How to Lead a Team Excel - Article Example

How To Lead A Team Excel Introduction Leading is influencing and motivating the employees to achieve the company’s goals. Traditional team leadership has evolved due to the introduction of information technology in the workplace as well as organizational boundaries. Therefore, managers need to form effective teams while incorporating effective measures for their efficiency and organizational performance. Team definition A team is a small group of people who share a common purpose, commitment and performance goals and consequently have a mutual accountability (Williams and Angelo 417). Team development For overall effectiveness of the teams, managers must initially initiate 5 stages during development of the teams. They include: Forming The forming stage involves the formation of the team’s goals and it’s leadership. At this stage, the members usually have low mutual trust between each other. Effective leaders should desist from taking permanent control at this stage for the team members to socialize and be acquainted with one another (DuFrene and Carol 42). Storming This stage involves emergence of individual roles, personalities and conflicts within the teams. Effective leaders should persuade the members to voice their ideas and disagreements so as they can implement their team’s goals and tasks (Williams and Angelo 417). Norming Based on Williams and Angelo 418 this stage involves resolving conflicts, developing close relationships, harmony and unity within the team. The team develops guidelines for work roles and how to accomplish them. The leader should emphasize on unity and help the team identify its values and goals (Williams and Angelo 417). Performing The team members concentrate on resolving their issues and completing their given task. The leader should empower the members so as they can complete their tasks (Williams and Angelo 418). Adjourning This stage involves preparation for disbandment. After the members hard task of getting along and completing their specific task, the team comes to an end. The leader can promote the disbandment transition through ritual celebrations. It can involve award ceremonies, parties or mock funerals. The leader can then point out valuable lessons which the team members can learn and prepare for future team projects (DuFrene and Carol 482). Considerations in building an effective team 1.Cooperation In Williams and Angelo 419 leaders can influence team members’ cooperation through systematic integration of their efforts to realize the team’s collective objective. Cooperation is more effective than competition and individual efforts since it promotes productivity and achievement. 2.Trust Trust is the reciprocated faith in others behaviors and intentions. Leaders can build trust with the team members through professionalism and technical abilities (Williams and Angelo 419). How Leaders Can Build And Maintain Trust With The Team Members Communicating truthfully: leaders should be candid when addressing the team’s problems, provide accurate feedback and also explain their decisions (Hurley 152). Offering support: leaders should occasionally be available, for the success of the team. The leaders should be readily approachable, support the members ideas, offer coaching and assistance in times of needs. Showing respect: the leaders can promote respect through listening and delegation of authority. The leader should respect the team members’ decisions by listening and delegating of authority (Hurley 153). Showing fairness: the leader should be impartial at all times and cultivate merit. The leader should evaluate performance objectively and give recognition based on merit. Showing predictability: effective leaders should keep their promises irrespective of whether they were implied or expressed (Hurley 153). 3.Cohesiveness In Williams 399 the leader should promote the feeling of togetherness within the teams. Managers can stimulate the virtue within teams by persuading members to have face to face exchanges when undertaking tasks. Communication is the ingredient of success within the teams. 4.Performance goals and feedback Managers should define the team’s purpose by providing specific and measurable goals which will have continuous feedbacks for the team’s evaluation process (Williams 399). 5.Motivation Williams and Angelo 420 explain motivation among the members can be cultivated through formulating precise performance objectives, forming a meaningful task, supporting the members’ efforts and preventing exploitation among the members. Motivation level is high when the members have mutual accountability to each other as opposed to their superiors. Mutual effort fosters commitments and mutual trust. Other effective leaders enhance team culture through allowing teams to recruit new members. Team size Based on Wilde 36 leaders use team size to promote performance and commitments. In organizations which have flat structures, large teams usually have a maximum of 16 members. The teams size range from 2-16 people; however, teams which have 5-12 members are occasionally workable