Being a leader is more than just delegating. At the core, it’s about guiding your team to being their personal and collective best.

Like a music conductor, your goal is to know the individual instruments and the high and low notes needed to bring about harmony.

In a team, this means knowing and leveraging each member’s unique strengths to build a successful strategy. This way, you can craft a cohesive plan that enhances team performance while ensuring that everyone’s skillsets are optimized.

Here four ways to discover your team’s individual genius:

1. Identify Strengths: Get to know your team on a professional and personal level. Each individual has a unique set of experiences, perspectives, and skills to bring to the table. By understanding where they excel at, you gain the ability to harness their strengths effectively.

2. Build the Strategy: Leverage individual genius into a big picture strategy so the team and organization benefit from each member’s expertise.

3. Fill the Gaps: You may find there are still some gaps. Not to worry - not all strategies are 100% perfect. Opt for a different approach. Ask yourself, how else can the team fill these gaps? Encourage collaboration to find even more skills you may not have otherwise noticed.

4. Stay Flexible: Over time, your direction and the team’s performance will evolve. Always be ready to adjust the strategy as you grow alongside your team and develop more strengths and systems.

Sometimes, there will be wins. Other times, losses. Being a leader means shouldering this responsibility and taking the learning opportunity to steer everyone to a new path.

Leadership is difficult, but it certainly worth the outcome when you build a team that feels appreciated for their contributions.