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Confidence plays a major part in leading a team. I’m not talking about a blind arrogance that assumes that you are always right but instead a confidence that leads you to feel that you do not have to constantly prove yourself. A Manager serving his owns needs is not much use to the team they are supposed to be leading.

We’ve all been there at some point. You’ve just completed a fantastic piece of work or have come up with a great idea only for your manager to do all they can to take more than their slice of the credit. Such behavior de-motivates team members and leads to an unhappy and unproductive team. 

Measuring the un-measurable

I can understand why even the most self aware, confident managers can slip into this behavior. A need to justify your existence stems from that fact that mangers don’t really produce anything anymore. Their success or failure is not something that is easy to measure tangibly. Even those managers who are still involved in the practical side of their area of expertise are often distracted by other duties and so when an opportunity comes up to prove that they are still worth the salary the temptation is to milk it.

Such behavior, can, cause irreparable damage to the relationship between manager and team and ultimately the team will underperform; eventually falling apart. But team leaders are human just like everybody else. They need to feel of value and that they are a useful part of the whole or they quickly become de-motivated too. So how do we resolve the conflict?

Becoming self aware

A team leader needs to be aware of what their role is and how they should measure their success. Often managers are promoted, not because of their ability to manage but because they top of their field. This can mean that an organization not only loses their best people from the shop floor but also gain some bad leaders into the bargin, but that is a subject for another time.

Essentially, a team leaders job is to make everybody else look good. A good manager is able to create an environment where those in their team are able to grow and develop, bringing the most from whatever skills and talents they have. A manager who is more interested in making stars out of the individuals in their team rather than themselves, is much better placed to get the most out of those around them and in their charge.

For this to happen it’s important that a manager firstly understands what their role is, secondly understand that their success should now be measured, fundamentally, on other peoples performance, and finally that they are secure in their position; not worrying about how they look or needing to prove themselves.