Whether you’re brand new to team leadership or you’ve been managing people for years, there’s always value in pausing to reflect on how things are going. Team dynamics, people challenges, and workplace expectations evolve – and sometimes, without realising it, we slip into habits that don’t serve us or our team. And if you’ve never had any team leader training, you might have been winging it, and decided now is the time to give yourself a performance review.
Leadership is a journey of continuous learning, and sometimes, the signs that you could benefit from some targeted team leader training are right in front of you, so long as you’re willing to open your eyes to them.
If you’re wondering whether it might be time to invest in some development, here are five signs that team leader training could give you (and your team) a much-needed boost.
1. You’re doing all the talking in team meetings and one-on-ones
Do your team meetings feel more like a monologue than a dialogue? Are your one-on-one conversations dominated by your voice, with little input from your team members? This can be a sign that you’re not fully leveraging your team’s collective intelligence and potential. When leaders do all the talking, it can stifle creativity, reduce engagement, and prevent valuable insights from surfacing. Your team might feel disempowered or simply just used to you having all the answers and are probably thinking ‘why bother’.
What to do: Focus on active listening, asking open-ended questions, and creating opportunities for team members to share their perspectives and take ownership of discussions. A good team leader training program will include active listening and questioning techniques.
2. People have started coming in late and absences are creeping up
A noticeable decline in punctuality and an increase in absences can be a subtle yet significant red flag. We like to call it the ‘canary in the coal mine’.
This might not just be a case of poor timekeeping or health problems. It can be a sign that motivation, connection, or team culture needs attention. Often, it’s not about the hours – it’s about how people feel when they’re at work. While individual circumstances play a role, a pattern across the team could indicate underlying issues related to morale, engagement, or even a lack of clear direction. When team members don’t feel motivated or connected to their work, or they perceive a lack of accountability, their commitment can wane, leading to attendance issues.
What to do: Don’t go in heavy-handed and setting out expectations for timekeeping. Be curious and ask questions about what you’ve observed. Explore the root causes behind these trends, focusing on fostering a positive team culture, clear expectations, and effective communication about attendance policies and their impact. A good team leader training program will give you the skills to start these difficult conversations.
3. People aren’t giving you work to the standard that you need
Whether it’s missed deadlines, careless mistakes, or half-hearted efforts, poor quality work puts pressure on you as the team leader. It might feel easier to fix it yourself (again), but over time, that leads to burnout and frustration.
Often, the issue isn’t just capability – it’s clarity, expectations, or feedback. Team leader training can help you shift from “doing” to “leading,” giving you the tools to set standards, delegate effectively, and support people to lift their game.
What to do: Learn how to communicate expectations, delegate effectively, provide constructive feedback, and empowering team members to take ownership of their work quality through coaching techniques (all part of our team leader training 8-week program!).
4. You’re constantly firefighting and feel overwhelmed
Do you spend most of your day reacting to urgent issues rather than proactively planning or strategising? If you are spending your days bouncing around between dramas leaving you feeling perpetually behind and exhausted, it’s a strong indication that your leadership approach might need refinement. This ‘firefighting’ mode often stems from a lack of effective delegation, poor time management, or an inability to empower your team to resolve issues independently. You end up being the bottleneck, and both you and your team suffer from the constant pressure.
What to do: Focus on developing delegation skills, prioritising tasks, and building your team’s problem-solving capabilities to reduce your own reactive workload.
5. Your team lacks initiative and relies heavily on you for decisions
This is learned behaviour, or ‘learned helplessness’. If your team members are always coming to you for every small decision, or waiting for your explicit instruction before taking action, it that they’ve become accustomed to you having all the orders and giving strict, detailed instructions. This in turn comes from a lack of consultation with your team. An over-reliance on you can hinder their growth, slow down processes, and ultimately limit your team’s overall effectiveness. It likely is starting to erode at each person’s self-worth as well, as they may feel that they are not getting the opportunity to think and contribute.
What to do: Learn how to empower your team, encourage independent problem-solving, and foster a culture where initiative is rewarded and mistakes are seen as learning opportunities. You might need to reflect on your style, and ask yourself if you could be micromanaging or letting perfectionist tendencies take over. ‘Empowering your team’ sounds difficult and vague, but the right team leader training will give you the skills to do this.
So … do you need team leader training?
Recognising these signs isn’t a weakness; it’s a strength. It shows you’re committed to your growth as a leader and dedicated to the success of your team. If any of these resonate with you, it might be the perfect time to explore how our 8-week team leader development program can equip you with the skills and confidence to transform your leadership approach and empower your team to thrive. Our team leader training covers all of the areas we’ve explored in this article. So if you’ve rated yourself ‘could do better’, then we’ve got the right training for you!
Check out our other related articles that might help you to decide if you need team leader training: The 10 essential skills of a great team leader and 10 signs you’d make a great team leader.
