A Team Lead can either break it or make it, so having a good Team Lead becomes crucial for any organization. Good Team Leads can make their team members stay in the house, bad ones can make them leave.

When contemplating a job offer or the possibility of switching jobs, many professionals also consider their potential future Team Leads and their potential impact on their careers: Will they understand me and provide me with sufficient support and feedback? Will I feel valued, and will my work be meaningful? Will we trust each other? So many questions can rush through one's mind at this point. 

The role of trust and workplace well-being

Trust is one of the most essential cornerstones of good company culture, and it cannot exist without interaction. Teams built trust through a culture of listening, and this is where Team Leads play a central role. Team Leads are at the heart of well-being in the work community, and the support they provide plays a significant role in workplace well-being (Böckerman et al., 2017). 

Team Leads have become even more critical as we have moved almost entirely to remote work. Gauging the atmosphere and energy levels of one's team members has become more critical than ever and requires a whole new set of skills. The importance of trust and empathy has also increased. A recent study found that trust was the most crucial factor in remote work, and it also identified trust as the foundation of all effective collaboration. The study also found that a good Team Lead is supportive, caring, and motivating. (Sormunen 2020.) 

Frends Team Leads

To answer some of the questions our future employees may have, we would like to shed some light on the work of our Team Leads at Frends. 

The role of Team Leads is one of the key roles in Frends. They are the team members' glue, sparring partners, motivators, and pillars of support. They are not above the team, and we don't use the term 'subordinate' in the company – we are all team members. We are all equal and work together to achieve common goals. 

The Team Leads' role is to encourage and support team members, particularly by monitoring their workload and well-being. Our Team Leads are also involved in day-to-day work, meaning they are closely involved with projects and have a good understanding of the various situations that arise in the workplace. 

Annual employee survey

We examine the satisfaction level with the performance of our Team Leads through a series of questions in our annual employee survey. 

The results have been excellent year after year, and we have been very satisfied with our Team Leads. We also react to requests raised and make changes where necessary. For example, we increased the number of Team Leads when the teams expressed that wish in the survey. 

According to our most recent survey, satisfaction with our Team Leads was at 3.70 (on a scale of 1 to 4).  

The employee survey also revealed (on a scale of 1 to 4) that

Team Leads´ perspective

We also asked our Team Leads for their comments about how they perceive their role and what is important to them in their work.

"For me, it´s important that I can trust my team. Trust is the basis for everything we do, and it is built through openness and honest communication. I want my team members to feel that they can express their opinions.” - Markus.

“A team never boils down to one person; it depends on everyone working together, with team spirit and fairness as important parts. I see the Team Leads´ role as important in growing this, and a big part of that is that the team makes decisions together and takes responsibility for them. Having different perspectives and asking questions complements the team's shared vision of how things should be and how we can get there. I am proud of my team and hope to create a good environment for them to work in." – Erkka.

“I have the privilege of having a very highly professional team that supports each other in everyday work. There are no stupid questions, and all team members are glad to help when needed. All new team members are warmly welcomed. We have acquired a spirit of teamwork with a good sense of humor. I make sure that the everyday challenges at work meet everyone's interests and level of expertise. I value my team for being very open in their communication with me, so I always know if someone needs different kinds of tasks or requires more training in a specific area, etc. Also, a very important part of keeping the team in good spirits is having some out-of-office activities. We have, for exampl,e been bowling together, kart racing, having nice dinners, and so on.” -Jonna

Sources:  

BÖCKERMAN, Petri, KANGASNIEMI, Mari ja KAUHANEN, Antti 2017. Supervisor’s Support and Job Satisfaction. ETLA Brief 57. [Online publication.] Available at:https://www.etla.fi/wp-content...

SORMUNEN, Roosa 2020. The importance of leadership in remote work. [Online publication.] Available at: https://www.theseus.fi/bitstre...