How to create leadership in groups and teams, in 8 key ideas.

Several guidelines to build a solid leadership based on credibility and mutual respect.

Leadership is an ingredient capable of making the potential of a group of people take a qualitative leap. It is not just a matter of coordinating and encouraging cooperation among the members of a group. It is also about motivating, setting an example, making sure that the work method does not lead to wasted efforts, etc.

In this article we will look at several key ideas on how to create leadership in situations that require this role.

How to create leadership in a group

Although leadership is a complex phenomenon, fortunately it is possible to learn how to be a leader. In the following lines we will see the fundamental ideas from which we must start to adopt the role of leader.

1. Do not appeal to authority

The fact of justifying one's leadership based only on the supposed authority that one has, in most of the occasions, only takes away credibility from the person who does it, only detracts from the credibility of the person doing it..

This is because leadership is not something you have as you might have an object, but something you exercise; you demonstrate it by what you do and what you say. Moreover, in this way that authority is not seen as something imposed and artificial.

The only case in which it is necessary to appeal to authority is when it is very clear that there is nothing to discuss and everyone can see very clearly that continuing to question a decision only serves to waste valuable time.

2. Perfect your communication skills

Communication is fundamental to be a leader. Misunderstandings and lack of transparency are dysfunctional for cooperation and collective work.

Thus, it is necessary to polish both the verbal and non-verbal aspects of communication. Which brings us to the following idea.

3. Don't assume that the other person knows what you know.

Each person has his or her skills and competencies, but he or she also has blind spots in terms of knowledge. That is why it is important to think at every moment about the information that other people have or do not have when communicating with them..

4. Don't confuse leadership with arrogance

Many people, when they think of the concept of leadership, associate it with the idea of arrogance. However, this is a mistake for several reasons, and one of them is that leadership only makes sense in the context of the group.It is therefore necessary that several people participate in a group or team for there to be a leader. The latter needs the others, but not all collectives need a leader.

5. Do not use the group as therapy

A leader is important for the group because he/she is closely linked to the common goals. Therefore, he cannot abuse the authority granted to him by others to relieve tensions by creating conflicts with people in his charge. This, in addition to being unethical, is besides being unethical, is very detrimental to the group as a whole..

6. Make sure that there are always objectives to achieve

All parts of an organization or group must move according to concrete objectives to achieve. If this is not the case, stagnation will appear.If this is not the case, stagnation will appear, and it is even very possible that parts of the group will leave due to lack of motivation and incentives in general.

7. Practice assertiveness

When learning the steps on how to be a leader, it is essential to fully adopt an assertive communication style. That is, to be able to respect others at all times, while at the same time defending the appropriateness of the decisions you have made.

This is because some people, in order not to displease others, do not communicate certain problems This is because some people, in order not to displease, do not communicate certain problems related to the work done by one person or several members of the organization, so that these weaknesses become chronic. There is no need to avoid slightly awkward moments so long as everything is a torrent of continuous praise. If someone makes mistakes, they must be communicated.

8. Explain why things happen

It is important that everyone understands the logic behind a leader's decisions. This is because the appearance of arbitrariness in leadership greatly erodes the leader's authority, even when technically what he or she is doing makes sense and is effective in moving toward a joint goal.

Bibliographical references:

• Gutiérrez Valdebenito, O. (2015). Leadership studies of men and women. Revista Política y Estrategia N° 126, 13-35.
• Trevisani, Daniele. (2016). Communication for Leadership: Coaching Leadership Skills (2 ed.). Ferrara: Medialab Research. p. 21.