Which Skills Are Needed to Succeed as a Team Leader?

Successful team leaders are able to ensure that a team is able to work together to achieve a shared goal effectively. However, becoming a successful team leader requires several key skills, which if absent, can be detrimental to the team, current project, and business as a whole. 

According to Forbes, ineffective leadership can have a devastating effect on both the individuals within a team as well as the organization itself, and a focus on the skills training of leaders is one of the best ways to potentially solve this issue. Whether you are a team leader yourself or looking to train your employees to become successful leaders, these are the skills needed to succeed as a team leader.

When it comes to finding out what skills a successful team leader requires, we first need to know what makes a good team leader more generally. This is often more difficult to describe than it is to notice in someone. If you have ever worked in a team with a particularly good or particularly bad team leader, you know about it. 

However, by breaking down why these people might be good or bad at leading a team and what leadership styles are effective, we can find the key skills that team leaders need to develop to become successful in their role. 

Some of the key qualities for a team leader to have are a friendly and inspiring personality, problem-solving skills, active listening abilities, time management, emotional intelligence, flexibility and understanding, and the ability to make objective decisions. 

This is one of the key reasons to study a management course, to ensure that you and the team leaders of your company are equipped with the basic skills to be effective team leaders.

Work relations can be a tricky area to manage when engaging in teamwork and leadership, as every individual within a team has a different personality, communication style, thought process, and background, which can lead to disagreements within the team. 

However, by acknowledging and knowing how to manage work relations, a good team leader can create a cohesive team environment that allows every member of the team to be heard. One of the key leadership qualities is interpersonal skills, which can ensure effective communication among co-workers in a team.

Becoming a Conflict Manager can help team leaders to obtain the skills needed to manage work relations within a team. Having good communication can create a better work environment and help create a more positive attitude within the team. 

Conflict managers are excellent at resolving disputes and managing relationship building within a team by implementing key conflict management and team-building strategies. By learning these management skills, team leaders can ensure that the team works together and overcome any interpersonal issues that might arise.

Team leaders who are able to communicate confidently and actively listen to the people within their team make the best team leaders. 

When discussing the key decisions, project progress, and aims of the team, having everyone on the same page and working towards the common goal is essential. That is why team communication skills are one of the top qualities for great leaders and should be a priority when considering upskilling for team leaders. 

Teamwork and leadership skills go hand in hand, so being able to be a member of the team as well as lead the team is key for team leaders. 

Learning how to become a manager or how to become a supervisor can also help those in leadership roles to understand the importance of communication and how to effectively discuss projects with their team.

One of the key team leader qualities which are often overlooked is the ability to not only manage but also develop a team. 

Effective team leadership depends on the team leader’s ability to provide team development opportunities and motivate team members to try new ways of thinking. 

Team development means managing the teams and individual team member’s professional development by taking on new and more challenging tasks and setting more advanced goals. 

This important skill is that the team members remain motivated and encouraged as they progress in their careers and are able to set higher goals for themselves.

Team leadership is, of course, the ultimate goal for a team leader, but this skill is specifically about the leadership involved, which is only possible by developing the aforementioned skills. 

This leadership works best with a team leader who has a team they can communicate well with and develop alongside. Being a good leader means motivating the team, encouraging a flow of ideas, and making tough decisions. 

In order to be a good leader, every team member needs to feel included in decision-making, be heard, and understand why team decisions are made. 

By studying the CMI Level 3 in Principles of Management and Leadership, team leaders can develop key team leader skills and learn the principles of leading a team. This course is a bundled course, meaning that you will be studying the Level 3 Award, Level 3 Certificate and Level 3 Diploma all in one which is perfect for practising or aspiring managers who will supervise or manage a team to achieve clearly defined outcomes.

As well as knowing how to manage a team, understanding how to manage projects is another of the essential skills of a team leader. As they will be the head of the operation, team leaders must understand how to manage projects. 

Courses in Management and Leadership are a great way to develop management skills whilst avoiding the pitfalls of micromanaging and learning about developing projects through effective leadership. Through these courses, you can also gain recognised qualifications such as PRINCE2 and Agile certifications, which can develop your skill set in other areas too.

The qualities of a leader of a team are diverse, from learning to manage people to effective project management. With some crossover in skills from other leadership areas, such as leadership coaching, many team leaders may already have many skills needed to succeed in this role. However, through online courses in management to certifications in conflict management, you can upskill yourself or your employees to ensure that they become good team leaders and effectively manage projects as well as lead the team to success.