Some of the most common mistakes made by those who do not know how to lead a team have to do with:

Making uninformed decisions or emotional decisions. Decision making is a logical process in a business environment. While you can base a personal decision on your emotions or incomplete information, a business decision needs more thought. When obtaining information on anything that influences a decision, it is best to seek more data that illustrates the issue before reaching a conclusion. Different points of view and additional knowledge can help the leader make better decisions for the good of the company.

Just as important is avoiding making decisions at work based on emotions. No one should be hired or fired based on emotions, and company decisions should not be made because of a team leader’s feelings on some issue. It is important to distinguish between values ​​and emotions because, While values ​​can make you feel some emotion about a situation, they won’t cause the same rash decision making as emotions. You need to think logically and be able to show the team the reasons behind a decision.

Complete unfinished projects. If a task has been delegated to the team and they submit it unfinished, poorly done, or not correct, then you must resist the urge to fix the outcome yourself. It’s okay to do this in certain circumstances, like when a deadline is approaching and there is no lead time, for example. However, work that was not done correctly or was not fully completed should not be accepted unless there has been some communication about it beforehand and an agreement has been reached with the employees. When a task is delegated, they should be expected to be completely correct. If a lot of time has to be spent reviewing the work the team has done or if unfinished projects need to be completed, the team leader will not have enough time for his own work.Get away from healthy conflict .

Conflict is a natural part of healthy human interactions. You cannot expect a team to function at its best if they are not allowed to have conflicts of any kind. The trick is to keep things from getting out of control and this can be done by creating a culture where healthy conflict is accepted. Allow healthy conflicts so that employees can express their different views, opinions and discuss the merits of their ideas over the ideas of others.

Act without help constantly . It is not healthy for any leader to turn to a mentor or superior for every decision that needs to be made, although it is also a bad choice to act alone on everything. When you need help, you have to seek it. This also serves as an example for the rest of the team members. Allowing too much autonomy for the team . Teams that are Autonomous are able to operate independently with little or no supervision. Empowerment is a wonderful thing in most workplaces, but it’s also not something that should be expected of all employees, unless they have proven themselves. Unfortunately, not everyone on a team is going to be dedicated and motivated workers who will get everything done on time without supervision. Because of this, it is a mistake not to check progress, get consistent reports, and make sure everything runs smoothly.

Proven strategies for managers:

How to lead a team, when asked how to lead a team , the first thing to look at is the type of group you face as the leader or visible head of an organization. That is, who is it, how many are they, what are their objectives, what do they have in common, what roles they assume and what are their internal dynamics.
This question assumes that each case is different and requires decisions and leadership styles. Implementing the most appropriate strategy in each situation can be the root for achieving good results.
However, this does not imply that the leadership of work teams is something exceptional or that we cannot point out transversal strategies suitable to be implemented in any scenario. Let’s review some of them and their usefulness:

Create a highly productive climate:

Do you aspire to be a successful leader in an oppressive, authoritarian environment, marked by injustice and unequal treatment of your collaborators? You will not make it! Contemporary working groups don’t work like that; On the contrary, his thing is participation, freedom, cooperation, direct interaction and joint and consensual decisions. This is what we mean when we talk about a highly productive climate, because only in conditions of this type will your collaborators be willing to get the best of themselves and articulate efforts to achieve common goals. How far are you from it?

Lead by example:

Be a reference for those around you. Your actions will have little legitimacy if one day you demand something and the next you fail to comply with what you have asked the members of your teams. For example, don’t talk about participation, diversity and joint decisions if in the end you impose your authority and your criteria. Be consistent; do not forget that you are the visible head of the company you lead.
Rotate roles and roles:One way to motivate work teams is to change the roles that their members assume from time to time. Be careful, we are not talking about you doing it every week or every two months, but we are talking about practicing it in those cases where your business starts new cycles or professional exercises. Renewal is the best way to increase the commitment of your collaborators with the common project and, incidentally, an excellent resource to discover certain talents in certain people. How long have you not renewed your equipment?

Manage conflicts by externalizing them:

The worst thing you can do as a team leader is allow a conflict to rage between your members. Once you identify it, make it come out and let its own protagonists talk about it. All groups have problems, differences, difficulties and setbacks; The issue is knowing how to intervene in time, listening carefully to each of the parties immersed in a situation of this type and, finally, acting with justice and consideration.

Bet on reliable communication:

Leaders who speak out and address issues of common concern directly are respected and convey confidence. The communication between him and his collaborators must be authentic and unambiguous. You should avoid the artificiality that leadership work often involves. This not only applies to all the messages that you issue on your own behalf, but also to those that in one way or another determine the performance of your work teams. It also looks for the most suitable channels for each case.

Set periodic goals:

The objectives set from time to time are references for the action of your work teams. Whether they are daily, weekly or monthly, the important thing is that they fulfill the double function that corresponds to them: increase the level of motivation of your collaborators and enhance their commitment to the project of which they are part. The periodic goals, in addition, are a good resource against the routine and the tedium that many times takes root in the work teams, and therefore prevents maximum performance from being achieved.

Establish direct contact with each member of the team:

Just as it is essential that you have a close relationship with your work group as a whole, it is also essential that from time to time you personalize this relationship by listening to each of your collaborators. Ideally, you should do it in a formal way, although you can also try informal and less predictable ways, especially if you want your collaborators to be spontaneous, open to dialogue and to be able to empathize with them. When you choose this resource, remember that one of the essential functions of the leader is to transform those around him and enhance their skills and strengths.

Another strategy that you can implement when in doubt about how to lead a team is to recognize the work of your collaborators and even establish an incentive system that makes them see how important their contributions are. Besides being a moral boost, it helps to strengthen the dynamics of the work groups.