while the ones which have 5-6 are considered the most optimal. In many performing organizations, 8 is normally the average size of a team. Big and small teams usually have their own advantages and disadvantages. Advantages of small teams (2-9) Effective interactions: The members can easily share information, interact with each other, share questions and coordinate tasks effectively than big teams. Consequently, teams which have 5 or less members, have the advantage of promoting personal participation and discussions (Williams and Angelo 421). Better morale; the members can be able to view their team members worth in terms of personal contributions, leading them to have satisfaction and strong commitment. The members lack the apt of feeling prohibited from participation. Disadvantages Minimal resources: due to few members, the team will have less experience, skills and knowledge to the tasks application (Williams and Angelo 421). Less innovation: due to lack of peer pressure, the team will lack boldness and creativity. Unfair task distribution; since the team has limited specialization and resources; some tasks may be favored among others. Advantages of large teams (10-16) Adequate resources: large teams have more resources at their disposal. That includes, experience, time, skills and knowledge (Walter and Jurgen 28). Division of labor: since the group has many members, the team can utilize its division of labor to its advantage. The task can be sub divided into specific activities where each task can be assigned to specific team members (Walter and Jurgen 28). Disadvantages Minimal interaction: there can be less coordination of activities, information sharing and interaction. The team leaders can also be autocratic and more formal (Walter and Jurgen 28). Minimal morale: members lack satisfaction from their personal contributions leading to disagreements, less commitments and absenteeism. The members also impose tough demands on their team leaders (Walter and Jurgen 28). Lack of seriousness: due to the large size of the team, the members will portray less effort than when working alone. 7.Roles Czarneck 43 illustrates the leaders should define the roles of the individual team members. The leader should outline what is expected from each individual member working as a team.Through the expectations of the leader, the members would be able create their individual expectations, their team’s, their organization’s through different forms. Types of team roles Task role: A task oriented role consists of expected behaviors to achieve the team’s objectives. The task roles keep the members in line as well as get the task done (West 46). Maintenance role: consist of the expected behaviors to promote constructive relationships between members. It is aimed at keeping the members together (West 46). 8. Norms Topchik 57 outlines the leader should stipulate the general rules that each member should adhere to. They depict the unacceptable and acceptable behaviors within the team and work environment. Most of the norms are normally implied. They are rarely discussed outwardly or written for that matter. Despite their unwritten form, they have a strong influence on the team as well as the organizational behavior. Reasons for norms enforcement The norms promote team survival. The norms help in clarifying role expectations. They assist the team members to avoid embarrassing moments. They help emphasize the team’s identity and values (Williams and Angelo 423). Conclusion Leaders should employ effective measures for excellence of their teams. One of the methods includes effective team development for its effectiveness and efficiency. Other key effective methods include motivation, depicting roles, providing feedback, promoting cooperation and cohesiveness, developing team norms and enhancing trust between the team members and the leaders. Works cited Williams, Brian and Kinicki, Angelo. Management : a practical introduction, 6th edition. McGraw-Hill/Irwin. 2013. Print. DuFrene, Deborah D, and Carol M. Lehman. Building High-Performance Teams. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Hurley, Robert F. The Decision to Trust: How Leaders Create High-Trust Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2012. Print. Williams, Chuck. Management. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2013. Print. Dyer, W G, Jeffrey H. Dyer, and William G. Dyer. Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2013. Print. Wilde, Douglass J. Teamology: The Construction and Organization of Effective Teams. New York: Springer, 2008. Print. Walter, Matthias, and Jürgen Zimmermannm. Multi-project Management with a Multi-Skilled Workforce: A Quantitative Approach Aiming at Small Project Teams, 2015. Print. Czarnecki, Al. Crisis Communications: A Primer for Teams : Roles, Resources, Processes, Principles. New York: iUniverse, 2007. Print. West, Michael A. Effective Teamwork: Practical Lessons from Organizational Research. Chichester, West Sussex: BPS Blackwell, 2012. Print. Topchik, Gary S. The First-Time Managers Guide to Team Building. New York: Amacom, 2007. Print. Read More