Process of Effective Team Leadership - Essay Example

Team Leadership   Essay 1000 words   Team Leadership Leadership can be described as a process through which people influence others in an effort to accomplish a common goal. Effective leadership is a crucial element of team management and it determines a team’s success.1 In every team, the leader is seen as an influential individual who coordinates and motivates the team members to work hard in order to attain the team’s objectives. The team leader is also supposed to indicate the general direction of the team and assign tasks accordingly. 2 Our MG100 team is comprised of four members and we all agreed to share the lead. However, considering the team’s organisation, delegation of duties and communication, Person B can be said to be the team leader. Her leadership traits emerged in the first group meeting, where she coordinated the activities and played the lead role in setting the team’s goals and objectives. Person B ensured that every team member participated in the all the team’s activities and ascertained that we all knew our roles and contributions to the team. She set the team’s activities in motion, facilitated communication within the team and helped in defining clear goals for the team.3 Even though all the team members were equals, she had a certain influence on the group that helped to set the team’s activities in motion. She was leading a group of peers and successfully maintained influence on us without leading into disagreements. This paper will discuss some of the leadership traits and skills that Person B possessed and the manner in which they influenced the whole team. It is difficult to manage a diverse team, especially one that is composed of individuals who bear equal authority. This means that a single individual cannot domineer or assert authority over the others.4 However, one individual can rise above the rest and influence the others by motivating them, facilitating activities, encouraging the team members, enhancing effective communication and maintaining trust, therefore, playing a leadership role in the team. 5 This was the case with our MG100 team. Person B showed leadership skills and helped the team to achieve its goals. We were all held accountable for the team’s performance, meaning that she was not responsible for the team’s output. As team members, we did not report to her but she facilitated the group’s activities because she had great organisational skills, which allowed every team member to trust her with the leadership role.6 We did not conduct a formal selection to instil her as our leader, but the value she brought into the group qualified her to take the lead role in the team. Person B enhanced communication within the team and allowed us to share ideas. Communication Communication is an important element of leadership. Effective communication processes help in fostering cohesion within the team, as the team members are able to discuss the direction forward. Effective communication also allows the team members to talk about the issues affecting them, therefore, maintaining a healthy relationship with one another.7 Person B was able to enhance communication within the team. During our first meeting, she suggested that we needed to communicate often to help in arranging meetings, delegating roles and evaluating each other’s progress. I saw this as a good idea that would ensure that all team members were active and none would be left behind. We were able to come up with weekly meetings, an appropriate venue and we agreed to communicate through Facebook and Whatsapp. This initiative facilitated the decision-making process, when the team members needed to choose essay parts. By communicating effectively, we were able to develop the topics needed in our essay and each member was able to state the part that he or she was conversant with. The few disputes that arose were easily solved, therefore, helping us to save time and work in cohesion. Person B also played a key role in setting the team’s goals. She assisted in organising the essay’s contents and helped to steer the team in the right direction. Since every team member had been assigned a specific part, it was easy to complete the whole essay. Assigning different parts to the team members was equivalent to setting clear goals, since every individual understood what was expected from him or her. Influence Leaders influence other people, therefore, leading to the effectiveness in every organisation. 8 In our small team, person influenced the team members by leading by example. She worked extra hard and took up some of the roles that seemed too difficult. She did most of the work, therefore, challenging the rest of the team to work. She initiated the first research that enabled the team to find an outline for the essay. After every team members had selected his or her part in the essay, two sections, which involved writing the introduction and the conclusion, remained. Person B took a step beyond other team members by volunteering to write these sections, therefore, showing commitment. She also volunteered to edit and write the final copy, indicating that she was ready to take on the responsibilities. This level of commitment and accountability to the team’s activities demonstrated that Person B had taken the leadership role. This is because leaders assume accountability and work hard to provide the team with necessary resources that will help in achieving the ultimate goal. When we realised that she had the greatest workload, we decided to complete our portions quickly in order to assist her in editing and reviewing the essay. This shows that she had influence on the other team members, since she had motivated us to work hard. She had set the pace and we had to follow in her footsteps.9 In conclusion, Person B was not selected as the team leader. However, she brought organisational skills that enabled her to be viewed as the team leader. She was able to develop ideas that helped in organising meetings and facilitating communication among the team members. She also showed responsibility and demonstrated dedication, therefore, influencing the team members to work hard. 10 Bibliography Achua, F., & Lussier, N. Effective leadership (5th ed., International Ed.). South-Western Cengage Learning, Australia; United Kingdom, 2013. Baldoni, J. Lead by example 50 ways great leaders inspire results. S.l.: Distributed by Amazon Digital Services, 2011. Cunyat, A., & Melguizo, C. Effective leadership in teams: a simple model. Applied Economics Letters, 2013, vol. 20, no.16, pp. 1459-1461. Kurucz, E. C., & Wheeler, D. Reconstructing value: leadership skills for a sustainable world. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013. McKenna, J. & Maister, H. First among equals: how to manage a group of professionals. New York: Free Press, 2002. Read More