Are You a Leader? Here Are 4 Expectations Your Team Has for You.

 

Leaders help build strong, cohesive teams that enable organizations to reach their goals. Part of being a strong leader is knowing what your team members expect from you. You become a better leader by knowing their desires and inspiring them to become an even stronger team that can accomplish anything.

 

Here are 4 important expectations your team has for you as a leader:

Top leaders recognize vulnerabilities, but rely on their strengths. Understanding and admitting your not infallible makes your character look stronger and helps you earn the respect of others you work with because it demonstrates modesty.  Admitting your inabilities is only a sign of weakness if you treat it that way. A smart leader freely admits that they don't know how to do everything, and that simple statement allows them to make the most of their strengths.

Through modesty, after becoming a professional, you can still improve. If you aren't modest, then you start becoming arrogant which isn't healthy in a group dynamic. No team wants to arrogant members, whether they be the leader or a team member.

Team members want to be respected as individuals and appreciated workers. They don't want to be seen as another cog in the wheel and just told what to do, which is something managers typically do. They want their work to be respected and recognized for its good quality. Quality work should be freely and openly praised because if it's taken for granted it shows that you don't respect your employees and this ends up being bad morale.

 

There must be self-respect before you have mutual respect. Once you have self-respect, you and the team will develop a respect for the differences of each other, whether they are cultural, racial, gender, experience level or anything else. After this has been accomplished, there will be a strong bond that can become unsurpassable.

No one wants to be constantly watched by the manager, but it's important that they're available when needed. When first starting an assignment, people need a bit of guidance to set them on the right path. Afterwards, they need to be left alone to finish the work at hand. This means that the leader must trust that their team can do the best possible work and this can be demonstrated by going hands off and letting the team work on their own. This makes it possible for the team to prove itself by meeting the expectations required.

A leader must establish a relationship and keep the communication channels open in both directions. A real leader understands the value of his team's feedback. The team wants to be updated about any news that affects their role in the organization. Staff should be comfortable with conveying their criticisms and ideas alike and they should know that they're being listened to sincerely. It doesn't matter if all of their ideas are accepted. The key is to be able to speak them.

 

Teams need to be led by the right leader. If these four conditions do not exist someone must deal with the problems before major issues occur. However, if you meet all these expectations in your workplace, productivity, motivation and happiness will rise.