader ought to possess and promote in himself. Two of these which have already been discussed in earlier chapter are:
à Consensus building
à Problem solving and decision making skills
à Counseling skills
à Training skills and
à Feedback skills.
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