If you’ve never been in a management or senior leadership position, then you might have assumed that team leadership is all about sitting back, giving out orders, writing reports, and ‘making things happen’.
On the contrary, far from it! Here are 10 popular ideas about team leadership that simply aren’t true:
Idea #1: Leaders Always Follow Paths Forged By Others
No, they don’t!
Something many professionals misunderstand and even take for granted about team leadership is that just because someone is a manager, they have to go in first. They have to be the one to pave the way first as ‘the way’ never existed before they came along.
Even if something has already been done in the leadership books, most successful leaders today are forging a new way – a way which requires a great deal of trial and error, and a willingness to do things differently. This willingness and courage to trust oneself deeply and do things in a fresh, unique way is what helps leaders champion a new vision.
In fact, many of them are even enrolling into team leader courses to better understand how to craft their own vision, rather than follow in the footsteps of other leaders.
Idea #2: Managing People Is “Oh, So Easy”
Well, it can certainly look that way to the casual observer.
However, most people, when observing their managers, have a natural tendency to judge them and even question their performance. They might even go as far as to criticise their communication skills or question their ability to prioritise what’s important. Many people reporting to management also believe that, if given the opportunity, they would handle teams more effectively.
In reality, the complexities of managing a team and the sheer amount of time as well as effort that goes into it, is something most people either don’t understand or don’t want to acknowledge.
While managing people is tough, the most selfless leaders dedicate most of their day toward helping their team members, while leaving little time to meet their own priorities.
Idea #3: A Person’s Current Position Determines Their Leadership Potential
This is a flat out wrong notion.
A job title definitely does not make a manager. Leadership skills are something anyone can develop. For a fact, there is untapped leadership potential in each of us, no matter what our position or job title.
You might have unknowingly flexed your leadership skills a little in an office discussion, a project, or even while resolving a conflict – without actually realising it. Leadership is a way of getting things done and not merely a job title or position.
Idea #4: Leaders Should Always Hold Others Accountable First
There may be some truth to this but let’s really take this apart:
Holding others accountable is not something leaders should be doing first and foremost. What they should do, and what great managers do, is to hold themselves accountable first. They first questions themselves: how am I spending the bulk of my time? Am I putting ‘first things first’? Do I have a clear vision the team can understand and follow? Am I transparently demonstrating what integrity and credibility is?
Accountability is based on the ability to balance power and control with responsibility. It’s that junction where leaders have a chance to become authentic.
Idea #5: Team Leadership Is A Top-Down Management Process Only
It can certainly appear that way when you initially start working somewhere although this is another misconception or ‘popular idea’ about team leadership.
It’s not always the manager making decisions, and handing down specific roles and tasks to each member. Effective team leadership takes a collaborative and participative approach, where every team member is involved in the planning, execution, and evaluation of each respective task.
This enhances the team’s ownership, commitment, and accountability. Not only that but it improves their knowledge, skills, and even how creatively they take on each task.
Idea #6: Disagreement With A Team Leader Shows Disrespect
This happens to be a very popular myth about team leadership: disagreement equals disrespect.
Now, it’s understandable that when someone on the team pipes up with their own viewpoint and disagrees with the boss’s idea, the latter might become defensive and dismissive. And, while some leaders do actually take offense to this, most disagreements on a team can be healthy.
When everyone feels free to speak up, express themselves openly, and admit to individual failures, it can increase their sense of psychological safety. Furthermore, by encouraging people on your team to disagree respectfully with you, you are making their psychological safety net wider and stronger.
Conflict and disagreement can always be transformed into opportunities for collaboration. As a matter of fact, task-focused disagreement can help improve ideas, and also let everyone on the team know that their opinions are highly valued.
Idea #7: Leaders Are Immune To Making Mistakes
Another common misconception is that leaders have this incredible ability to make flawless decisions. And this assumption has frequently led to the notion that they are incredible people who project enviable strength and resilience.
Truth be told: effective team leadership is very, very nuanced. The best people tend to recognise their strengths in their vulnerability or the mistakes they make. They’re quick to acknowledge that effective decision-making is a non-stop learning process.
When leaders create an environment where everyone is encouraged to learn from their failures and mistakes (including themselves), it helps them connect on an authentic level with their teams. The kind of connection that fosters a sense of trust and openness.
Final Thoughts
In closing, great team leadership is a multifaceted skill. It requires adaptability, a willingness to learn and grow, and self-awareness, among other things.
By understanding and also challenging these common ideas as well as myths around team leadership, in addition to maybe taking a few courses – anyone in this position can create a more productive, fulfilling, and positive team environment.