Team dependent

 

I have had my fair share of bosses in my everyday job. I've had bad team leaders, pleasant ones, smart ones, and once I had the best team leader.  

While all people desire to be needed and respected in a working environment, I have noticed generally two types of behaviors that contribute to someone being a good or a bad team leader. Don't get me wrong, at the end of the day, most of the teams/companies deliver their products, the difference is weather the team members enjoy the office time or hate it. 

This desire of team leaders to be respected, needed and liked goes in two directions

Leaders who know everything

Approximate characteristics of these profiles:

• They poses great technical knowledge
• They don't share the knowledge unless explicitly asked. Even then, they provide vague answers and never to the point. This gives them the power of a favor, "if I told you how to do something, then you owe me"
• They want to be called when no one else can solve the problem, but never take responsibility if they can't solve the problem themselves, they will go to a blaming rampage that the product or conditions are bad
• They make all the decisions alone, never transparently, because someone might have a better idea, and then they lose the throne
• Every suggestion is always met with an attack: What more can you do with your solution, that you cant with mine? 
• Usually stick to old technologies and methodologies and expect the world to conform to them, instead of evolving together with the team
• They expect for team members to be longing for their inclination and good will to help them. 
• They micro manage and don't give the people the option to choose: "Do as I say", syndrome
• Never recognize a persons contribution in any area, but themselves 

Leaders who want their team to know everything

• They poses great organizational skills, and rely on the whole team technical knowledge base
• They are the glue and the shield of the team, nothing more
• They are aware that they don't have to know everything, nor to be idolized by the team members
• They don't have solution for every problem that might come along. They just believe the team can solve anything if they put their heads together provided sufficient time
• They lay the ground work, document as much as possible and educate the team, then let team pick up from there and get up to speed, so they finalize the product
• They stick to a schedule and respect each persons time, they don't call and disturb staff whenever they feel like it
• They don't ask extensive reports from team members of what they did today, they look for the results and try to see the big picture
• They motivate team members to take pride in their choice in technology and present the others why this new thing is better
• They genuinely care about their team members, because they know the team health is more important than overshooting the deadline for one day

So, which one do you think is better and do you like going to work?