Choose your leadership style

It is up to you to choose the kind of leadership style that suits you, but you must make a choice. You need to either lead with authority or bring about consensus from the masses.

Decide if you would like to adopt an authoritative style or a democratic and participative style.

Arrangement of office furniture with your team is important.

Keep your own office desk separate from your team so you are seen as a separate entity, though if you are in charge of the day to day running of the team, do make sure you stay close enough to their office desks to keep an eye on the team and to offer support.

Be Practical

Theoretical knowledge is key and unless you can put it into practice, it is of no use. To develop leadership, you need to apply your knowledge at every opportunity you get so your team feel your presence and input.  Ensure you hold regular office meetings to catch up with people’s schedules.  You can have informal office meetings a couple of times a week at your office desks and use the boardroom at least once a week for a weekly catch up meeting.

Carry the Team Along

Without a team there is no leader. You cannot achieve objectives alone. You will have to bring the team together to complete the tasks at hand to maintain this you need to keep a fine balance between strictness and leniency and generate trust with the staff to build a cohesive group. This includes give and take.  As long as team members are completing their tasks they don’t need to sit strapped to their office chair for 8 hours a day.  They need to want to work for you and not feel resentment.

Handling Situations

A leader should be able to handle any situation at hand.   When you have solved a problem that involves your team, ensure that you gather all their attention at a given opportunity even if sat at their office desk and explain what happened and how the issue was solved so they can deal with situations appropriately in the future. They will appreciate the training and shared knowledge.

You will know the level of competence of individual team members and be able to delegate to this advantage.  You will know your team’s personalities such as one of your members who may wander away from their office desk at any given opportunity who needs reeling back in using enthusiasm or clear goals and targets.