At their best, team leaders bring harmony and organization to the team around them. They create a positive atmosphere, motivate other team members and ensure the job gets done. At their worst, they can create an air of negativity, de-motivate other people and ultimately cause the failure of a project. This tutorial looks at the role that team leaders play in the modern workplace and examines in detail the key characteristics that are required to become an effective team leader.

Objectives
On completion you will be able to:

• Explain the role of a team leader
• List the characteristics required of an effective team leader