Special Offer 

Jumpstart your hiring with a $75 credit to sponsor your first job.*

Sponsored Jobs are 2.6x times faster to first hire than non-sponsored jobs.**
  • Attract the talent you’re looking for
  • Get more visibility in search results
  • Appear to more candidates longer

Team Leader Job Description: Top Duties and Qualifications

Last updated: January 16, 2024

A Team Leader, or Group Leader, is responsible for overseeing teams of employees and motivating them to complete their job duties effectively. Their duties include training new employees and providing Team Members with daily objectives, developing and implementing reward systems to motivate employee productivity and communicating with upper management to determine the best methods for meeting business goals.

Build a Job Description

Team Leader duties and responsibilities

Team Leaders monitor team members’ participation to ensure everyone has proper training and provide any additional training if needed. They can have a wide variety of responsibilities outside of their mentorship role. Some important duties and responsibilities for a Team Leader can include:

  • Develop a strategy that the team members can use to better reach a project’s goal.
  • Assign tasks to team members.
  • Determine the completion timeline and monitor progress to keep the project on track and on schedule.
  • Communicate clear instructions to team members.
  • Manage the flow of day-to-day operations.
  • Create and distribute reports to update the company on the team’s progress.
Build a Job Description

Team Leader Job Description Examples

What does a Team Leader do? 

Team Leaders typically work for corporations across industries to provide leadership and guidance to Team Members as they complete their daily tasks. They use their experience working at a particular company or in a certain industry to offer valuable insights and direction to their Team Members. Their job is to establish expectations for Team Members to strive for, including customer service policies, daily quotas or teamwork values. They may also be responsible for speaking with one or more Team Members about troubling behaviors or addressing conflicts between Team Members to ensure they maintain their productivity.

Team Leader skills and qualifications

Team Leaders should be able to boost team performance and employee retention rates through strong communication and empathy skills. They most often need the following skills and qualifications:

  • The ability to develop, implement and assess performance metrics
  • Advanced knowledge in common office applications and word processing software
  • Basic knowledge of company policies and procedures
  • Understanding of safety practices
  • Friendly, outgoing personality
  • Strong customer service skills

Team Leader salary expectations

The average salary for a Team Leader is $13.49 per hour. Salary estimates from Indeed are based on 9,603 salaries anonymously submitted and collected from past and current job listings in the past 36 months. Team Leaders typically stay in their roles for one to three years.

Team Leader education and training requirements

A minimum of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent is often required. A specialty in any field is fine, but a degree in communication is a bonus.

Team Leader experience requirements

Prior experience as a team leader and impressive leadership talent is often required for this position. Team leaders should also possess at least a basic understanding of computers and technology.

Job description samples for similar positions

If you’re recruiting for positions related to a Team Leader, see our job description for a similar role:

Ready to Hire a Team Leader?Build a Team Leader Job Description

Frequently asked questions about Team Leaders

What is the difference between a Team Leader and a Team Coordinator?

When company leaders assign large teams of employees to complete tasks, they usually assign Team Members to the roles of Team Leader and Team Coordinator. The difference between a Team Leader and a Team Coordinator is seniority and specific job responsibilities. For example, Team Leaders have more experience in a leadership role, which qualifies them to set initial team objectives and oversee Team Member training sessions. In contrast, Team Coordinators work directly under Team Leaders to support them in leading Team Members. They do this by monitoring specific tasks or projects to completion.

What are the daily duties of a Team Leader?

On a typical day, a Team Leader starts by reviewing upcoming project deadlines and communicating with upper-management about new project needs. They meet with their team to discuss tasks they need to complete by a specific date and use this time to learn about the progress of their individual tasks. Throughout the day, Team Leaders divide their time between supervising team activities, communicating with management staff and reviewing team data to determine whether their team meets expectations.

Team Leaders also use their workday to speak with team members individually about what they need to improve to maximize their contributions to the group.

What qualities make a good Team Leader?

A good Team Leader has a personable nature. This, in combination with their natural leadership capabilities, allows them to create a work environment built on mutual respect and productivity. They value continued education, motivating them to maintain their knowledge of industry topics, leadership strategies and project ideas. Further, a good Team Leader knows how to motivate their Team Members to meet business goals. They do this by implementing incentives or reward programs for their team.

A good Team Leader also has excellent interpersonal communication, enabling them to connect with Team Members who have different personalities or professional backgrounds.

Job Description Examples

Need help writing a job description for a specific role? Use these job description examples to create your next great job posting. Or if you’re ready to hire, post your job on Indeed.

No search results found

    Editorial Guidelines