5 common mistakes of tech team leaders

We have chosen 5 common mistakes of tech team leader, which you will read about in this article. If you do everything to avoid it, them you will increase the chance of your project’s success.

1. Poor communication

The way in which the team communicates with the team leader is very important in context of effective implementation of a project. Communication can be carried out in two different ways – directly or electronically. Team leader should always remember to provide understandable and precise information. Not everything that is clear from their perspective is the same for a recipient.

That is why at the first stage of a project it is worth presenting specific communication rules that will be accepted by the team. Team leader can suggest their proven schemes, but cannot impose their will at any cost. It’s all about mutual understanding. In IT projects, tools are often used to improve communication in a team. They can be instant messengers (eg. Slack) or a project management tool (eg. Jira or Trello).

2. Imprecise definition of goals

Each project should have a clearly defined goal which the whole team will strive to. This approach will strengthen all members’ commitment. In this case, so-called ‘small goals’ method could improve your work. It can be specifically applied in complex projects. If your team is working on a specific product functionality, it is worth setting ‘smaller goals’. Several of such ‘smaller goals’ will bring the team closer to achieving their final goal.

To make this possible, the team leader should organize a meeting of the whole team to present the way of work and inform introduce the goals. You also need to make sure that they are understandable and accepted by members.

3. Incorrect feedback

If you are a team leader and manage your team, a skillful feedback is a thing to constantly bear in mind. Verification of team’s work, consulting and, sometimes, helping to solve problems – all of this is the part of your responsibilities. It is important as well that the form of your message is understandable to the recipient. Try to give your feedback in a simple way. Finally, you should verify and make sure that the you mutually understand each other correctly.

The role of feedback cannot be underestimated. Particularly in IT projects, where information and knowledge exchange often occurs. Effective feedback speeds up work and minimizes any risks of later mistakes.

4. Excessive control

Team leader must have confidence in their employees. There is no chance of success without it. Over-controlling the work of others limits their freedom, creativity and flexibility. Trust is the ultimate foundation. Employees must feel that they are being trusted. Thanks to this, they will appreciate their position in the team, which will directly affect motivation.

Of course, sometimes situations occur where control is necessary. Then, however, it is worth carrying it out in a way where your employee doesn’t feel any pressure or suspects you of any disbelief.

5. Hurried recruitment

Sometimes a team leader participates in recruitment processes. The basic mistake is a hasty recruitment. Usually it comes to the moment when a project should start, but there are no employees to implement it. In this situation, it is not difficult to make mistakes and hire the wrong people. Therefore, it is necessary to work on the predictability of the process. If you are to be responsible for a given project, make sure that the subsequent recruitment effects will not be a factor determining its success.

In fact, there is nothing wrong with recruiting for a specific project. It is important not to make the project’s success conditional. A newly recruited person can be a good complement to your team, but not the key. Remember that a new employee usually needs time to adapt to your work style and fill in any missing knowledge.