3 Key Attributes of a Great Leadership Team Member

Leaders shape our organizations, the community, and even the nation. When it comes to team leadership discussions, it’s not all about you because great leadership teams can accelerate performance, but they can also get in their own way and hold back progress. A great team leader possesses various traits that encourage their team members to follow him/her. Most of the time, we are quick to identify bad qualities in a leader, forgetting to look out for what attributes make a great leadership team member. If you are looking at building your first or the best leadership team, this article broadens and helps you understand the three critical attributes of what makes a great leadership team or build your best possible leadership team.

These three key attributes are, one, a leader who wants to develop other leaders, two, someone who can think across the company or departments, and the third critical trait being a leader who has the ability to step up and step aside.

1. A great leadership team member is one who wants to develop other leaders.

The first key attribute of great leadership is a leader who wants to develop other leaders or be willing to grow other leaders. Showing concern for other team players or employees is a great leadership skill. If you have identified someone who is ready to develop others, then he/she possesses the first trait of a great team leadership member. Great leaders not only cheer up the team, but they are also determined to develop and build others to reach their level and take up their spaces. They ensure that good leaders do not become extinct by giving room to others to grow and soon take over from them. Leaders with this particular trait often teach leadership skills across the team. If you want to identify such a leader before hiring them, you need to look out for what motivates this individual. This kind of people do not only want to steal the spotlight for themselves; instead, they want to spread the light on other team members or employees. A good team leader who is willing to build others and sees the criticality of other employees, and cares more about the expectation of building each other. Such a leader not only values individual performance; instead, he/she values teamwork. Great leadership team members set expectations and are comfortable with wanting to build others.

2. A great Leadership team member is one who can think across the company.

The second key attribute of a great leadership team member is thinking across the company and working across the company's many departments. A great leadership team member needs someone who has the ability to see. Someone who can be present in the sales team, customer service, and even the finance or more departments, not just their functional area. Such an individual is skilled in looking beyond their restricted departments. Instead, they go the extra mile of helping teams from different departments and not only focusing on their primary role. This attribute brings out the theoretical aspect in an individual because they get involved in sharing perspectives about the organization across different departments. Such a leader is often open to influencing others and is ready to be influenced as well. An integrated or cross-sectional leadership approach increases the company's functionality and helps thrive and complete projects successfully. You don't need to be highly qualified in a specific field to be an effective cross-sectional team leader within an organization. It's all about stepping out of your game and trying to understand how another department functions, given their roles. Mainly, it involves being compassionate, understanding other people, and getting into their world.

3. A great Leadership Team Member is one who is comfortable stepping up and stepping aside.

It is great to be able to oversee everything, but great leaders give others a chance. The third key attribute for a great leadership team member is someone who is comfortable with stepping up and stepping aside or willing to set up and step aside. A leader that prepares away and steps aside to let others take the lead is a leader who values innovation and collaboration. Great leaders get to appoint delegation and empowering others, and growing other people. It is crucial for a leader to put aside their ego, step aside and allow somebody below them to grow. Any leader with a huge ego doesn't want to develop other people; they are only concerned about themselves shining and leaving out everyone else in their place. A leader with ego is not a collaborator and often refers to their roles as 'my department' instead of 'ours. ’When these broad mindsets are embedded in a company, especially from the leadership, the chances are high that the company targets will be achieved and form the necessary success needed for the greatness of an organization. A great leader never fills up the space that prevents others from stepping up. Instead, they set up room and allow other team members to step into their space.

At the end of the day, we all want leaders who are willing to develop others, a leader who is ready to set up and step aside and see other people grow, and a leader who will operate across different departments of an organization. The above discussed three are major traits you need to look out for in a great leader who will influence team membership. No team wants a leader who lets their ego overrule them and overshadow other people in the group. A good leader’s attributes involve being open to other people's points of view and thoughts, as mentioned above. In the end, ensure that as a leader, you have followers because that is one thing all leaders have in common. These three qualities inspire the team's trust and respect and stimulate production within the workplace. In short, you can strengthen these three attributes if you're open to growth and putting in your time and effort towards a great leadership team member.

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