Team Leadership, Ready for Take Off.....

The focus on leadership in many organizations today falls into a category of its own---Team Leadership.  As you’re reading this, you may be asking yourself, “What is team leadership?”  Team leadership is exactly what the name implies, leadership as it pertains a group or team within an organization.  Typically, these teams are referred to as project management teams, quality teams or task forces just to name a few.   Organizational development and its correlation to leadership have been the focus for many researchers since the 1960s and 1970s (Northouse, 2013).   Since the early 90s, much of this research has been centered on just how effective organizational teams are and the effectiveness of resources, better quality products and services and innovation that have developed from this.

 

Have you ever stopped and wondered why is it that success appears to come easy for some organizations and their organizational teams?  It’s not that it comes easy for them; it just means that the culture of the organization encourages and fosters the involvement of the employees. Other organizations function in the traditional authority structure that does not promote communication amongst one another, nor does it support decision making by employees at the lower level.  Perhaps by changing the organizational structure of these traditionally authority structured organizations, can yield the success that is seen in other groups.  However, this will not happen overnight and a great deal of effort will be needed (Northouse, 2013, 288). 

The team leadership model serves as an informational guide for leaders as well as those who serve as leaders within a team, and assesses any problems at hand and how to handle them. Hill’s Model of Leadership that is shown below is representative of the notion that it is the leader’s job to monitor the team and then take action as necessary to warrant team effectiveness.  At the top of this model are the initial leadership decisions that then move towards leadership actions and ends with those factors derivative of team effectiveness.  In looking at this model, leaders can improve the effectiveness of the team by adhering to those internal and external actions listed.  Additionally, this model is meant to break down the complexities of team leadership (290). The question is whether or not this can actually be done. 

 Leaders are faced with the question of whether or not to monitor the team as the above shown model calls for, or to take action.  Leaders have a very distinctive role and it’s not always as glamorous as it may seem.  The video adjacent explains the importance of effective decision making.

 As problems emerge within an organization, the leader can decide to continue to monitor the problem or based on what they know and have learned of the problem thus far-----Act.  The decision whether or not to act is solely the decision of the leader.

So, how effective are the decisions of the leader? What about the overall effectiveness of the team?  After all, the desired outcome relies on this information.  Nevertheless, the two crucial functions in regards to team effectiveness should be noted: performance and development.  Team performance is defined as the ability to execute decisions in conjunction with the quality of decision making and the outcome.  Team development is simply the unification of the team; each member plays a role in the development of the team.  Also when team members are able to

meet their own needs and work with other team members, this contributes to team development (Nadler, 1998).

 It is these two functions that yield the way to team excellence. There are eight characteristics which are frequently associated with team excellence. The chart to the left lists them along with the five conditions of group effectiveness. 

For my sanity and your peace of mind as you’re reading this, I will expand on three of the characteristics of team excellence: 1) clear, elevating goal, 2) collaborative climate and 3) standards of excellence.  

1)      Groundwork: It is important for any team, group or organization to lay the foundation. First and foremost, goals have to be established. These goals have to be clear, involve all team members and motivating.  If the goals aren't set from the start or if they are but they fail to include all involved, then the performance objective of the goal(s) are missed and the organization fails.  Who wants to be a failure? NO ONE!! With that being said, organizations have to step up to the plate and provide clear, let’s get down to business goals.

2)   What’s the temperature like?  A collaborative climate is just as essential as defining the goals.  The environment of the team must be fostering and subjective.  In other words, the environment must welcome ideas, exchanges of ideas, a few risks and a willingness by all participants to work together. Yet, before we get to being all mushy and whatnot, trusting relationships have to be established between team members .  As aforementioned, each member plays a contributing role in the development of the team and the organization. Therefore, every member has to do their part in order or a collaborative environment to exist. 

3)  Benchmarks:  Effective teams have a standard to uphold. They want and strive for the best.  The performance of team members is regulated and their actions fall in line with getting the job done.  In other words, there are no games being played here, it’s Showtime.  Similar to setting the goals, these standards must be clear and concrete (Northouse, 2013, 301).  The team leader is the facilitator  and holds everyone accountable.

The only thing left to do now is apply the team leadership model in your organization.  This can be done in a variety of ways and will without a doubt increase the effectiveness within your organizational teams. Now, you’re probably wondering “How do I get started?”  It’s simple. Take a survey. At the following link: http://www.sagepub.com/northouse6e/study/materials/Questionnaires/03409_12lq.pdf, you can assess the Team Excellence and Collaborative Team Leader survey for your organization.  All team members, including the team leader are to take the survey and share the results with each other.  In doing so, you will be able to pinpoint areas of greatest strength and weaknesses within the organization.  From this discovery, the team can prepare for reconstruction and knock out the minor kinks and get down to business.  Hope you all enjoyed the blog this week, and feel free to leave a comment or two.