Team Leadership

Introduction

In any institution, team leadership or management serves as a vital component. To realize organizational goals, the employees and the senior management of the organization must relate properly. In addition, harmonious relations enhance the change process in any entity since employees participate in policies’ formulation. Thus, the organization experiences reduced resistance from employees (Glenn, 2010). Being an expert in a leading team, I will recommend the best means of dealing with team management issues to the company.

Behaviorist Theory

Going by this theory, any autocratic manager sees employees as inherently disliking the tasks that they are assigned. As such, autocratic managers exercise full control in addition to exerting extra pressure on the employees to compel them to perform their duties. Although Tiam is an intelligent person, he flops when working with the workers. Going by the directions that he gives, Tiam is a symbol of an autocratic leader because he wants everything to be done the way he desires. In the contemporary world, restricting workers is disadvantageous (Hayes, 2002).

If Tiam had drafted a job description policy incorporating all employees, there would be no reports of low productivity cases. In addition, anchoring the activities of employees towards a single direction hinders innovation and creativity. Employees were most probably feeling insecure because Tiam, the manager had noted that there were employees who might be suspended once the assignment is completed. This indicates distrust among the employees. As such, output was low because some employees were uncertain of their future status with iProdeo.

Motivation

Motivating employees is very important because it enhances personal value of the employees. When the performance of the employees is not recognized, the employees are demoralized. Tiam seems unappreciative of the individuals who wore shirts with a letter “O” on them. Similarly, Blake is not concerned about the activities of Tiam because he does not do any follow up. Perhaps, this is due to his lack of higher education. It would have been better if Tiam avoided threatening the employees since threats cause dissatisfaction of the workers (Parker, 2010).

In addition, recognizing employees assists in augmenting their efforts towards the realization of organizational goals. Extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are important and being the leader, Blake ought to have shown Tiam the way workers’ morale should be enhanced via rewards, recognition and accolades.

Actually, Tiam holds a senior position though he lacks knowledge of the way employees should be handled. Initially, Tiam synchronized with employees in order to communicate with them with ease and to enhance cordial relations. He creates a crucial image because he makes the employees appreciate and recognize leaders who they can identify with or a manager that is willing to hear their grievances. Low performance of the employees is mainly caused by poor communication lines (Parker, 2010).

Tiam ought to have ensured that he communicates with every employee coherently and periodically in order to sustain long-standing relations with them so that he can improve iProdeo’s performance. Blake ought to have emphasized the essence of establishing a team and also deployed somebody with interpersonal skills to perform this duty. In the modern world, there is no place for authoritarian leadership (Hayes, 2002). As a youth, Tiam ought to have realized that employees are learned and they were employed on the basis of their abilities to execute their duties with diligence. The statement made by Tiam has affected the company negatively since employees appear to work only after receiving orders from the boss. This has eroded their initiative abilities.

Transformational Leadership

Blake ought to have used transformational leadership in order to ensure that employees have a vision as well as to help them so that they can realize their objectives without much supervision. Blake does not issue directions with support of a written literature. This gives Tiam great latitude to make decisions about the team’s success. Blake ought to have provided measurable, attributable, realistic, time bound and specific directives. There are no meaningful timelines that can be used to measure vague directives (Hacker & Tammy, 2004). Lacking realistic goals led the team into undertaking initiatives without proper leadership. To realize the objectives of any undertaking, employees need a visionary leader (Glenn, 2010).

The worst mistake made by Blake is giving directives without evaluating Tiam’s capabilities to perform the duties perfectly. Leaders should know their employees as well as find the best ways of ensuring that they achieve the entity’s vision together. The best method that should be applied while leading a team is transformational leadership (Hacker & Tammy, 2004). Leaders who are attentive in identifying the ability of individual members of their team achieve more than leaders who issue directives without proper follow up (Hayes, 2002). It would have been better if Blake went back frequently to find out whether the team under the leadership of Tiam was working properly and within his strategies and timeline. Delegating duties is enforced by authority. Nevertheless, Blake does not maintain contact with Tiam. Therefore, both should share the blame.

Result-driven Structures

Support and strong structures are important for teams that want to survive and to accomplish their goals. Clarity is very important issue when it comes to communication among the members of a team. Both Tiam and Blake are unclear on what the teams are expected to accomplish apart from financial gains. In order to register success, both Tiam and Blake should have emphasized the freedom to risk in their meetings. iProdeo management appears to lack attachment with the team’s activities. This factor has contributed to the team’s low performance.

Additionally, activities’ coordination is very important for a team every now and then when there is a visionary leader. Top management and the employees in this organization depict a clear disconnect. For a team to realize excellence, trust must exist. Leaders’ presence would have cemented strong relations among the teams. This may have enhanced trust among the team members and the leaders. Issuing periodic outcomes’ analysis and directives are both varying activities that the leaders of the team ought to have undertaken (Glenn, 2010). The organization lacked effective structures that would allow the members of the team to contribute ideas. This hindered some members from depicting their real potentials.

