Three Ways to Support Your Team
One specific similarity exists between a coach with a staff, a manager with several direct reports, and a department head in an academic setting: they are all charged with leading a group of people. Perhaps you fit into one of the aforementioned categories or maybe you find yourself in a realm outside of the ones listed above.
Either way, if you are in a leadership role then finding ways to support your team are valuable. Here are three practical ways you can better support your team:
Ask better questions. Instead of rushing to give advice and find a solution for your team, you should stay curious a little longer, ask better questions, and allow your team to come to the answer on their own. As a leader, you shouldn't be expected to have answers all the time; that's unreasonable and unrealistic. But you can ask better questions to help point them in the right direction. Book recommendation: The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier.
Speak their language. If you're serious about supporting your team, then learning their Enneagram number and Love Language need to be priorities. These provide rare insight into the innerworkings of each person's DNA and, if applied appropriately, will completely transform your relationships with your team. Speaking the same language as your team will always hold exceptional value. Book recommendation: The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile and The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.
Do for one what you cannot do for all. Have you ever heard of The Starfish Story? It’s okay to sometimes feel inadequate in your leadership role. While you cannot meet every need of every team member, meeting one need of one team member that will help him or her succeed is always a win. Book recommendation: Give and Take by Adam Grant.
Twenty-first century leaders are different than brash and militaristic leaders of the past. You need to emphasize serving and supporting your team, not the other way around. These three simple ways to support your team are just the start of a larger conversation, and hopefully that conversation has already begun. You are responsible for leading a group of people; lead them.