How would you guide a team member struggling with leadership responsibilities?

Identifying the specific areas where a team member struggles with leadership is key to their growth. Start with open communication—invite them to express their challenges and concerns. Complement this with careful observation of their interactions and decision-making processes. Are they finding it difficult to delegate or make confident decisions? Pinpointing these challenges allows you to provide more targeted guidance, ensuring that your support is relevant and effective in helping them overcome their leadership hurdles.

The single best approach is to engage your team in 1:1s to build a trusting and supportive relationship. From this relationship, suggestions are not taken as a negative, but rather in the spirit intended from the history established. In these 1:1s, it is okay to share observations, but these must always be followed with an honest curiosity. Seek to understand why. Ask more questions and do not be preparing your response before you hear the answers. If they are new to leadership, they will almost certainly require mentorship. Mentorship is never a caustic thing, it should be used to build up and prepare for more. Assign smaller problems, witness the results, provide feedback, assign larger problems. Repeat as necessary.

Consider providing one-on-one mentoring sessions where you can share your own leadership experiences and strategies. Additionally, encourage them to seek feedback from their peers and direct reports. This broader perspective can give them valuable insights into their leadership style and help identify areas for improvement, ultimately leading to more effective and well-rounded leadership.

Management's job is to assist others to win. Look for opportunities to provide feedback, encouragement, and support. If the person is struggling, ask questions to understand what the difficulty is. Most people can do the job, but they feel either overwhelmed, under appreciated, or lost because of little input. As mentioned earlier, mentorship is a great teamwork effort to improve another's performance. The mentor should be asking questions, and listening. Only after listening should advice or exercises be offered.

Encourage your team member to engage in workshops or training sessions that target specific areas for improvement, like communication, conflict resolution, or time management. These learning opportunities not only enhance their capabilities but also show that you are committed to their professional development and the overall success of the team. Investing in their growth fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement, which benefits everyone involved.

The best way to build up someone is to give them tasks that require more and more effort over time. In all of this, observe, support and offer suggestions for improvement. The goal is to get the person better, not tear them down. There are many training programs available online, such as Udemy and LinkedIn Learning that provide invaluable education. Use these courses to both free up your own time and give your mentee a deeper dive than perhaps you are able in the limited time you have together.

Leadership development is a continuous process. In today's hyper evolving world & generational shift, it takes no time for skills to get redundant. Today's leaders need to be extremely crafty, practical, resilient & adaptable. Leadership is not about ranks, it's about mindset. To help a team member struggling with leadership responsibilities, begin with supporting them with Goal Setting, delegation methodologies & indeed positive mindset. Have inclusive discussions & encourage diverse perspective to create a shared purpose & goal. Set clear expectation & encourage accountability. Use methods like SMART, WOOP or HARD to help them in their leadership journey. Most importantly, emphasise of communication with transparency.

Setting clear and achievable goals is a crucial aspect of leadership development. Collaborating with your team member to establish SMART goals not only provides them with a clear path forward but also helps them measure their progress effectively. Celebrating small victories along the way is equally important, as it reinforces their growth, boosts confidence, and keeps them motivated. This approach ensures that their leadership journey is both structured and rewarding, leading to meaningful development.

In order to support a struggling team member, hand holding is important. At the same time autonomy in work leads to encouragement & helps in developing active decision making skill. Trust the person's ability, skills & competency to manage tasks & people associated with tasks. Provide guidance with constructive feedback. Offer support when faced with a hard wall but do not micromanage. Use encouragement as a method to propel forward & be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise. Ask questions instead of giving orders. Encourage your Team member by giving them a reputation to live for, infant of other leaders & Team members.