Leadership‿ in the workplace

My name‿ is Tina. I have led‿ a team‿ of six for two years,│ and‿ I have concluded that leadership‿ is mostly the management‿ of‿ information‿ an(d) responsibility,│ not the exercise‿ of‿ authority.

My firs(t) month was‿ a failure. I wanted^wan-did consensus‿ on‿ everything,│ which mean(t) that decisions were never made,│ and‿ accountability was‿ impossible│ because‿ everything had been‿ agreed collectively. Charisma is‿ overrated:│ people follow a leader│ who is transparent‿ about the criteria,│ not one│ who is‿ entertaining. Now I delegate‿ almost‿ everything,│ and‿ I make the final call‿ on the few decisions that belong to me,│ and‿ I say clearly│ which‿ is│ which.

The hardes(t) part‿ is feedback. I praise‿ in public‿ an(d) correct‿ in private,│ and‿ I never blame‿ anybody in front‿ of the others. When‿ I promoted the wrong person las(t) year,│ I explained the mistake to the whole team‿ an(d) changed the criteria,│ which did more for my credibility than‿ any speech would have. A leader│ who cannot be seen to be wrong will be surrounded by people│ who never take‿ an‿ initiative,│ and‿ a team without‿ initiative‿ is just‿ a group‿ of people waiting^wai-ding for‿ instructions.