Leadership is an interaction between leaders and their followers. A leader earns followers when she understands the needs that human beings possess and the ensuing struggle to satisfy those needs.
- Build the best team of people around you to complement your strengths and supplement your weaknesses.
- Set – and have your team agree to – clear standards. Keep a balance between doing yourself and inspiring others to do.
Recognize the five stages of group development and lead with the appropriate level of involvement for each stage. Regardless of the size of the group and the length of time they are together, the stages that groups experience include:
- FORMING. Team members are introduced to each other. They are typically positive and polite with each other at this stage. (High involvement)
- STORMING. The team transitions from where they are to where they want to be. This is the “make or break” stage where they identify leaders, define tasks, and determine acceptable team behavior. (High involvement)
- NORMING. The team reaches consensus on where they want to be and the processes they will follow to get there. They start working together and identifying as a team. (Periodic involvement)
- PERFORMING. The high-performance, self-directed team requires little external management. It is an effective, cohesive unit. (Minimum involvement)
- ADJOURNING. The team shares its results with others. Individuals share a bittersweet sense of accomplishment and reluctance to say “good bye” to each other. (Minimum involvement)