Teamwork, Communication & Leadership Skills - Essay Example

Learning Paper: Team Working, Communication & Leadership Skills Roll No: Teacher: 25th November 2008 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Learning Paper: Team Working, Communication & Leadership Skills 3 Learning Skills 3 Team Working 4 Communication 6 Supporting 7 Listening 7 Interpersonal Communication 9 Oral Communication 10 Written Communication 11 Leadership 11 Conclusion 13 Works Cited 14 Learning Paper: Team Working, Communication & Leadership Skills Learning Skills Learning skills play an important role in facilitating people with different kinds of knowledge. The learning skills that I have opted for this learning paper are team working, communication and leadership skills. While working in form of a team, I have gained experience about team working, communication and leadership skills. Team working plays a very crucial role in effective working. While working in a team, people not only get awareness of the performance of tasks but how about their social existence. With team working, people learn about how to tackle different problems while being in a team. Team working also facilitates people with further learning related to professionalism. In professional lives, team working is very significant, as people are required to be in teams. Team working also deals with communication. Communication is a skill that accommodates people to deal with one another. With the help of communication, people learn about living and working in group and teams. With the help of communication, we are able to get information and knowledge about people’s thinking, ideas and skills. Communication is a two way process in which the speaker and listener both have to communicate in a business setting in order to facilitate further communication. Leadership’s significance cannot be devalued as it is the leader who is able to keep people in teams and who facilitates them to follow him/her as a torch bearer (Renesch 1994). A leader is one who keeps people motivated towards tasks’ performance. In organizations and companies, leadership is very persuasive aspect, as it is only because of leaders that employees accompany each other towards a single motive and objective. Therefore, while working in a team, I learnt about team working, communication and leadership, all of which are very fundamental in professional life. All of these skills are interlinked to each other. Team Working Group effectiveness is very crucial in obtainment of jobs done. For every task or performance that is to be done by a group, there are some factors that are necessary to make the group productive and effective. The key factors that influence the effectiveness of a group are the characteristics of group members such as relevant professional skills, interpersonal skills, balanced diversity and time frame, member role, group size, norms, cohesiveness, development, adjourning and virtual communication (Devine, et. al 1999). Team working is all about cooperation and collaborative working because people are not working as individuals but as a team in which, they do not have separate ambitions and aims but a sole objective which is understood by them all (Knouse and Dansby 1999). This fact cannot be denied that people have their personal benefits in team working but primary importance is given to a single combined aim and personal benefits are kept secondary. In organizations and companies, there are separate departments for different tasks such as accounts for financial transactions and reporting, administration for administering and monitoring employees and their performance, marketing for the promotion of the organization and many more (Rhee 2007). In all the departments, there are teams that work for that department. If the organization or company is large enough, the departments can have many teams. In case of small companies, the departments can be seen as teams of a company. All the departments have their secondary aims and objectives but the major objective of all the departments is to facilitate the company as a whole (Rhee 2007). While working in teams, the team members should be able to have the ability of listening, conversing, probing, convincing, supporting, corresponding, esteeming, contributing and sharing (Knouse and Dansby 1999). All these skills accommodate the team workers to get other ideas and opinions and to share their own. Team members can work in forms of a team effectively and successfully if they adhere to and follow all the principals of good communication. All the team members should be aware of the characteristics and qualities which other members have regarding task performance. With the awareness of each others’ abilities, the people in a group can facilitate each other in task performance. In a team, different people can be found such as coordinators, investigators, managers, leaders, workers, monitors, specialists and many others (Rhee 2007). Communication is a very significant aspect in the effectiveness of a group. Communication is reported to be of two types, one with centralized networking and other with decentralized networking. Communication pattern play an influential role on group performance. Good and effective communication helps the better co-ordination and efficient control (Rhee 2007). It results in clear understanding, good production, healthy climate within the group working, willing co-operation among the various levels of groups and general good will (Devine, et. al 1999). Virtual communication is another way to correspond to the group members. Those members who are unable to meet each other face to face, they communicate virtually. Virtual communication can also be there, when there are less chances of face-to-face communication (Knouse and Dansby 1999). Virtual communication incorporates the technology such as emailing, teleconferencing, videoconferencing, faxing and many other ways to communicate with the support of technology. Face-to-face communication is very influential and as compared to virtual communication is much effectual but with latest technology, people can interact to one another in as less time as in face to face communication. People in a group can organize a web meeting and can share their ideas on any specific situation (Rhee 2007). Communication Communication is, always has been, and always will be one of the most pre-eminent skills of management. Because of