What does it mean to build a winning team? In pharma and biotech, teams are crucial to success because they are the key to maintaining and improving efficiency and quality. A team must work together to achieve its common goal, and building an effective team requires essential leadership skills. In short, a team needs great leadership to develop, but leadership is nothing without a great team.
How to Lead a Team Effectively
It is only with the right leadership that a team can maximise its potential. A leader must demonstrate respect for the people they supervise and fully support them. Leadership is about encouraging people but also listening to them – the team is in the thick of it, on the ground, and their experience can provide essential insight into how effective QA and QC processes are in practice. At the same time, the team requires direction and reassurance. This means the leader must shoulder the burden of responsibility and not pass it on to others in the team. Leaders lead by example: they listen but are decisive; they respect other people’s views and communicate freely with them. They stand up for their team.
Shared Team Goals
A team is made up of individuals with complementary skills, and their shared goal is what connects them. A leader may empower team members to act individually, but they must understand how they are to work together, and how they are held accountable. The leader is there to connect the team to the wider organisation and to ensure they have the proper resources to work towards their goals. Defining the team’s shared goals is crucial for effective leadership. This is not simply about delegation and giving instructions – leaders should look for team feedback to refine goals and, where necessary, add to them.
Roles and Responsibilities
A leader must define the roles and responsibilities of individual team members, making sure these are appropriate to individual job titles and role descriptions. This may mean adapting different team members’ roles to reflect their individual skills and characteristics. Defining these roles and responsibilities will also provide clarity for what will be expected baseline performance levels. Throughout this process, having and developing the right communication skills is essential. Teams need support, respect, and trust to work effectively.
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if you think you have the kind of qualities that will make you a valuable asset in pharma or biotech, please contact GXPeople. We specialise in finding the right quality candidates for key roles. We believe that excellence excels.