Principled Leadership

Coordination is an important aspect of teamwork. If there is no coordination, the efforts of the members of the team towards realizing the organizational goals will be defeated (Huszczo, 2010). When it comes to cognitive issues, a leader should help the members of the team. Cognition employs comprehension of problems and working together in solving any underlying issue. Leaders ought to spearhead this while members of the team contribute varying ideas that would enhance success in the project that is being handled.

Tiam did not provide adequate instructions. Instead, he left the team alone to decide what to do. Members of the team encountered challenges. However, since there was no leader around, they went with a decision that any team member proposed even when the decision was misleading. Leadership ought to be effective. As such, Tiam and Blake ought to have dealt with stresses that came from team members by assigning challenging tasks properly, discussing strategies that would enhance the performance of the team and providing career goals (Hayes, 2002).

External support

The teams should get financial and technical support from the organization. Incentives which include bonuses and training should enhance corporation among the members of the team. Tiam and Blake failed to attend to various needs of the members of the team. This led to poor performances. Success of teams is not achieved because of the use of better equipment or hefty funds. It is because the entire organization provides excellent support including the senior managers.

Standards of Excellence

Lacking effective standards in the achievement of the organizational goal was the biggest problem that caused the failure of the team. Standards would have assisted the team in gauging performance and aligning activities in order to realize the set objectives. Standards are effective when superior performance is rewarded or recognized (Glenn, 2010). This did not happen at iProdeo because Tiam lacks the knowledge of improving the standards of the team through rewards.

Measures of feedback determine whether the team is performing as per the set standards or it has deviated (Huszczo, 2010). Blake and Tiam ought to have ensured close relations in the team in order to enhance cohesion as well as to avoid mistakes in the team. They would have detected and corrected anomalies on time. Tiam and Blake should bear the team’s failure with the former taking a greater responsibility than the latter since he was delegated this duty and therefore he ought to have worked closely with the entire team to realize success.

Reflection on My Team Experience

Being the leader of my team, I have enhanced my skills greatly as I work with different members of the team. At first, controlling the team was cumbersome due to variations in personalities of the people. As such, achieving different objectives was difficult because every team member wanted to have their views heard. Sometimes, meetings would go up to late nights without making effective resolutions. Nevertheless, I started understanding various dynamics that are involved in team activities after reading leadership theory and team establishment theories’ books. The team now listens to me because I apply the leadership principles that I learnt from these books.

Being a leader, I always ensure that all members contribute in the team activities. I allow disagreements while ensuring that they are under control by limiting the time for members to make contributions. Usually, I encourage harmony among the team members by engaging them in team building duties. These cement our relationships. For a team to realize its goals there must be cohesion. In addition, my strengths depend on the realization of the team goals quickly. Through the strategies of setting goals, members of the team have acquired a team spirit which propels the team’s success.

Having understood motivation better, I have realized exemplary performance in my team. This has increased commitment of the efforts of the team towards the realization of greater achievements. Additionally, I have realized the essence of ensuring equality when it comes to tasks assignment and gender in the team. This has enhanced unity among the members of the team. Being the team’s leader, I have played a significant role of providing guidance and suggestions to the team.

I can say with confidence that I can score grade A- because I feel that I lack some skills. Some of the areas that I should improve include conflict management as well as stress identification in the team. Improvement in these skills will enhance my communication in the team. This will promote cohesion and unity in the team. Additionally, I should learn how to make decisions efficiently and precisely because there are instances when I am looked upon by all members to make rational, just and fair decisions. Although I have solved many problems of the team, I still feel that I should improve my skills in solving problems.

My belief is that I have contributed my efforts in the team because I try to attend every meeting that the team holds and I usually send apologies in case I do not attend. This strategy is followed and respected by all members of the team. In the projects that the team has handled, it has made massive achievements. Members of my team also need training on how individual goals should be set as well as how to work harmoniously towards the realization of the goals of the team. In a team effort, synergy effect plays a significant role. With the skills mentioned above, I am confident that I will secure grade A because I will embrace transformational leadership in facilitating focus and commitment in my team.

 

References

Glenn, P. (2010). Team leadership: 20 proven tools for success. S.l.: Hrd Press, U S.

Hacker, S., & Tammy, R. (2004). Transformational leadership: Creating organizations of meaning. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: ASQ Quality Press.

Hayes, N. (2002). Managing teams: A strategy for success. London: Thomson Learning.

Huszczo, G. E. (2010). Tools for Team Leadership: Delivering the X-Factor in Team excellence. London: Davies-Black Publishing.

Parker, G. (2010). Team communications: 20 essential aids. S.l.: Hrd Press, U S.

 

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