The Importance of Team Leadership

In the current corporate world, teamwork is essential for companies that want to excel. Collaboration enhances workers involvement, fosters innovation and also leverages human resources. Over the years the numbers of companies using teams that are self-directed have been on the rise from 27% in 1987 to 68% in 1993 according to a survey by the center of Effective Organizations. The success of any team depends on its leadership; these team leaders must, first of all, understand their roles, their team members’ personalities and know how to lead the team through its development stages.  Team leadership involves three functions, as a team leader, a facilitator and a manager, however as one juggle these three roles he or she ought to know that the primary objective at his or her disposal is getting the team in the right path and help it in achieving its goals.

    Keywords: leading teams, leadership, leadership competencies, performance management skills, collaborative environment  

Leading Teams

In team-leading, those in charge must ensure that the goal of the team is realistic. An efficient team-leading motivates members, and act as a driving force towards the success of the team. For one to be considered a good leader, he or she should possess the necessary leadership competencies that include a focus on the goal, ability to provide a collaborative environment, possess sufficient technical expertise, able to set priorities, ability to build confidence, and also exhibit performance management skills.

To be a successful leader, you should be both a team member and a leader so that you can be able to understand the team’s progress and be able to manage it as well. Engagement in the team’s activities is essential for team leaders because it helps them to understand every team member and this helps in creating an open, productive process and also enhances the team’s confidence. Similarly, they have a responsibility of adding value to the efforts of the organization; this can only be possible when one takes part in the team’s activities as a member. Every member’s contribution is significant, and leaders should make use of such efforts in focusing on their mission. In cases where there are team leader’s disengagement and lack of membership, the leader will be in the dark concerning the team’s operations, leading to low productivity, therefore, making most employees be dissatisfied and lack confidence (Eikenberry, 2012). Team engagement and membership is vital in team leading because this enables the leaders to identify problems whenever they arise and solve as well as recognize excellence and give praises which act as a motivator.  This approach can only work when the leaders are part of the team.

The leader of the team should know the vision of his team and come up with clear goals so that he or she can get member’s loyalty and eventual general success in the long run.  Similarly, those responsible with leading the teams should create an environment that fosters collaboration to encourage critical thinking, new ideas, and innovation among the team members. By giving the members autonomy, they get the opportunity of proving their worth and value to their leader and work hard to realize the team’s goal. An individual, who makes the members of the team to understand the importance of the organizational purpose, recognizes their commitment towards achieving it and show trust in them will be considered as a good team leader. The understanding of the importance of the team’s goal motivates employees and positively influences the success of the team (Cole, 2001). By building a strong mutual leader-member relationship, it promotes the growth of confidence, trust, responsiveness and stimulation amongst the team members. A team that possesses these set of attributes is on the right track towards success and achievement of high customer satisfaction.

According to the article by Nicola Nelson, for a team to be productive and efficient, its leader must be able to carry out some actions to realize this goal. These actions include writing a charter, choosing a capable team, assuming leadership, planning, communicating, leading, delegating, consulting, and giving credit where team members perform well (Nelson, 2006). Writing of a charter is an essential step in team leading, and it should be the first process as it helps to define what the team can do and what it cannot do hence enhancing the success of the team and customer’s satisfaction. While choosing members of your teams leaders should consider resources at their disposal and get team members with the necessary skills. In case of a scenario where a leader is given an already existing team, he or she should ensure that he or she understands each member by holding a one on one meeting with them.

After choosing a team with the necessary skills, it is now time to assume leadership. Ensure that members meet their commitments and in cases where issues occur the leader should find the source and deal with the responsible members privately. Those members who consistently fail to deliver or play their roles as required should be removed from the team because they are unproductive and a burden to other members.  Effective leaders are good planners. Plans outline what the team needs to achieve and assigns responsibility to each member and help in ensuring that tangible results are produced. The process of planning help one determine whether the group can meet the charter using the available resources and on time, if not the leader need to find more resources or re-scope the charter.

Communication is a vital tool in leading teams effectively and a key to the success of a team. The team leaders must ensure each member is accessible to information. “No team member should be able to say… but you never told me” (Nelson, 2006). This goal can be possible by holding frequent short meetings with the team members, and these leaders should give an honest report of the team’s progress and potential difficulties. Team members, on the other hand, should be given the opportunity to share their opinion.

 Effective leaders take charge and lead by example, keep moving forward, and they trust their experience, common sense and judgments. In leading teams, the leaders should have the final say in the process of decision making even if the decisions they make are tough. Delegating duties to members of the team helps in leveraging resources and also increases productivity because each member will know that he or she has a commitment to accomplish and as a result work hard towards it. The leaders, on the other hand, have a duty of planning, communicating, and leading their teams, by performing their roles efficiently their team members will be encouraged, and they will ensure they are delivering quality results as well.

You cannot know everything, and therefore it is essential to learn from others to enhance your team’s productivity. In cases where the team is experiencing challenges it is prudent for the team leaders to seek advice and possible solutions; however, good leaders do not implement those opinions that they feel are wrong because they trust their instincts. Finally, good team leaders give credit to their team members in instances where they show hard work and produce good results.

Conclusion

In the 21st century, the companies that seek to remain relevant in the business industry do not just rely on the management for the progress of the company but also use teamwork where workers are given autonomy to make decisions, share their opinions and take part in innovation. The organizations that encourage collaboration and have efficient team leadership performs tremendously, and in most cases, employees are happy because they feel to be part of the company’s mission and work hard towards achieving it. Similarly, customers feel satisfied because they get high-quality products. The success of the teams depends on the team leaders and those leaders that possess sufficient qualities to produce good results.

References

Nelson N. (2006). Leading Teams Ten Top Tips.  PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/dau/nel_ja06.pdf

Cole B. (2001). When You’re in Charge: Tips for Leading Teams. Team Builders Plus. https://www.teambuildersplus.com/when-youre-in-charge-tips-for-leading-teams/

Eikenberry K. (2012). Seven Keys to More Effectively Leading Teams. Leadership and Learning. https://blog.kevineikenberry.com/leadership-supervisory-skills/seven-keys-to-more-effectively-leading-teams/