Group Process and Team Development - Assignment Example

Group Process and Team Development Introduction Leadership is a vital key and if well applied, may assist an organization in achieving its goals and objectives. A leader is supposed to provide the direction for growth and development of a given business organization. Through proper leadership and application of management practices, an organization is distinguished from the rest based on its culture and philosophy of its operations. It should also be noted that organizations have defined their culture of operations based on the leadership in place. As a result, every organization is distinguished from another based on leadership strategies in place. At the same time, the organization strategies and methods of operation dictate the type of leadership in place. An organization can encourage or discourage application of certain type of leadership based on the culture instilled in the same organization by the founding leaders. Nevertheless, every leader has the opportunity to steer a business organization into a desired direction. For an organization to grow, the leader in place must have a unique style of approach geared towards growth and development. LEADER Responsibilities See Venn Diagram above: Evaluation Rating 1-10 1 = Extremely Effective 10 = Not Effective Lead When Necessary --Staying flexible in your leadership style --Leading when the team gets stuck --Adapting your style of leadership based on the needs of the situation Achieve the Objective 3 Evaluate and Intervene as Needed --Stepping back frequently to monitor team performance --Organizing logistics, lobbying for resources, communicating to the organization about the team’s activities, remove obstacles from team’s path --Intervening to protect the team and its resources Achieve the Objective 3 Appreciate Team Members --Providing positive feedback – builds morale and cohesiveness --Balancing developmental and positive feedback Develop the People 1 Develop Individuals by Coaching/Guiding --Coaching/guiding members of the team (helping them understand themselves and their role/response/interaction with the team members --Creating dialogue using open-ended questions Develop the People 3 Engage the Team --Introducing team-building techniques and activities to the team --Being aware of the group dynamics and the stages in team development Build the Team 5 Reinforce Results --Celebrating successes --Including rewards and recognition for exemplary team performance --Stopping to recognize results Build the Team 1 Self-Analysis On the leading when necessary, I have a score of one which translates to extremely effective leadership. I am a flexible leader who leads from the front, but always willing to go back and assist the team members. Flexibility refers to the ability to tailor a given plan based on the existing conditions. It means being ready to counter a situation in a given way irrespective of preconceived idea on the same. A flexible person is open to feedback from the team members and other professional in the field. However, flexibility does not stretch to give an element of sycophancy, but rather makes the person willing to learn according to new challenges encountered (Warren, 2012). My challenge here is adapting a specific leadership style because I believe that no specific leadership approach can solve all the problems of the team. To overcome this hurdle as a leader, I need to focus more on goals achievement rather than addressing the individual needs of the team members. With the realization that conflicts are bound to take place in any given setting, I always attempt to monitor the team performance closely. Through such initiatives, I get feedback on the requirements of the team in terms of resources and logistics. I also see my presence as a constant reminder of the goals and objectives that drive of the team, and such my presence is always vital. The challenge in evaluating and intervening is providing the team with all their requirements. This is because of the budget constraints which exist within organizations. To overcome this, I need to develop better negotiation skills to ensure that the needs of the team members are addressed. My challenge is availing myself to the group each time I am required. To overcome this, I will appoint an assist who will provide leadership in my absence. On developing individuals through coaching/guiding, I have a score of 3. As a leader, I always emphasize on the need for self-development through trial and error rather than condemn the team members. A leader must have a vision that he or she should assist the team members pursue. On top of the vision, the leader should have leadership qualities that will make the team members to align to the vision that the team is in pursuing. The vision refers to a dream or a goal that the team has conceived. Through dialogues and open-ended questions, a leader is best suit to understand the needs of their team members and address them in time. The challenge in using open ended questions is that the right feedback may not necessary to achieved, and a result, appraisals should used. As a leader, I am good at appreciating team members. This is because, through appreciation, the team members feel a sense of recognition and appreciation. I also practice a balance between criticism and praise, assisting those who go wrong and praising those who accomplish stated goals and objectives. This is because, in order to become a successful leader, it is vital that one understands the advantages of offering feedback that guides, encourages, and makes people to participate fully in the achieving set goals and objectives. An effective leader should always seek opportunities to establish positive communication, trust, and meaningful relationships that improve job performance. Therefore, in order to cultivate a positive impact within the organizational culture, it is necessary that a leader emphasizes the necessities of providing and getting regular feedback among the followers and the leaders. Feedback mechanisms which conceal the identity of the team members will be developed to facilitate them with an avenue to express themselves freely. The challenge has been creating cohesiveness among the team members who have diverse opinions. To overcome this I have to improve my skills in conflict resolution as it is vital for the success of the entire tea. In team engagement, I am an average leader who strives to engage the team members’ inputs- but to some extent. This is my shortcoming, as I tend to view the team members’ input as mere suggestions which I either implement or dispose. However, it is quite apparent that team engagement enables the leader to have a good understanding of the team. I will learn to welcome the opinions of others through decentralization, where the team members will be allowed to implement their opinions in the same. I am a leader who appreciates good work and reinforce the good work through motivation. Motivation in terms of encouraging those that perform poorly to emulate the best, and encouraging the best to do even better. To maintain this character, regular appraisal will be done within the team and reward those with outstanding records. My challenge is that I am sometimes too busy to notice repeated efforts. To avoid this, each effort by the team members will be noted down, and those who show exemplary improvement will be rewarded. Leadership Approach The style of leadership that I find easy to use is the supportive leadership style. This is because, as a supportive leader, one facilitates the growth, motivation, and self-learning of the team members. Team members will not feel obliged to perform and therefore will feel free to seek assisted in any unfamiliar grounds. The most difficult leadership style to use is directive. This is because, in order to achieve large-scale objectives, team members must work as a team with regular support from a leader. However, directing, involves the continuous demand for above-average performance which may at times be counterproductive. This is because, in providing support in achievement of the goals, the team members feel motivated, rather threatened as the case is with directing. There exists a negative correlation as directing involves the use of force to achieve an objective, while support leadership involves the use of motivation. When it comes to my style of leadership, I am a very flexible person who can change his leadership to confine to any situation. Beara Squad Presentation Authentic leadership The first lesson is that various definitions on leadership exist but the common description of leadership is that leadership is the ability to lead others towards achievement of goals. However, the power to lead originates from the team members. The second lesson is that authentic leaders are leaders who have values for which their leadership is based. They have a humble background which defined their future, and people can easily relate to. Some of the authentic leaders include Martin Luther Jing Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Rudy Giuliani, and John F. Kennedy. Creative Leadership Leadership is a collaborative effort that involves the process of developing and implementing ideas to achieve change in the organization. Leadership is a creative process which can be learnt by any one, at any management level so long as they are passion-driven, visionary, courageous, intelligent, and so on. Creativity goes hand-in-hand with leadership as it leads to growth of the organization. Organizations exist as complex institutions as a result of a number of variable some of which include new government regulations, changes in global economies, growing volumes of data, and the ever changing customer’ tastes and preferences. Effective Communication The four types of communication include interpersonal communication, public communication, organization communication, and mass communication. Communication can be categorized into three types; verbal, non-verbal, and written communication. For communication to be efficient, it has to be clear, the other party must listen, there must be a follow up, and feedback. The communicator has to select carefully the language and channel to use to deliver the message without any distortion. Superior communication skills are one of the necessary skills that should be incorporated in the future leadership roles. This is because to be an effective leader, it is necessary that a system of communication for the organization is well established. Research has shown that an effective leader needs to be open to constructive response. Read More