While it is generally accepted that self-reliance is one of the best leadership skills, this begs the question of how such a characteristic affects efforts to improve teamwork, and the potential impediment to building high performance teams.

After all, building a team requires great interpersonal skills, enhanced social relations, and clearly defined roles within teams, often involving collaborative tasks toward fulfilling explicit goals.

Yet, if we define self-reliance as the dependence on one’s own powers and resources, rather than those of others, won’t that make improving team work more difficult, rather than less?

Self-Reliance as a Team Building Skill

If you are a leader with a high level of emotional intelligence, you tend to be self-reliant because you have a solid understanding of yourself. Knowing where your strengths and weaknesses lie, your expectations of your own abilities are realistic and channeled toward reaching the goals you set for your team.

• Being confident in your own abilities, you are able to support your team in the areas of your strengths yet, knowing that no one person can do everything, you are also able to rely on team members for support in the areas you are working to improve. Your inherent sense of self-respect is seen by others as proof that you also deserve their respect; a sign of strength and confidence in your ability to lead them toward successful outcomes.
• As a self-reliant individual, you are driven, on an emotional level, to reach your fullest potential, have a more positive outlook on your talents and abilities, and are more confident in expressing yourself than those with an average sense of self and confidence.
• Your willingness and ability to understand and accept yourself for who you are, your strengths as well as your weaknesses, will largely be perceived by others as certitude and conviction. This will cause others to naturally gravitate toward you, seek your advice and, consciously or unconsciously, look to you for leadership in the natural course of events.
• Beyond these personal leadership characteristics, your strong sense of self-reliance and self-respect enable you to be more accepting of the abilities and limitations of others. You respect them for their talents and drive, while also being supportive of their efforts at self-improvement.

Even if they happen to fail at a task or goal, you are able to respect them for their effort and freely work to help them improve their performance moving forward.

All of these qualities, and more, make you the ultimate team member, as well as a great team leader, empowering and enhancing your efforts toward your goal of building high performance teams.

Have you found yourself struggling to remain fully aware of the needs of your team while trying to turn them into a high performance team? Would you like to find the help you need to improve your leadership skills? If so, let’s chat. Click here to schedule your FREE Discovery Call.