Team Leaders are funny, caring, considerate, knowledgeable and rationale. You don’t need a title next to your name to be one! Manager, Supervisor, Director, Executive. They are exactly that – titles. Influencing the people around you is a vital skill. Being a team leader is a life skill. It’s a key that can be used to unlock doors.

Are you striving to be a better you? A better team member? More persuasive? Build stronger relationships? Command respect? Try these simple principals for size. They won’t solve all of life’s mysterious, but it will make an impact on your life.
Smile – Command the room. To put this in context, you see someone happy and you see someone sad. Which person would you want to be? Which person do you think others would want to associate with? A smile can be happy, flirtatious, genuine and humorous. Smile at the next person you, see, hold that smile with eye contact, and they will smile back. This will open up the door!

Call a person by their name – Mate, Hun, How are you? Do you recall using these references when you 1) Don’t know a persons name 2) Are not that close with? Get to know people’s names, nicknames, names of their children, parents, partners, pet guinea pig and invisible friend. Now, you’ve opened up the door and you can start to see inside.

Let them speak – Hands up if you like talking about yourself? Well guess what, so do other people! Team leaders put other people first. Ask how someone is and actually listen. You’ll be surprised what you learn. People our now inviting you into their world.

Do a good deed – Heard of Karma? The universe rewards action. When you look in the mirror next, it’s guaranteed whatever face you’re pulling the mirror is pulling the same one back. How does this help you become a team leader? Simple, it’s not always about what other people see. It’s about the things you do while people aren’t watching, that will shape who you are and how you are seen.

Are you a team leader?