When moving on to head new teams, it is often tempting to dive in to find similarities between the new team and the previous team. Indeed, for some of us our previous team may be our only reference point for us to base any decisions or comparisons on. While it is certainly effective to find similarities between teams to guide our actions and decisions, more importantly it is crucial to note the differences between the teams that may potentially make the difference.
We have previously discussed the fatal mistake a leader …

The free rein leadership style is one that favours autonomy and abhors control. This model caters for minimal control by the leader or manager and maximum flexibility for the team members. As such, the team leader often takes a back seat role and functions to coordinate and direct the actions of the team rather than dictate it. It is wise to remember that free rein leadership is at the extreme of freedom, away from the extreme of control, and that most teams operate within the continuum between.
The free rein leadership …

Also known as democratic leadership, participative leadership is the most common form of leadership practiced in the corporate world and political scene. The participative leadership model favours decision making by a group. In this model, the leader consults his team and seeks their opinion, making the decision subsequently. Compared to the autocratic leadership model, this model allows the views of the team members to be heard and encourages team members to participate, hence its name. It is worthy to note that in this style of leadership, the decision is still …

It is important that as leaders, we are aware of our own leadership styles, and the effects of it. One of the largest mistakes a leader can make is to be uncertain about his own style of leadership, as when he can’t make up his mind as to what kind of leader he wants to be, he’ll not just create confusion for himself but for his team too. Can you imagine if one fine day your boss wakes up and can’t decide whether he wants to be a dictator or …

Having discussed about the importance of setting standards and several key traits of the standards we should strive to set, we now move forward to discuss how we can achieve buy-in in the standards we set.
I believe that a major problem faced by many new and untested leaders is that they decide upon and set the standards unilaterally, which means to say, on their own, without any inputs from the other members of the team. As a result, the standards set may be seen as unfair or unachievable by the …