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5 basic leadership skills to lead a team

5 basic leadership skills to lead a team

March 29, 2024

Whether in our workplace, as class delegates or captains in our sports team, most people ever find themselves in life in a position that implies the management of a group . It is evident that it is a complicated task, and to prove it, we have only to see how the dynamics of a class change among its different teachers, or how the students of that class change if they are introduced in a different one (although in this last example other variables of a group nature also affect).

There are people who have an intuitive ability in the management of groups and others who cost more, so, it is said, the leaders are born.


However, psychology often advocates the possibility of change and, therefore, argues that there are different strategies to train in leadership. Next, we will see what all of them are based on: the fundamental leadership skills .

  • Related article: "Types of Leadership: The 5 most common leader classes"

5 essential leadership skills

Leadership does not cease to be a role and, therefore, a set of observable and consequently trainable behaviors. We can define the leader as the member of the group that manages to direct the behavior of the rest of the members towards the direction he wants. Thus, to be a leader it is not enough to send , distribute tasks or structure a plan, but it is necessary to get committed to those with your cause (with your goal), and earn your trust. For this, certain social skills are very important.


1. Honesty

To begin with, a high transparency and sincerity regarding the work of the different members of the group . In other words, it is important that everyone understands what their task is for, and how it relates to the fulfillment of common goals and thus to the benefit of all. To do this, a climate of trust must be established, and everyone should feel safe to ask questions or propose alternatives. And, how do we transmit all this?

Well, speaking, of course. But not only through words.

2. Mastery of verbal and nonverbal communication

Both verbal and nonverbal communication are of vital importance when it comes to directing groups, and we need to express everything we want that our group knows. Now, there will be those uncomfortable moments in which we are forced to reject a proposal or demand more from one of our colleagues. For this there are different communication strategies. Among them, we must emphasize assertiveness.


3. Assertiveness

Assertiveness consists in being able to communicate what we want while maintaining good relations . Specifically, it consists of talking about behaviors instead of essences ("you do X" better than "you are X") since the behaviors are susceptible to change, about the future instead of the past ("beam X" instead of " you have done Y "), since the past can not be changed, or positive instead of negative (" do X "instead of" do not do Y ") ... This ability constitutes one of the basic leadership skills to be in tune with the teams.

  • Maybe you're interested: "Assertiveness: 5 basic habits to improve communication"

4. Feedback control

In addition, we must take into account the administration of feedback, that is, the information we give our groups about their performance, attitude and behavior related to their work in general. The feedback can be positive or negative. When it's positive, there's no problem, we can manage it practically in any way, but when you have to correct some behavior , we can put in danger the self-esteem and the self-efficacy of our interlocutor, psychological characteristics that we need that are on top of him. For this, it is recommended to administer the negative feedback in private, without witnesses before whom our listener has to defend their pride.


In addition, it is recommended to start by giving positive feedback (something will have done well), include the negative assertively, and finish with a note of encouragement. It is what is known, outside of jokes, like the sandwich method.

5. Active listening

Also, saying things is fine, saying them correctly, much better, but later, if our words are not backed by our example and our behaviors, we will lose something vital for a leader: credibility. Therefore, it is important exercise an active listening when the group or its components transmit their opinions or doubts. Let them finish their sentences, respond to the need they are expressing, make sure they have been satisfied and, above all, have a lot of empathy and know how to put yourself in their place.


For this reason, group management is a very complicated task, and there are people with an innate ability to carry it out but, like all psychological skills, It is likely to be optimized with good mental training .

In UPAD Psychology and Coaching we work with all kinds of people (athletes, managers, team leaders, etc.) in the psychological skills that intervene in the leadership of groups with the aim of enhancing their performance, welfare and satisfaction. Therefore, we know that leadership is not based on unidirectional processes, but on a set of skills that allow establishing a balance between oneself and the rest.


Learn how to manage people and be a better leader (March 2024).


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