The celebrated and occasionally controversial American business leader, the late Jack Welch, 20-year CEO of General Electric once said: “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others”.
And in this he summed up what it takes to bear the responsibility successfully of leading others in an organisation.
The message is clear: the key about development is that initially you have to take responsibility for yourself, to be clear what is expected of you, perhaps even speaking to your line manager or similar to identify the key skills and behaviours that you need to progress and improve.
Then once you step up that ladder, you in turn have a responsibility to the people who are under you to help them replicate that journey.
However, frequently those that make that leap, who might have experience or be technically good at the job, do not have leadership skills or are not given the development training to make that move successful.
Asset Training’s team leader/supervisor course fits the bill. It’s a comprehensive Level 3 12-18 month apprenticeship, covering all key aspects to enjoy a fulfilling career, which might lead to greater things.
According to David Otter, a leadership development specialist across a range of sectors, to be a team leader involves personal sacrifice. David, who is Leadership and Management Lead for DAC Beachcroft, one of the biggest sets of solicitors in the UK, as well as being a mountain rescue volunteer, said: “It’s no longer just about you, it’s about the team.
“It’s therefore ensuring that you have the skills to make that team successful and that you can help develop and motivate the individuals within it. Collectively the power and capability of the team is far stronger than you as an individual and so your job is not just being excellent at what you do, but also getting the team to perform.”
The role’s responsibilities are likely to include supporting, managing and developing team members, managing projects, planning and monitoring workloads and resources, delivering operational plans, resolving problems and building relationships within your organisation and with customers and stakeholders outside of it.
It goes without saying, therefore, that communications skills are of vital importance to ensure you are understood and are a good listener.
David said: “A lot of us are good at talking about our job but listening to the team is just as important. As a manager you have to raise your team’s capabilities to a point where it can do the job for you, so when you go away on holiday you come back better off – not only have you rested but your team has delivered.
“You also want team members to come to you with solutions not problems. If all you do is solve people’s problems for them as a manager they are learning little.”
Happily leadership skills can be trained, based around structure, skills sets and mind sets and these are transferable competencies. Being a team leader or supervisor is about managing people and delivering strategy. Specific responsibilities will vary but the knowhow, the expertise, the behaviours needed are the same for whatever role allowing someone to change careers.
Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer and the President of the Confederation of British Industry, said the key to his success was managing people who were better than him.
David added: “You’ve got to get your team producing and the only way you can do that is to take them to the point where they become really good at their jobs. So effectively you should be able to manage in any industry with that skill set.
“However in reaching this point, you can’t manage by carrot and stick alone, it doesn’t make people feel included and give of their best. You have to be able to motivate them properly and encourage the right attitude and behaviours to work collaboratively and that’s about the culture you set.”
A key piece of advice as you seek that leadership leap is observing other team leaders and managers in how they perform the role. Learn on the job to make sure that the culture you set will be the shadow of the leader you want to be. That’s growing yourself before helping others to grow – and that’s success.