What makes a team leader good in the workplace

[Thecrown3]

So I’m applying for some new roles and thinking on whether they are for me as a character.
Thinking of previous team leaders and their leading styles, it tended to be the relaxed ones that were good.
What makes a good team leader /supervisor for you?

Not to micromanage
Listen to both sides of any dispute.
Not to have favourites
Don't gossip or whisper about a team member to another colleague while looking directly at them.

Be relaxed, open, approachable and flexible.

The fact that you're thinking about this means that you are considerate of other people which goes along way when managing a team.

I’ve done the role before which I’m applying for but a good few years ago on secondment - I enjoyed it but learnt a lot and since then , but it got me thinking of the pros/cons and good and bad bosses I’ve had

Consistency. Nothing worse than a manager who is happy one day and miserable the next, it puts staff on edge for what they might be facing when they come into work.

Thanks for your replies.
All good points.
For me the nicest leaders have been pretty relaxed, quite happy people too.
Seen to treat everyone the same too, no favourites.

Consistency. Nothing worse than a manager who is happy one day and miserable the next, it puts staff on edge for what they might be facing when they come into work.

Agree with this. I used to have a manager who was mostly nice but awful if she'd had a falling out with her husband and would come to work and be vile to everyone.

When I was a team manager I always made sure to put myself between my team and line management above. I didn't micromanage and prioritised their wellbeing/development etc.

Someone who values all team members regardless of their 'level/grade'. Listens to everyone POV and then makes a decision on how they want it to run and justifies.

I personally prefer someone who I know isn't afraid to take charge but who won't micromanage when people are getting on with their roles as they should.

I’m a team leader. I think honesty is important, treating people how you yourself would like to be treated, praise where it is deserved, nipping issues in the bud otherwise your team will not respect you. And I like to lead by example, i do not ask my team to do anything I wouldn’t do myself such as stay late to meet a deadline, be able to do the work yourself. Hope this helps OP

I think not expecting anyone to do something you are not willing to do yourself and pitching in to help wherever needed.

Someone who is able to communicate clear expectations. Someone who can give constructive feedback in a concrete understandable way.

Someone prepared to work alongside their staff.
Someone who treats staff equally.
Someone who doesn’t shift their workload onto others whilst exclaiming the difficulties of their workload.
Someone who is clear, calm and consistent.

Thank you

The most respected manager where I work is the one that no one realises is a manager. He's very much one of us, doesn't treat people like he's better than them and there is no divide between what he considers his work and our work. The sorry state of the store on monday morning is everyone's problem and he is as likely to be mopping the floor as we are.

He's very softly spoken, I've heard him shout maybe once in the 2 years I've been there and doesn't play the blame game. If someone cocks up it's a case of "a mistake was made" rather than "x made a mistake." Very rarely needs to throw his weight around and if he does need to pull someone up on something, it's done quietly and calmly and move on.

Look after your team and don't leave them to take abuse. Back them up every time. Obviously a lot of things are job specific but go for friendly, approachable and not the boss people are afraid to admit it to if they fuck up.

Great thread. Now I can see exactly where I've been going wrong.

Weirdly, none of the team leaders I've had fit the 'ideal' descriptions above, but they've all been promoted and done very well for themselves. It's a funny old world.

When I first got promoted to a managerial role my new manager gave me some words of advice - don't be a twat. Which I have to say have served me well. Treat people how you would like to be treated.

It's also important to remember that your team will be made up of people who have different needs and wants from their job. Some will be ambitious and want to develop and be promoted. Some will just be happy to be doing a job they enjoy and want nothing more and some might be struggling and finding it hard going.

Don't treat them all the same. Offer development opportunities to those that want them and actively support them, when you are sure that those who are just happy doing the job don't want development opportunities leave them be whilst ensuring they know that option is there if they want it and give those who are struggling the support and encouragement they need.

A former colleague of mine ended up taking early retirement from a job she absolutely loved and was brilliant at because her new manager was absolutely obsessed with everyone being developed for promotion. The new manager would not leave her alone to just get on with her job despite being told repeatedly she was not interested in promotion. There were endless suggestions of training courses, qualifications and development opportunities she should take up, none of which would have made a difference to the job she was doing.

I think the don’t be a twat message is a good one
I did well before in secondment and got offered permanent, but a cheating dh at the time meant my world crashed.Quite a few years later and the confidence goes a bit!
I’ve always been a worker so definitely am happiest mucking in with team.
The theme running through this thread is one of a relaxed person.