High-Performing Teams - Assignment Example

High-Performing Teams How are personal traits and skills related to leadership behavior? Which traits and skills may cause some people to derail their managerial career? How might this happen? Provide examples to support your ideas How personal traits and skills are related to leadership behavior Some leadership traits tend to be more crucial than others. For instance, self-discipline is key to leadership. Without self-discipline, a leader cannot accomplish the leadership role. This is because a person cannot manage others when they cannot manage themselves.

In reality, work ethics go hand in hand with self-discipline. For example, being ready to learn from mistakes is important in any form of leadership. A person in leadership needs to constantly adapt to the dynamic nature of reality. Also, a leader needs to be flexible enough to handle change. Accepting and working with change helps a leader to ultimately learn from the adjustments. It teaches one to keep aiming for the goals, even when faced with detours and delays. Being flexible also helps in changing a leader’s own behavior in case he or she is the one that is derailing progress (Lencioni, 2002).

Traits and skills may cause some people to derail their managerial career Leaders who derail in their managerial career have three characteristics in common. The first characteristic is having difficulty in changing or adapting. Many leaders occasionally lack the change skills for leadership and change implementation. In many cases, they lack the skill of being flexible. They are unable to get used to the culture of the organization. Secondly, some leaders derail in leadership due to problems with interpersonal relations.

Those leaders who do not have interpersonal tend to be abrasive, insensitive and intimidating in their style of leadership. In some cases, they are arrogant and aloof. In addition, such leaders do not have good interpersonal communication which is a big skill deficiency that affects others (Yukl, 2010). The last trait is inability to build and lead a team and not meeting organizational objectives. Many leaders are unable to build a good team due to poor staffing ability. Failure to meet organizational goal may lead to the collapse of such organizations.2. How might a leader influence the culture of an organization?

How important is the leaders style in changing the culture? How may that influence and the resulting culture be shaped to create an organization that embraces regular organizational change and innovation? How a leader influence the culture of an organization To change the culture of any organization, a leader needs to be communicate and publish the core values of the organization, mission and vision. The values need to be discussed at any given time.Secondly, the leader needs to be the role model for his or her values.

Inconsistencies between daily actions of leaders and the purported values of the organization erode the culture that is being built in an organization. For example, many organizations have innovation as the key values, but end up punishing employees for being innovative. Doing so builds a poor innovative culture in the organization.Also, culture can also be built through designing work spaces correctly. The layout of the office can affect the organization’s culture. An organization that is well designed builds a good working culture among the employees (Boynton & Fisher, 2005).3. Might an organization evaluate the effectiveness of teams?

How might team members be rewarded? Should individual effort on teams be rewarded or should the entire team have the same reward? Explain your answer and include any ethical or legal considerations. How an organization evaluates the effectiveness of teams For those organizations that implement teams, measuring the effectiveness of these teams is important. There are different reasons why teams need a good measurement system. The most important reason is reason is that the more effective a team is, the more benefits the team gets (Parker, 2008).

Organizations also need an effective team measurement since stakeholders of such organizations need returns on investment (ROI). The ROI is for costs that are associated with supporting the work team.How team members are rewarded in an organization Organizations take various form of team rewards. The forms range from cash rewards to prizes and group celebrations. The role of such rewards is to recognize the role the team plays in the organization. Teams can be rewarded through various forms. The first form is through financial incentives.

Bonuses and profit are group incentives that are based on large work units. Such units may include a whole department. This approach is used to boost productivity and makes the teams to remain focused on their goals. Recognition is another way of team rewarding. The recognition may come in the form of websites or through a public bulletin board. Additionally, recognition can come in the form of a team leader giving positive feedback about a team. Lastly, team building is another way of rewarding teams.

Having retreats before starting projects re-energizes the team and boosts its morale (Thompson, 2008). ReferencesBoynton, A., & Fisher, B. (2005). Virtuoso teams: Lessons from teams that changed their worlds. Harlow, England: Financial Times Prentice Hall.Lencioni, P. (2002). The five dysfunctions of a team: A leadership fable. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Parker, G. (2008). Team players and teamwork: New strategies for developing successful collaboration. (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Thompson, L. L. (2008). Making the team (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in organizations (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.