Tomasz Andrykowski Unit 2 Assignment 2
The role of a team leader: Team leader is a very important job which has to be done by a specific type of people who have great communication skills, good understanding and be very helpful towards the team that he’s leading.
The roles that the good team leader are:
Encourage the team: The team leader should really try to encourage his team as much as he can because when a team is encouraged by a good leader then they are most likely to succeed. Encouraged team will produce great amount of work at the highest standards in a great time that’s why it’s so important for a team leader to organize their team and encourage them to work harder and produce better effects. For example when the fire service is going into a house fire their boss plans every action that they have to take so the team will feel good because they have plans for their work and they don’t have to go into the unknown.
Planning: Leader has to be well organised and plan everything ahead so whatever happens he will be ready to go. Planning is very important as in some situations a team cannot make any mistakes and if they don’t plan what to do the situation can get out of control for them like for example when there is a riot before police comes out onto the streets they first seat and plan their actions and they would not get out on the streets before everything is planned and every situation is thought about.
Maintain good communication: Good team leader should really have great communication skills which are not only speaking but it’s also listening. Speaking is very important for a leader as it will give him the authority and will help him get along with the team if he knows how to speak to his team. Listening is as important as speaking for a leader as he has to listen to ideas and problems of his team members to come up with the best possible conclusion or solution. For example when there is something that needs police officers action they get all the information’s all the time and this will reduce the risk of them getting injured or attacked.
Help the team to develop: The leader has to help the team develop as a team which is all the time on the same level is not good enough a good team should progress all the time but this is not possible without a good leader. A good leader should also help them to progress and develop as this will make the team members feel better and they will want to work harder to achieve their goal, and it will also make better connection between the team and the team leader. For example when soldiers after having done something very important for the mission they might become higher rank.
Performing and focusing on the tasks: The team leader as much as he should speak with his team and socialize with them he should also make sure that his team knows who has the authority in the team. It’s very important for the team to speak about their ideas but there are times and groups where the team members just have to focus on the task and do what they are supposed to and don’t really speak otherwise it may affect their results badly this is where a good team leader with experience is needed. For example higher rank soldier has to show to his team that he is higher than them so they will have respect for him and listen to all the orders from him.
Active listener: As important as good speaking skills are for a team leader he also has to be very good at listening because his team members will have problems and they’ll want to speak to their leader about it and they will expect him to give them some advice on their case. Because listening is very important in order to be a good leader, it is very hard for some people to do and this is really what makes a leader a very good leader. For example when there is a briefing on a police station the team leader has to listen to the team members ideas to plan better as if he was supposed to do it on his own then he might miss something and not plan correctly.
Show an initiative: Leader should show his initiative and not only rely on his team but also working with them to make the progress, the team will see this and will want to work even harder and more productive than before. When leader is showing more interest in the ideas of their team members he will get more help of his team and also get more work done from his team, this will also make better connection between the team and the team leader. For example when there is a house fire every fire fighter has to get involved otherwise it will take longer and the team will not be as productive.
Supporting them to maximise performance: Team leader should really help his team along the way to achieve the best they can get and to maximise the performance because very good effects of their work will encourage his team to work for longer periods of time and to really work more productively. This skill is very essential for a good team leader but it’s a very hard job to do but there are many people with this skill. For example when there is some issue between two soldiers then their leader should speak to them and try to solve the problem otherwise their work might not be as productive or it could lead to more problems.
Able to make appropriate decisions: A good team leader should be able to choose which actions will be the best for the given situation as if he chooses wrong it might cost them someone’s live or they might not get the job done properly. For example when a police officer gets into a dangerous situation and he contacts their leader to get permission for further actions then his leader should decide whether it’s safe for him to proceed or not otherwise if something goes wrong the leader will be in trouble for letting him proceed.
Multi Tasking: Team leader has to be able to multi task so when he has to do couple of jobs at once he will not only get stuck on one as he might miss something, missing something in a very difficult situation might cost him and his team a lot. For example when police officers have to watch some ones house and report all the time they can’t miss any details or not notice something because they have been concentrated on something else than their job.
Safety of Followers: Safety of followers should be the priority for the team leader because if anything bad happens to them the team leader is the one that will get in trouble for it, as well as he will lose one of their team members. Team leader will do all that he can to ensure that their team members will be working in the most safety environment possible to ensure their safety, and well being. For example before police officers go on duty they will have their actions planned to ensure nothing unexpected happens.
Avoiding Failure: Good team leader will do everything to ensure that their team meets their goals that the team leader has set for them, the team leader has to ensure that their team success in what they are doing and avoid failure as much as they can. If team fails to achieve their goal they might lose a team member or not achieve their goal which might also result in someone else getting hurt. For example if there is a house fire and the fire fighter cannot put the fire down it might result in the people inside the house get killed by the fire.
Giving Feedback: It’s very important that the leader gives feedback to their team members so they know what’s the situation at the moment.
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