If you were hired into a new company as a team lead (say a team of 10) one of the important things to do is to earn the respect of the members of the team. In the early days the new team lead may know nothing of the team culture, code base and business domain: in other words, is a complete neophyte. How does one go about this? What are the do's and don'ts? 
How to earn team members respect as team lead
team leader
Lots of good answers already. I tried to do all these when I was a team lead.Treat team with respectDelegate to strengths, but also give tasks that may help team members improve on weaknessesProtect the team from interruptions or distractionsBe willing to educateBe willing to listenRemove roadblocks and stay out of the team's way, but also be approachable when people need helpBe tactfully honest in assessing work. Some people do not respond well to even constructive criticism, but serious developers (or workers in any profession really) will want to know what to do to get betterRespect the team's personal time and allow for work/life balance (telecommuting, getting out an hour early to pick up kids or make a doctor's appointment), and when times dictate overtime, be prepared to reward the team for the sacrifice. Sometimes my company would authorize me buying lunch to celebrate a milestone, but when it didn't (cheap bastards!) I did something for the team on my dollar. If the team gave extra to help make a project successful, then it was the least I could do. It doesn't have to be extravagant or expensive, but a little appreciation helps; and lack of it can sap morale.Work to be both a technical and subject matter expert. You don't have to do this, but in my experience a leader is more respected when the team members could both appreciate his/her knowledge and depend on him/her to help out when needed.Do what it takes to make the team members more successful. That means educating and removing roadblocks, mentioned above, but also pitching in with documentation that the team can use when your brain isn't around for them to use, and writing some of the specs. Great specs will make developers more efficient and self sufficient, fill in knowledge gaps, and  help them meet requirements with a minimum of later rework. Do this in conjunction with getting them to work directly with the client.Build relationships between the team and the clients. It will help with filling in the gaps on missed requirements and open doors for other feedback you might not normally get. Accept that mistakes are a part of learningBe ready to act to remove a team member that is a detriment to the team's cohesion or productivity. This is sometimes hard to do, but you will encounter people that lack the work ethic, productivity, or competence of the other team members. You can be patient to a point, but there comes a time when you may have to work with management to make a change. Truly poor team members will cost the team more time and effort. Trying too hard to be Mr. Fair and Nice can work against you if the better team members feel the underperformer is getting special treatment or is being compensated the same for lesser work.Be transparent. Communicate regularly. If you get information about the company or a recent layoff, or a merger, share it with them. People do respect honesty even though sometimes in this nutty world the opposite seems true. If you can't be honest with your subordinates, then you don't want to be a team lead, you want to be an executive.Be quick to share credit when good things happenBe prepared to take responsibility when bad things happen