Leadership: essentials in interpersonal skills

Zachary Wong, in his book “The eight essential skills for project management” establishes an interesting panoramic view on how you should act and what kind of attitude you should have when leading a team. Here are some of the key aspects that you should take into consideration. 

The psychological facet of being a good lead:

Leading a team can be harsh sometimes, not only because of milestones and deliverables but mostly, because of how you have to deal with your team. Pushing unmotivated teammates, facilitating communication, and making things work can be harsh. Especially in a workplace that is highly dominated by horizontal structures like the one that we are living in, where coercive leadership is less tolerated and hierarchies are often not trusted.

Zachary Wong, in his book “The eight essential skills for project management” establishes an interesting panoramic view on how you should act and what kind of attitude you should have when leading a team. Here are some of the key aspects that you should take into consideration.

Interpersonal (or “soft”) skills that you, as a leader, need:

Know the difference between friendship and friendliness: despite the fact that of course, you can have friends in the workplace, you shouldn’t forget that sticking to friendliness and a polite attitude of sticking to the rule is crucial to be a better leader.

Be inclusive: all teams are greater than the sum of their members. As a leader, you have to take care of the ground where people work, providing a safe space where the team members can find a sense of purpose. Try practicing your emotional intelligence and empathy skills.

Be aware of the attitude: attitude matters, and is very linked with job satisfaction. That’s why you, as a leader, have to take it into account. Don’t be afraid of recognizing the value that your team members bring to the table. A good way to do so is to use the SCOOP framework. Make it Sincere, Consistent, On time, On values, and Personalized.

Acknowledge performance with the Past-Present-Future model: use the “past” to practice active listening and understand from his or her perspective how it’s been going. Use the “present” to provide accurate feedback and put the problem in context. Use the “future” to let them know what they can do to improve things and set concrete and measurable goals.

Focus on team behavior: successful teams need to be inspired in order to achieve maximum performance. But it’s not only about inspiration, you have to also put rules and practices over the table. Remember also that the best way to avoid an error is to prevent it, not to correct it.

Understand the circumstances of risk-taking: “predictability”, when you’re facing a risk, is difficult to know beforehand how risky is going to be. “Ability”, or the fact that imposter syndrome can hit really hard when facing an unknown hazard. And “fear of failure”, probably, the most important one.

Embrace a holistic view of leadership: the role of team leader implies that you need to be a catalyst between your immediate supervisor and your time. Which means that you have a responsibility for how you interact with her or him. Practice an influence without authority mindset to make all the organization grow.

At WeChange we are experts in stringing along with seasoned team leads in their journey to a more people-centered scenario. Do you consider that we might be helpful for you? Want to take the next step? Just write to us.

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