Exactly a year ago today, I was promoted as an Operations Supervisor, or most commonly known in the BPO industry as a Team Leader. As I mentioned in one of my blog entries, you have to have acquired at least three to five years of experience before you get to be in my post. In my case, it only took me less than two years. Iâm not flexing my ego here and saying how good I am â itâs just one of those âwhen luck and preparation meets opportunityâ moments.
Leading a team for the first time can be daunting. To add to that, I was part of the team of 1-manager-and-6-leaders who launched the brand-spankinâ new line of business in the company. To be honest, I had no idea how my heart was able to take it all in. Thereâs no bedrock of personal experience to build on.
âIf youâre a first-time team leader then youâre probably either relishing the challenge or considering running for the doorâor a bit of both.â â Liquid Planner
Here are the things I have learned during my first year in the role â the good, the bad, and the ugly. I hope these can help you establish and maintain a productive team while developing your leadership skills along the way. I, myself, still have a LOT to learn⌠so letâs journey through this together!
1. Completely embody the role.
As a team leader you need to be visible to the team and available to support them. Yes, we have our fair share of admin tasks and then there is the real-time schedule adherence and conformance that we need to monitor which require us to be in front of our computers all the time. But to be an effective team leader, you need to invest in the role â engage with your team members, walk the floor and help them out.
2. Get to know your team members.
Yes, get to know your team members individually. Find out what makes them tick. Ask them about their short term and long term goals. Ask them about their families, their pets, even their commute to work that day. Getting to know who youâre working with is the first all-important step to bonding with the team and establishing their respect and trust. The old adage of listening twice as much as you speak still holds true.
3. Communicate with everyone.
a. Communicate with your team. Once your team is up and running, itâs imperative to keep the communication going to build relationships, assess progress, and identify risks and issues. Plus, youâll get more engagement from team members if they see you investing time in them and showing interest in their activities. Make expectations and responsibilities clear so that everyone knows whoâs doing what, why and by when. This seems obvious but donât assume everyone has your detailed understanding of the project at hand. Encourage and embrace new ideas.
b. Communicate with your manager. Your manager is your mentor. Especially for a newbie, you have to imagine yourself like a piece of sponge soaking up all the ideas and tips that your manager is bringing to the table. Schedule and one-on-one session, may it be about your numbers or may it be just to run an idea by them. Book a coaching triad session so your manager can give you direct and real-time feedback on how youâre doing and give you tips on how to improve.
c. Communicate with your co-leaders. Most of the time, youâre working with people leaders who have years and years of experience. Ask them for tips; give them hypothetical scenarios and ask their opinion about them. Observe how they coach their team members, observe how they engage with them and observe how their team members perceive them, too.
d. Communicate with HR. You have to make sure that whatever you do and whatever your team members do, you abide by and comply to the company policies. Your HR partners will be able to guide you accordingly.
As a team leader, you have to lead by example. May it be as simple as dressing appropriately and not slouching at your desk to a more tedious task, like taking in phone calls as a frontliner to show them that youâre executing your action plan for the week. Think about the behaviors you want and expect from your team members and be sure to exhibit those traits yourself. Youâre the role model, so what you say and do will impact the teamâs daily work habits and attitudes.
5. Give direction then let go.
Once you get to know your team members individually, youâll be able to gage them on their strengths and weaknesses and know what communication style works best for them. You have to be crystal clear about your goals and let every single one of them scratch and claw to reach those goals in their own way. Make everyone accountable and donât forget to give credit to the team once the goals have been met and exceeded.
6. Reprimand in private; Reward in public.
Be quick to recognize a good performance and reward it where appropriate. A little bit of verbal praise goes a long way in showing your team you are both aware of and appreciative of their achievements. It also doesnât hurt to give them gifts straight out of your pocket sometimes â movie tickets for two, gift certificates, snack packs, etc.
Be equally as timely in tackling poor performance issues. The longer you leave them, the tougher theyâll be to fix. Look for the best in people and understand that mistakes will happen. Behavioral issues sometimes need to be tackled elsewhere â step out of the building where your team member doesnât feel intimidated by the office set up and talk to them, peer-to-peer.
  7. Be proactive; Ask questions.
Just because your new does not mean you do not have anything to bring to the table. Youâll be surprised to know that there are things that the tenured leaders can pick up from you. Donât hesitate to share what you know. That said, donât be afraid of seeking help (itâs a sign of strength, not weakness). Team management is an ongoing learning process and you will never have all the answers.
8. You will make mistakes.
You will struggle in time management. You will forget to upload your coaching logs in the portal on time, not just once but twice. Youâll miss a lot of deadline. Youâll work extra unpaid hours to compensate on that. But I promise you, you will learn from it.
9. Firing someone for the first time.
Nothing puts a knot in my stomach like having to fire someone. Even when the employee deserves it, taking someoneâs job away is among the hardest tasks any leader has to do. If youâre not comfortable in doing it on your own, ask your manager to come sit with you and help you out. I had a one-on-one talk with my manager prior to me delivering the termination paper to one of my team members. I told him what I was planning to say, he just smoothed it out around the edges and weâre good to go. He sat with me through the whole ordeal and did not leave my side until the employee was escorted out of the building.
Team leadership is often challenging but also rewarding. You have your own little family in the workplace. Once youâre invested in them, youâll definitely gain their trust and loyalty in return. They will always have your back. Leading up a team thatâs working well and delivering results is a great feeling, so go and strive for it! I do so everyday.
  Iâd like to take this opportunity to dedicate this entry to the following people:
Paulo Gatapia ⢠Shai Roxas ⢠Abi Cruz ⢠Joker Espiritu ⢠Cesar Balmaceda ⢠Armie Tolentino ⢠Francis Bueno ⢠Kevin Rivera ⢠Chiqui Sayson ⢠Noah Acosta ⢠Chuma Musokotwane ⢠Naryan Wong ⢠Ivy Canlas ⢠Heidi Manrique ⢠John Valencia ⢠Jaymie Basbas ⢠Noni Celis ⢠Paolo Monzon ⢠Ada Aguirre ⢠Glenn Baggao ⢠Gracie Roon ⢠Hazel Godeloson ⢠Maureen Laoan ⢠Team Raine 2017 ⢠Team Raine 2018 ⢠Familia Gatapia
Round-Up: 10 Things a Rookie Leader Should Do and Expect Exactly a year ago today, I was promoted as an Operations Supervisor, or most commonly known in the BPO industry as a Team Leader.
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