Leadership is probably the toughest vocation. Keeping the team motivated, delivering quality results on time, and trying to make your team more productive and efficient are all difficult tasks.
If you are a team leader, a tech lead or a manager in a Software firm, you must constantly be thinking about getting the projects done better and faster. Whichever level of productivity your team is in right now, you know they can do better. And as a leader, if only you can help them achieve their potential and make them more efficient and productive, that’s a win-win for both sides.
Practice the below suggestions to make your team work as a cohesive unit and as a result, increase the team’s efficiency and productivity:
Know your Team
It may feel weird, but, indeed, most leaders do not know their team members as well as they should.
Try to know them better, about their experience, their personal life, their likes and dislikes, their technical inclination, projects they have done in the past, past teams, and work environments they have been in before through casual conversations with them.
Such conversations may reveal a lot about a team member and what he can and can’t do and may help you in assigning a particular type of work or understanding how he may behave under certain circumstance.
If you have such information with you, you can make informed decisions, reduce project risks and as a bonus sometimes form a life long friendship. Also, you may get to learn new things from their experiences that can help you with project execution.
Make Them Understand
The root cause of most Software bugs is either because the requirements weren’t clear or were misunderstood by the developer. As a leader, it’s your primary job to make sure that your team and team members understand ‘what’ they have to do as well as ‘why’ they have to do that.
You need to apply different tactics with different team members; some may be quick to grasp; for some, you need to repeat it multiple times. It’s always better to ask team members to repeat their understanding of the task or document it and get a confirmation before beginning the work.
Also, during task execution, do a few checks to ensure the task is progressing as explained, and there are no surprises in the end.
Honest and Timely Feedback
Feedback is a continuous process. It can’t just be annual or quarterly. As a leader, you monitor the team members working every day. And on days when you notice the work is straying from their usual work pattern, try to understand the reason and if it continues for a while, have a talk with them and let them know your feedback.
Alternatively, if the performance of a team member has improved or exceeded expectations, don’t wait for the ceremonies and milestones to appraise him. Give him that pat on the back, a well done, a thank you right then and there. Such instantaneous feedback is always better and more cherished than a delayed one.
Give honest feedback, don’t sugarcoat it, neither subdue it. If the performance is not right, tell the team member why do you think so and what you think he should do to improve. Also, assure them of your support while they work on improvements.
Have regular meetings as feasible and make such meetings comfortable enough for team members so that they can open up and discuss any challenges they are facing. Not always, such meetings have to be about feedback; sometimes, it can simply be a casual chat if there is nothing substantial to discuss.
Be There when they Need You
A leader is needed the most when things go wrong. The team needs a guide, a mentor, an experienced captain during turbulence to help them weather the storm. Your respect as a leader will increase manifolds if you are with the team when they need you.
Such situations need not be project related; sometimes, a team member could be undergoing a rough patch in his life. You need to assure him that he has all the support he needs and that your relationship is not just constrained to work.
You are Part of the Team
The right phrase is ‘our team’ and not ‘my team.’ Often the leaders make a mistake about it. The team belongs to everyone working in it. Different members have different roles; yours is to guide and support the team members.
You are part of the team and not just a lead or manager. And you need to make that clear to yourself and your team members. As a team member, you should help the team in whatever way possible. Your job profile could be different, but if the team needs, then you should be able to do some of their tasks as well.