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If you have ever wondered why your team is what it is, then it is possible that you should look no further. Just like children often pick up traits, characteristics, and mannerisms of their parents, and “best friends” will find that they think and behave alike, teams will often take on the personality and ethos of their leader.

This is obviously a big generalisation but it is very useful to remember if you are in leadership of some form. The team leader sets the culture of team as a whole. If the dominate characteristic of the team leader is that they are competitive, then do no be surprised if you end up with a team that is guarded about their knowledge and skills and individuals are more interested in proving themselves than cooperating for the greater good. If the team lead is a joker then expect a “playful” environment in the team. If the team lead is reserved and quite…. You get the idea.

The point is that if you not happy about a particular part of your teams culture then the first place to look is at yourself! Your personality; your ethos, will be imprinted on the teams that you lead. This is also worth remembering, if you are a new leader of an established team and wonder why things are as they are. Finding out a little about your predecessor might be a useful exercise in understanding what might be involved in taking your team forward.

The ‘Super Hero’ Legacy

I found a good example of this in a previous post. The lead of the team I was in had set themselves up as something of a superhero. Everything they did was correct, every solution was as elegant and effeiciate as it could possibly be. And, of course, mixed in with the perfect amount of flair. They never had a question, they never had a doubt, they always had an answer. The end result was a team who were afraid to ask questions for fear of looking foolish and not appearing good enough to be a part of the super heros team. Team members were not very good at sharing experience and knowledge as the assumption was that eveybody already had the knowledge, else, how would they possible be in this “super team”.

This culture had been set as an unconscience response and reacation to the personality and ethos of the team lead. This was important to understand if any atempt to change this culture could be successful.

If you want to develop an area of your teams life then the first place to look is how you operate as an individual. There is no point in expecting an open working environment, with the free sharing and exchange of ideas, if you are less than transparent in what you do yourself. 

A major part of the role of a team leader is to set the culture of team. This is done not only by what you say, not even only by want you do, but also, who you are.