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So, you’re a high performer as a Field Representative. You want to take on more responsibility as a Team Lead. Do you have it in you?

There are many qualities needed to be a successful Team Lead - expertise in reading and executing planograms, experience in assembling fixtures and displays, merchandising and retail experience, attention to detail, just to name a few. However, what characteristics really set our Team Leads apart? What characteristics are shown to lead to success by enhancing the expertise and experience our merchandisers already possess? Studies by organizational psychologists point to a few soft skills which impact project success for these leaders. Some notable soft skills include communication, interpersonal, and problem-finding, analyzing, and solving skills.

Many studies show that high levels of communication skills, the ability to clearly convey task information, lead to high teamwork effectiveness and, therefore, positive project outcomes. At ProVantage, this includes effective communication with team members, department managers, and our clients on-site.

Interpersonal skills involve effectively navigating, motivating, and persuading individuals of different backgrounds while developing relationships with them when needed. The faster a Lead can navigate their team, the faster the team can capitalize on its capabilities and limitations. Studies suggest that, like communication skills, high levels of interpersonal skills lead to positive project outcomes. When combining communication and interpersonal skills, Team Leads are the ideal representatives of the ProVantage image.

A Team Lead with problem-finding, analyzing, and solving skills quickly and accurately identifies potential and current problems in the retail space, while effectively controlling the situation and finding solutions. Effectively analyzing situations and mitigating problems protects the merchandising team and client from costly setbacks and creates a smoother project, overall. This skill, according to a study in 2015, contributes to about 25% of the impact between the leader and positive project outcomes! That is a huge impact on just one soft skill!

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