Rotating the leadership role on a team allows team members to develop their leadership skills one at a time, and it gives managers the opportunity to evaluate the performance of potential future leaders. However, if you and your team decide to rotate the leadership position, be sure to answer these questions ahead of time:
- Does everyone have to serve as team leader? A team member who doesn’t wish to be a leader probably won’t perform well if the role is pushed upon him or her.
- How long will the team leader serve? The team may wish to establish a fixed length of time, set the term on a project basis, or use some other type of limit.
- Can a person serve consecutive terms? If so, how many? Letting one person take the job over and over will defeat the purpose of rotating leaders.
- How will new team leaders be trained? Be sure to allow time for the person to prepare for the duties of the new role.
- Will leaders be paid more during their terms? This can be a sticky question if not addressed clearly and consistently.
- Do the leader’s responsibilities remain the same? The team may wish to modify the position so that new leaders can use their individual strengths to the best advantage