electronic communication and widely spread teams related to business settings, good communication is often more difficult. There are weaknesses in terms of telephonic communications as well as face to face communications. Emails and facsimiles are a fast way of communication but they are also with some problems. Effective communication is very significant for success and good reputation of any company or organization. Successful communication results in developing good relationships between the employers and employees, between the consumers and the sellers (Kelsey and Plumb 1997). Good and effective communication helps the better co-ordination and efficient control. It results in clear understanding, good production, healthy climate within the organization, willing co-operation among the various levels of management and general good will (Butterfield, Arthur and Sigafoos 1995). It always brings good dividend. Because of effective communication, the businessmen can communicate effectively and successfully. Effective communication is a part of good communication. Effectiveness means better response, ideal co-ordination with the aims and objectives of organization and greater adaptability to change (Ellinor and Gerard 1998). Communication is a tool of management that plays a key role in decision making. The greater is the organization, the greater is the role of communication. The production, regulation of quality, quality control and distribution of goods and services is impossible without effective communication (Kelsey and Plumb 1997). Supporting Supporting is all about creating a climate in which your people can carry out their allocated tasks effectively. Supporting them shields them from the petty irritations of organizational life, fights the institutional battles on their behalf and allows them to focus on the job in hand (Drucker 1977). The management of a company should be supportive for the working employees because due to this support a good and promotional environment will be created that will also support in the promotion of business (Ellinor and Gerard 1998). The skills needed for establishing a good management includes listening along with a lot of negotiation to get achievable but challenging targets, delegating and motivating, planning and communicating (Butterfield, Arthur and Sigafoos 1995). Communication plays an important role in the development of a suitable environment for the employees as well as for management. Listening Listening is the most significant part of communication. For an effective management, the management should spend a fair proportion of their time in listening but this practice is not done by most of the organizations. The mangers have to improve their listening skills to understand their employees’ problems and other issues regarding to a company (Campbell and Level 1985). Being a good listener brings many benefits, over and above the obvious ones of receiving more accurate information. Good listening helps to build relationships; it is a vital part of appraisal and training and is also one of the key learning channels open to the managers. Communication involves four basic components; speaking, writing, reading and listening. If the managers are able to listen effectively, they can also do the other component tasks easily (Butterfield, Arthur and Sigafoos 1995). For the improvement of listening skills, you can follow the following steps: 1- If you have not time to listen then say so. If someone comes into your office when you are doing some important task that cannot be left, tell him/her. You should be able to judge whether your task is more important or the topic on which the person has something to talk to you (Ellinor and Gerard 1998). 2- Focus your mind on what is being said. Consider the message you are sending if you listen with only a part of your attention. It suggests either the message is of little importance or the speaker doesn’t matter. This focus is not easy (Kelsey and Plumb 1997). Mangers are busy and normally have a number of problems and concerns in the background and the forefront of their minds. 3- Encourage the speaker to communicate. Encouragement can come in the form of confirmation nods and words of approval or questions that clarify and expand what the person is telling you. It should confirm your continuing interest and create a relaxed environment for the person who is talking to you (Campbell and Level 1985). The balance between encouraging someone to tell you everything and preserving enough time in the day to doing anything else also needs careful thought. 4- Do not interrupt! In case of interruptions two things will happen. One that you will stop listening (Drucker 1977). Ask clarifying questions but once the message is complete. Your clarifying questions are important but you should focus on listening and keep your clarifying questions for the ending of the speaker’s message. Second is that if you interrupt, it may corrupt the message that the speaker is trying to communicate. Many people will be sensitive to your reaction to what they are saying and will modify the message in response to the tone of your questions (Zilber, Rawlings and Shaddock 1994). 5- Listen to the non-vocal messages; tone of voice and the fluency of speech will prove valuable indicators of the comfort of the person to whom you are listening (Campbell and Level 1985). Listen to the subtext; that collection of hesitancies, expression and body language that can be most important part of the communication. 