Be honest about yourself as a leader, what you have experience in and what you don’t.  Know what you want and need from your staff and what your boundaries are. Be a role model for the values and behaviours you want from your staff. What are the things you stand for as a leader? What sort of leader are you going to be?

2. Encourage openness 

Teams with an open ethic tend to be more successful. Encourage your team to share issues and challenges openly and set an example yourself in what you share with the team. How are you going to involve them in your thought processes?

Let your staff know exactly what you expect from them in terms of roles and behaviour. Describe your ideas/vision for how the team will work together. Does everyone know their role, what the team is trying to do and the behaviour expected within the team? How are team members expected to support each other?

When you ask someone to do something, be clear on why you are asking them to do it and exactly what you are asking them to do and when. Explain your reasoning honestly and clearly. What is the end point you are seeking? What will you be happy/not happy with? Exactly what are you thinking of?

When you have asked someone to do something – follow-up. Decide how you are going to reward a job well done and how you are going to provide honest feedback for a job that does not meet your expectations. Be sure to reward the behaviours and tasks you want to encourage – and be clear about the things you are not happy with. How are you going to let people know they’ve done a great job?

Keep your team up to date with what is going on – you cannot over communicate. Always think – who needs to know this. Get your team together regularly to catch up on updates, issues and challenges and meet with your staff individually to discuss things better tackled one on one. What are the key things you want to tell your team today? Have you talked to each member of your team today? How are you encouraging them to talk to you?

Relationships make the world go round and people like to do things for people they like and respect. Get to know your team as individuals and respect the diversity within your team. Do you know what makes each person tick? What tasks do they enjoy? What unique contribution do they bring to your team?

If you don’t listen to your team you won’t know what is really going on. Great leaders listen in a non-judgemental way and usually find the answers they need. How are you going to demonstrate your listening skills? How are you going ensure each of your team is listened to?

As the leader of the team you set the tone for what happens in your team. If you want people to acknowledge and respect each other you can make this happen. What great teams have you been part of before? Can you recreate that feeling in this team?

10 . Be honest about what is going on  

Keep checking how things are going. If something is not working – don’t ignore it. Be honest with yourself and honest with the team. What is the first step you are going to take? What is the outcome you want?