If you want to develop an effective team, you must engage with them consistently. An engaged public relations employee is more involved in your business and more likely to take on a leadership role.

As a leader at your organization, you need to learn more about each team member’s natural strengths and appeal to them. Look for the things that they’re naturally good at without trying. For example, you might have an individual on your team who is a natural facilitator. You can use this person’s natural skills by putting them in a capacity where they facilitate communication with the rest of the team.

It’s also important to ensure that you look for points that cause tension among the group, identify them, and diffuse them. Resolve conflicts rapidly in a way where everyone feels it is a win-win situation and lighten the mood when things get stressful. Your team needs to have good communication and tension has a negative affect on everything, especially in a public relations role.

If you want your team to take action, you must explain your overall vision. Craft a clear statement of your organization’s vision and impart this to all team members. Teach them what it means and how it looks in action. Ask team members to reinterpret this vision to make sure they understand it and reward behaviors that show their understanding.

You can do things like give them a task to list the top things that are most important to your organization, or ask them to create a visual that represents your company.

The best way to allow people to learn is to set them free. Give your team members a task and let them run with it. Check their results and offer feedback. If you micromanage, your employees won’t feel empowered.

Empowerment drives engagement and development.

In addition to taking an interest in your team members’ professional well-being, also take into account their personal well-being. Make sure they’re doing well in terms of their personal life, health, and any challenges they’re facing outside of work. This helps you to improve their professional performance since everything is connected, but it also shows that you care about your team members beyond the profits they can bring your organization.

Finally, support your team members and have their backs when they face trouble. Your role as the team leader and coach is to provide support. Make sure you are always there for your team and they know it. As a leader, you should be offering a great deal of learning opportunities in the form of coaching, training, and online classes.

Encourage your team members to take relevant courses, such as through Women in PR North America. When a team member expresses an interest in a particular topic, seek educational opportunities for them. If you want to support them in learning more about public relations, offer to cover the cost for them to join the Public Relations Academy or a membership with our organization. You can also provide cross-training in various other roles and departments in your organization.

Innovative leaders come in all shapes and sizes, but there are some key characteristics that successful women in public relations have in common. Download our complimentary guide to see where you can develop these characteristics to improve your own leadership qualities and build an innovative team culture.