How to become a connecting and servant leader: tips for new leaders

Two weeks ago, we published an interview with Anthony Duffeleer, CEO of Augment, about connecting and servant leadership.

In this interview, we talk with Leslie Gustave, one of the team members of Anthony. How does she perceive her leader?

Based on the interview, we give four advices to new leaders on how to get respect from their new team.

Most troubles in the first months come from the fact that nor the leader neither the team know what they expect from each other.

When you arrive as a new leader, firstly, take the position of the observer.

Take enough time to speak with all team members individually.

Both the new leader and the team must connect to get to know each other and clarify the expectations in both directions.

It happens that you, as a leader, are not the technical expert who understands all the details of the work your team does. No problem. Be humble about that, don’t be frustrated.

Show genuine interest in what your team does, not only in the aspects you understand the most. Also get out of your comfort zone and show curiosity for the aspects you are not familiar with yet. Behave as a learner.

You walk along with your team.

When you have challenging goals, your team must feel that they can rely on you (‘we will get there as one team’).

Ensure that every team member can contribute his/her maximum value to the project you are working on.

Encourage everyone to share his/her view and input actively. It is the only way to benefit from the complementarity and to grow as a team and company.

Also, encourage everyone to stimulate each other to give the best of themselves. A good team pushes each team member to a higher level.