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Leadership and Team Management

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Lesson#38

LEADING TEAM

LEADING TEAM
Leading a team is very important. We have discussed different topics regarding leadership and team
dynamics. Leading team mean to apply all those concepts, principles, techniques in real world and that
has different effects depending upon the type of team and situation.
Attributes of High Performing Teams:
o Performance outcomes
o Specific, shared purpose and vision
o Mutual, internal accountability
o Coordinated, shared work roles
o Inefficiency leading to efficiency
o Extraordinarily high quality
o Creative continuous improvement
o High credibility and trust
o Clarity of core competence
o Participative leadership
o Shared responsibility
o Aligned on purpose
o High communication
o Future focused
o Focused on task
o Creative talents
o Rapid response

Why Work Teams Fail?
o Teams cannot overcome weak strategies and poor business practices.
o Hostile environment for teams.
o Vague or conflicting team assignments.
o Inadequate team skills training.
o Poor staffing of teams.
o Team tries to do too much too soon.
o Too much emphasis on results, not enough on team processes and group dynamics.
o Unanticipated obstacle causes team to give up.
o Resistance to doing things differently.
o Poor interpersonal skills.
o Lack of trust.
Why Do Teams Fail?
o Wrong design
o Leadership misfit
o Internal conflict
o Isolation
o Lack of time
o Excessive member turnover

Leading Teams
Two critical factors play important role in leading teams
o Developing credibility and influence
o Establishing a motivating vision and goals

Developing Credibility
o Demonstrating integrity
o Being clear and consistent
o Creating positive energy
o Building a base of agreement
o Using one-sided and two-sided arguments appropriately
o Encouraging team members to help them personally improve
o Sharing information
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Team Leadership and Goals (SMART Goals)
o Specific
o Measurable
o Aligned
o Realistic
o Time-bound

Team Membership:
Team members not only need clear goals, they needs roles to help facilitate task accomplishment and
group cohesion.

Motivating Individuals
o Listen to people
o What are their interests and goals?
o What are their dreams?
o What are their needs?
o Communicate how doing what you want them to do will help them achieve their goals, dreams and
needs
o Make it happen
o Follow-through is critical

Acting as a Leader
o How can understanding acting theory help you to motivate others?
o How can you transform an encounter into motivation?
o How do you “act” as a leader?
Providing Team Leadership
o Leading teams requires new skills
o E.g., patience to share information, trust others, give up authority, and knowing when to
intervene
o Team leaders need to focus on two priorities
Managing the team’s external boundary
Facilitating the team process.
o Leading teams requires new roles
o Liaisons with external constituencies
o Troubleshooters
o Conflict managers
o Coaches

Leading/Managing Effectively
o Support
o Technology
o Information/Communication System
o Selection of Team Members
o Training/Learning
o Rewards
o Leadership
According to contingency approach No “one best way” to Lead. Effectiveness varies depending on the
particular situation

Team Leadership Structures
o Traditional
o Participative
o Flat
o Consultant
o Teams need to choose a structure that models how they want to behave

Traditional Model
o Strong leader who directs the actions
o May have little participation or discussion from team
o Separation between leader and other team members
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Participative Model
o Leader positioned closely to all members
o Short, direct communication
o Direct accountability of the leader to all members
o Dependence on leader on team’s participation

Flat Model
o Emphasizes leader’s role as a working team member
o Leader is an equal to the team, not above

Consultant Model
o Leader is not part of the team and will be nearby to serve as a resource
Advise team
Technical Consultant

Leadership Demands and Duties
Effective leaders must be:
o Director and motivator
o Implementer and innovator
o Mentor and team builder
o Expert and moral force
o Organizer and developer of people
o These challenges bring satisfaction and appreciation

Model the Way
Inspire a Shared Vision
Challenge the Process
Grab the initiative
Make challenge meaningful
Innovate and create
Look outward for fresh ideas
Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from mistakes.
Initiate incremental steps and small wins
Learn from mistakes
Promote psychological hardiness

Enable Others to Act
o Foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust.
o Create a climate of trust
o Facilitate positive interdependence
o Support face-to-face interactions
o Strengthen others by sharing power and discretion.
o Ensure self-leadership
o Provide choice
o Develop competence and confidence
o Foster accountability

Leader Actions that Foster Teamwork
Own Resources:
o Define team mission.
o Develop norm of cooperation.
o Emphasize pride in excellence.
o Model teamwork behavior.
o Consensus decision maker.
o Set performance standards.
o Encourage positive competition.
o Encourage use of jargon.
o Solicit feedback on process.
o Empower, not micromanage.

Structure/Policy
o Open, physical workspaces.
o Team recognition and rewards.
o Initiate ritual, ceremony and tradition.
o Open-book management.
o Select team-oriented members.
o Use appropriate technology to enhance
teamwork (i.e., groupware).
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Leader-Member Exchange:
o Leaders develop different and unique relations with individual team members.
o Leaders do not use the same leadership style with all team members, rather they treat individual
team members somewhat differently.

Principles of Leadership Effectiveness:
o Know yourself. You cannot be an effective leader without knowing your own strengths and
weaknesses.
o Be a role model
o Learn to communicate with your ears open and your mouth shut.
o Know your team and be a team player.
o Be honest with yourself as well as to others
o Do not avoid risks.
o Believe in yourself.
o Take the offense rather than the defense.
o Know the ways of disagreement and the means of compromise.
o Be a good follower. Effective leaders lead as they would like to be lead.

Effective Leadership
o Look at the task and decides what his/her role is
o Acquire the knowledge to do the job effectively
o Brief others well to do their jobs and what the limits of their authority are
o Delegate decisions and responsibilities where possible
o Are fair and consistent
o Are prepared to accept criticism
o Help others without doing the job for them
o Act as resource people
o Make decisions where necessary without prevarication
o Understand how leadership operates in a group situation
o Are aware of and sensitive to individual needs within the group or team

Leadership Direction
Leaders should not command excellence, they should build excellence
o Involve those participating in developing solution
o Ensure the “6 W’s”
o Who will do what?
o Who does it involve?
o What is going to be done?
o When does it start?
o When does it end?
o Where will it take place?
o How will it take place?
o Why should it be done?
o What will happen if it’s not done?
o Effective execution
o Pre-determine task
o Supporting structure in place
o Allocate necessary resources

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