How Do You Say "Lead a Team" On A Resume?
Featured In:

When it comes to building the perfect resume, showcasing your leadership skills is essential. There are several ways to highlight your experience leading a team, but knowing which one is going to work best can be difficult.

In this article, we’ll shed some light on the tricky task of communicating your experience. Whether you’re a seasoned manager or a new team lead, these tips will help you stand out to potential employers.

Are you ready? Let's dive in!

How to Say You Lead a Team on a Resume

When building your resume, it’s important to tailor your statements to your specific experience and the position you’re applying to. Leading a team requires several skills depending on the job, you may want to highlight some specific skills over others.

When it comes to showing off your leadership skills, you want to use specific words like “mentored,” “led,” or “organized”’ to paint a picture of the role you played. You can also include your official title alongside a more accurate description of your position. E.g. “Marketing Associate (Marketing Department Team Lead).”

How to Put “Lead a Team” on a Resume

When including your leadership experience, there are a few things you want to keep in mind. The first is that you should indicate what type of leadership you provided. Supervising, mentoring, project managing, and performance monitoring are all leadership positions that have very different connotations.

Furthermore, you’ll want to include statistics and metrics. How big was the ream you lead? What did you achieve? How did you achieve it? A big part of resume building is your ability to show rather than tell. If you can show your success as a leader, it will go a long way.

Create a resume

Where to Put Lead a Team on Resume

There are several places you can put your experience on your resume. As we’ll discuss later, you can draw attention to your leadership experience in your summary by including something like this:

“Results-driven professional with an extensive background in leading cross-functional teams. Proven track record of motivating and guiding team members towards exceeding goals”

Another place you can indicate you have led a team is under work experience. This section emphasizes your specific responsibilities and achievements within each position. You can include words like:

  • Managed
  • Supervised
  • Directed

Of course, your job titles can indicate your leadership experience in addition to your active verbs. If you have a substantial amount of leadership or management experience, you can also include a leadership or management section on your resume. For example:

How to Say Lead a Team on a Resume Example 1

Leadership Experience

Manager, ABC Company

  • Led a team of 15 customer service agents, implemented training programs, and improved customer satisfaction
  • Oversaw launch of new projects, ensured timely delivery, and adherence to budget constraints

Remember, you may need to tailor your resume to the specific job you’re applying for. In this way, you can show your best side to the hiring manager.

How to Say Lead a Team in the Resume Work Experience Section

As a team leader, you know the importance of being concise. Here are a few ways you can highlight the core aspects of your experience within a few words.

10 Examples of Lead a Team in Resume

  • Managed a team of [number of employees] in [department] to achieve [goal]
  • Supervised a team of [number of employees] professionals with the goal of [result]
  • Mentored a team of [number of people] to achieve [certification] for [reason for pursuing the certification]
  • Coordinated a team of [number] professionals in order to drive [outcome]
  • Established and managed a [number] team members to implement [solution or strategy] to achieve [goal]
  • Directed a team of [number] members to successfully complete [project]
  • Orchestrated the successful execution of [event] by managing [number] team members
  • Built and cultivated a cohesive team of [number] professionals to accomplish [objective]
  • Lead a team of [number of professionals] to develop [solution]
  • Organized and guided a team of [number] professionals to exceed deliverables and client expectations.
How to say lead a team on resume 2

Use Job Title to Show You Lead a Team on Resume

Another way to show that you lead a team on your resume is by using a job title. Including job titles can demonstrate your experience and give you the opportunity to expand on the skills you developed in a given role.

A few job titles that will highlight your leadership experience are:

  • Manager
  • Director
  • Supervisor
  • Team leader
  • Project manager

When using a job title to demonstrate your leadership experience, it’s important to detail the skills you learned and used in this position. Be sure to include specific examples of how you have used and developed those skills in your work experience.

Say Lead a Team On Your Resume Summary

Including your leadership skills in your resume summary can be helpful for grabbing the attention of potential employers. Hiring managers receive a large volume of applications. Including your experience up front helps give them an immediate understanding of how you will be an asset to the team.

Here are a few ways you can set yourself apart from other candidates at first glance at your resume.

  • Results-driven leader with a track record of exceeding expectations and motivating teams.
  • Innovative manager with extensive experience leading and motivating high-achieving teams.
  • Experienced supervisor with a talent for motivating, leading, and inspiring teams to achieve high levels of success.
  • Skilled leader with experience creating a positive and productive work environment.
  • Dynamic leader with a proven ability to successfully lead teams to meet and exceed goals.
How to say lead a team on resume 3

Synonyms to Use to Say Lead a Team on Resume

Leading a team is a dynamic experience that is nuanced. Convey the versatility of your role as a leader by using synonyms that help to paint a picture of your day-to-day role. Additionally, this will demonstrate your great communication skills and help keep your readers attention. List of Words To Say Instead of “Lead a Team" on resume

  • Managed
  • Directed
  • Supervised
  • Mentored
  • Facilitated
  • Organized
  • Orchestrated
  • Developed
  • Pioneered
  • Spearheaded
  • Guided
  • Facilitated
  • Navigated
  • Empowered
  • Unified

When it comes to showing off your leadership skills, clarity is key. Don’t be afraid to use a variety of synonyms to best illustrate your experience. Want to learn more about how to put your best foot forward on a resume? Check out how VisualCV can help! Our online resume builder can help you build an eye catching resume and make a big impression on your next application.

Madison Norton

Written By

Madison Norton

VP Marketing & Resume Expert

Madison is the VP Marketing and General Manager at VisualCV. He's a seasoned marketing leader, resume writing and career marketing expert and now helping people grow their own career marketing strategies to build a career they love.

Madison on LinkedIn

See more posts from Madison Norton
More From the Blog
Are You Giving Off Any of These Job Search Red Flags?
Are You Giving Off Any of These Job Search Red Flags?

If you’re consistently struggling to make progress in your job search, you might need to rethink your strategy. Find out if you give off any of these job search red flags!

July 8, 2022

Read Post

Waverly March
Waverly March

Content Writer + Resume Expert

The most common technical interview questions (and how to answer them)
Job interview
The most common technical interview questions (and how to answer them)

When you apply for a technical role, technical interview questions are sure to come up. Here's how to answer the most common ones.

February 14, 2022

Read Post

Ben Temple
Ben Temple

Community Success Manager & CV Writing Expert

How to Ask About Benefits in an Interview
How to Ask About Benefits in an Interview

If you feel awkward our unsure about how to ask about benefits during an interview, fear not -- we've put together the ultimate guide.

June 3, 2022

Read Post

Waverly March
Waverly March

Content Writer + Resume Expert

Copyright ©2024 Workstory Inc.