BE READY TO BE TOUGH ON YOUR TEAM -- If you are a team lead, you have to be prepared to tell some hard truths that some of your friends may not be ready to hear. Get the point across that once the classroom door closes, it's all business and personal connections take a backseat to getting the production done right and on-time. Be tough, but professional, you do your teammates no favours by being too nice.
ALWAYS BE PROFESSIONAL -- Leaders should want to motivate the team to do their best work, but also need to keep in mind there is a very fine line between motivation and just pissing everyone off.
LISTEN TO THE QUIET ONES: Just because someone doesn't speak up in a group-setting doesn't mean they don't have something to say. Take some one-on-one time with your quieter team members to make sure they are having their opinions (and problems) heard.
TAKE THE TIME TO TALK IT OUT -- Talk about problems when they are small before they grow to become even bigger problems. Bring in a neutral third party, if necessary. But don't let all that talking eat into your production time.
CHECK-IN with each team member (occasionally) -- "en masse" messages are fine most of the time. But everyone wants to know their work is appreciated. Send a quick personal text or email or private FB message giving/asking for one-on-one feedback.
CHECK-IN with the instructor OFTEN -- for feedback and advice. Even leaders need help sometimes.
OBSTACLES CAN BE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES -- See improvements as places for potential, not moments of failure. When giving feedback, try a more constructive, rather than destructive approach: "You might try this [solution/suggestion] as an opportunity to improve [problem]."
"PLEASE" and "THANK YOU" never go out of style -- compliments on good work shouldn't be withheld, but don't give them too often or else they will lose their emphasis.