6- Make sure a record is made. Make a note yourself, which is a powerful response, indicating recognition of the importance of the message and the messenger. Interpersonal Communication For effective interpersonal communication, three things are important. They are what outcome you want, being flexible in your approach and recognizing when you have got the result you want (Butterfield, Arthur and Sigafoos 1995). Types of Communication that the management is going to employ are: Seeking Information: Seeking information at inappropriate times will call your judgement into question. The management should information when required by following the three basic aspects of interpersonal communication (Harbridge 1998). Providing Information: If you are scheduled to provide some information, then either provide it on time, or warn the affected people that it’s going to be late (Drucker 1977). For providing information to the employees, the management should keep in mind the aspects of interpersonal communication to do effective communication. There are two ways in which communication takes place in a business environment. They are oral and written communication. Oral Communication Oral communication is commonly used in face to face dealings or it may take place on telephone which the most useful method in terms of long distances. It is simple, more convenient, economical and less time consuming method (Harbridge 1998). It saves much of the time of the management. It has the advantage of personal factors like power of persuasion, influence scoring point. It helps in bargaining, settlement of terms, orders and instructions, reports and inquiries. It can also provide immediate results (Drucker 1977). Oral communication is considered less reliable as compared to the written communication. Written Communication In business drafting, the Companies and organizations make use of written communication. Letter, memorandums and reports are used as types of written communication within the organization. While for external contacts and dealings, they make use of e-mails and faxes, etc. In fact, success largely depends on accurate and effective, forceful and timely transmission of facts and figures through reports and research (Zilber, Rawlings and Shaddock 1994). Written communication is more tedious, time consuming and taxing. The writer has to plan the message first, arrange the contents and write them out clearly and concisely. It takes time and demands good command language (Drucker 1977). But it is more effective, reliable, safer and lasting. It can be presented as record. Leadership Leadership can be defined as an essential aspect of an organization. Leaders play an effective role in persuading employees and workers under them towards a centralized mission of the organization (Argyris 1976). Leaders keep the power of affecting the organization as a whole because of their leading power that they exercise on employees. Leaders are of many kinds and all kinds have their own merits and demerits. Effective and persuasive leaders are those who have the power to convince and persuade their subordinates towards doing a task (House 2004). Different writers have different opinions about the role of leadership in an organization. Some leaders facilitate their employees in terms of obtainment of their ideas while other leaders impose their decisions on the employees. Some leaders take work from employees as an authority while others form a friendly relationship with their employees. Management can also act as the leadership of an organization. It is always not necessary that leaders are separate than managers. Parry and Hansen, in their article, “The Organizational Story as Leadership”, 2007, explain that leadership and management is given importance and prominence because of the fixed visions and objectives which are set by them so that their subordinates including them can act upon these set objectives and can also try their utmost to gain these objectives (Parry and Hansen 2007). Leaders and managers also inform the lower staff some promotional stories and incidents that encourage them to move forward and advance for a common perspective and mission, which is the betterment of their organization, company or society. The article by Parry and Hansen discusses leaders not as a combined word of leadership but leaders as individuals. This article also highlights that for different visions connected to leadership and management, a particular language is employed (Parry and Hansen 2007). The stories and incidents told by leaders to make their subordinates work are considered as working just like the leaders. They are considered just like the leaders because they have the same impact on the subordinates as the leaders have. The stories also encourage the staff members to do a task same as the leaders encourage people to move forward by doing a particular task (Parry and Hansen 2007). According to Parry and Hansen, the stories told by the leaders also do the leadership job and that is of encouragement and compelling the co-workers to do a particular set of activities. Parry and Hansen assign the role of leadership to the stories that are told by the leaders to motivate their staff members (Parry and Hansen 2007). This article highlights the importance of discourse for the structuring of ideas related to leadership. Wilson, Boudreaux and Edwards wrote an article, “High-Performance Leadership at the Individual Level”, 2000, which was related to the performance of the leader as a single person’s responsibility. According to the writers, the employees play a crucial role for development and establishment of an organization. They are the pillars of an organization or company (Wilson, Boudreaux and Edwards 2000). As the employees play a crucial role for the organizations, so the leaders should realize this factor and should keep into consideration how they can lead the employees to show their utmost skill for the improvement and betterment of business or any other work. The article describes that the leader should be capable to identify and locate employee’s performance and his/her potentiality for the working environment (Wilson, Boudreaux and Edwards 2000). The writers have identified certain aspects that the leaders should employ to get the maximum output from their subordinates. Conclusion Team working, communication and leadership, all are very significant in professional working because of their need in organizational setting. The learning process is very supportive in facilitating people with skills that are required in professional lives. Team working is very significant because in business settings, tasks can be performed in form of teams, so learning of the skills by means of working is entirely essential. Communication is also vital for successful task performance. Communication is also supportive in team working. All kinds of communications are essential such as written, oral and others because through communication, we can get and provide information. Leadership is also crucial because leaders have to consider not their individual self but the whole organization. Works Cited Argyris, C. Increasing Leadership Effectiveness. New York: Wiley, 1976. Butterfield N, Arthur M and Sigafoos J. Partners in everyday communicative exchanges. 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