subject: Team leaders’ training and trains [print this page] its not always true, a team leader is often an expert in the technical areas in which the team works. As such, the team leader may take on the responsibility of training people who need various skills or in setting up training with other team members or with outside trainers. It may be the case that team members have responsibility for just one activity and have mastered this and want additional opportunities to learn and progress. In this case, the team leader should consider setting up cross-training programs. These give all team members the chance to learn the skills needed to do all the jobs the team is responsible for. Cross-training involves training team members in all the skills involved in the various tasks and jobs the team is responsible for. In general, team leaders should focus on three types of training for team members: Technical skills training: This is training in actual job-related skills. Not only should the team leader make sure everyone has this training, but its a good idea to continuously schedule training that allows people to upgrade their skills and improve their methods. Teamwork Training: This is training in various teamwork skills, including meetings, decision making, communication, and interpersonal relations. This facilitates the cooperation that is at the heart of teamwork. Process management skills: These are skills that help team members better understand the processes they are responsible for. Using such skills helps them prevent problems and waste from occurring, keep on schedule, minimize defective outputs, and continuously improve the overall operation of these processes. Cross-training gives team members the chance to expand their skills. Cross-training also assures that should team members be absent or should bottlenecks come up with certain steps of a process. Other members can pitch in and do the work of that person or step.
