Richard Ghilarducci: How to Be a Great Team Leader

 Richard Ghilarducci: How to Stand Out as a Team Leader

Leadership is an important skill that can have many career benefits. Certain qualities are common among great team leaders, so taking time to develop these qualities can help you advance in your career. Richard Ghilarducci explains how to become a great team leader at work.

As a leader, you should continue to prove yourself even after you've earned the position, says Richard Ghilarducci. Here are a few ways to ensure that you're not only leading your team but you're doing it well:

Practice discipline. If you are disciplined at your work, your team members are more likely to follow you and be disciplined as well. Be sure to be punctual, meet deadlines, keep appointments, and end meetings on time.

Communicate often. Offer your team a transparent look into your goals and how you plan to achieve them. This can inspire confidence in your leadership, adds Richard Ghilarducci.

Ask questions. Even the best leaders can still learn from others. This is especially true if you have been assigned to a new team or department, notes Richard Ghilarducci. While you should always lead and inspire, it's important to learn from others as well. Asking questions will show your team that you're open-minded and flexible.

Learn to look ahead. Excellent team leaders should be able to look to the future, predict possible challenges, and find solutions or ways to avoid them altogether. This type of skill can save time, money, and trouble.

Explore your team's career aspirations. Talk with each member of your team about their strengths, areas for improvement, and goals. Through this exercise, you may find some new ways they can contribute to the team. Additionally, showing a sincere interest in your team members' development will help build rapport as well as loyalty.

Cultivate authentic relationships with your team members and coworkers. The best leaders always make every person they interact with feel like they are the only person in the room, says Richard Ghilarducci. Try stopping by a team member's desk and starting an unscheduled conversation. Be human and interact. Continue having these unscheduled conversations with a few coworkers over a week or so, and you may notice your professional relationships change.

During his career that spanned over three decades, Richard Ghilarducci held leadership roles, including as Chief Executive Officer. He was also a community leader and was elected Mayor for three terms. Read more about his leadership, communication, and management insights by following this page.