Characteristics and Skills of an Effective Team Leader - Essay Example

Discuss the characteristics and skills of an effective team leader Organisations are physical structures, in which different set of employees will carry out their allocated work, with the leader or leaders managing and guiding them. That is, the leaders will first apportion the employees into different departments based on their qualifications and work experiences, so that there is better arrangement as well as streamlined form of work. By apportioning the employee into specific departments, the leader will set in or initiate the process of team formation. Each department will be given specific roles and tasks by the leader to contribute to the overall functioning of the organisation. While fulfilling those tasks and roles, the employees in each department will work in cohesion as well as with cooperation, and that will lead to natural team formation. Apart from this formation of teams naturally or as part of organisational processes, leaders or particularly effective team leaders will take or have to take steps to encourage more team formation as part of carrying out the organisation processes. After forming the teams, the effective team leaders will optimize the functioning of the team members through various strategies. These strategies, apart from strengthening team bond will also result in optimization of the employees’ performance, leading to better productivity and profits for the organisation. So, this part of the paper will discuss certain characteristics and skills of an effective team leader, and how they implement those skills during the organisational functioning to elevate employees’ functioning. The key factor that can strengthen or even break a team in an organisational setup is the treatment of employees by the leader. That is, effective team leaders should treat every employee equally and importantly on merit, and should not show any favouritism and biases for particular employee or employees. In an organization, there will be many situations during which this trait of the leader will be tested, and one important situation is when the leader gives rewards, incentives, promotions and even non-financial praises to the employees. That is, if the leader overriding highly performing employees rewards or promotes employees who do not deserve it, only because of non-organisational reasons, then it will de-motivate and disenchant all the other employees in the team, creating disunity among them. Then they would band together as a separate team, within the team, working by not following the leaders’ instructions. Equity theory of motivation states “that people have to believe that their pay is equitable with others. If they believe their compensation is not equitable, they become very de-motivated and their work performance suffers” (Stockley). So, keep the employees as part of team and in a motivated state, the leader should first recognize and then right and deserving individuals. The key skill of an effective team leader is setting good examples for the team members regarding the work processes, and thereby be a role model for them. That is, in an organisation, a leader’s ‘touch’ (both mental and physical touch) will be found in all aspects of organisational functioning. So, while overseeing and managing those processes, the leader should get involved both physically and mentally and thereby motivating the employees. That is, for example, if an employee is facing some difficultly in a particular organisational process, effective team leader should involve himself/herself to help the employee understand or solve the problem, without shying from their responsibilities. If the leaders do this, it will motivate all the employees to give their best outputs without any complaints, by optimally uniting among themselves. “Good management consists in showing average people how to do the work of superior people” (Rockefeller 1996). So, setting good examples will make the majority of the workers follow the leader in every aspect, thereby uniting as teams. Team formation and communication can also be improved by an effective team leader, if he/she actualizes effective common communication channels for the employees. In a team, there will be dissension or disunity, if the leader gives importance to particular employees, and gives only those opportunities to communicate with them. However, if an effective team actualizes a barrier free two-way communication channels for employees from all departments or teams, all of them will get their opportunities to air their views, ideas, grievances etc. This form of communication will give them the feeling that all are treated equally, and will in turn elevate their motivation levels as well as their association with the team and the organisation. “Good two-way communication can help to build the psychological contract, in which employees feel valued by their employer, and the employer values (and is seen to value) employees’ contributions” (cipd) Leadership training for a recently recruited trainee Manager In any organisation in any section, when a new employee is recruited, some times they (experienced ones) will be able to start the work without any major training and orientation program. However, in most cases, the recruited employees particularly trainee employees have to given apt training through various processes, so they are equipped to handle the allocated tasks. This need for training will also be applicable to the employees who are recruited for trainee Manager position. More importantly, as they are taking over leadership position, they need to be given apt and optimal leadership training. That is, the Manager trainee as part of leadership training should be given key skills training and through that training has to be given a better understanding of their leadership capabilities. “Skill building turns leadership development into a tangible reality. It recognizes specific leadership behaviors that can be taught—such as team building, public speaking or effective negotiating.” (Mawson 2001, p44). Apart from the skills training, better orientation about the job responsibilities of a Manager can be provided to the trainee optimally through mentoring and coaching with the aid of experienced leaders. Mentoring and coaching are commonly used as part of the training process particularly in leadership training processes for the professional as well as personal development of new trainee manager. “Recent CIPD surveys have reported that the use of coaching and mentoring as development tools are on the increase within organisations. According to respondents, 72% use formal mentoring schemes and 88% expect line managers to deliver coaching as part of their day to day work.” (trainingzone.co.uk). Thus, leadership training programs are being widely utilized by the organisations to better the leadership qualities of the trainee manager, thereby maximizing their ability to provide optimal leadership to the organisation. The leadership training program for the trainee manager can be carried out for 2 days, with each part of the organisation being involved. Below is the schedule of the training program which can be arranged for the trainee. Time Activity Type Responsibility Day 1 30 minutes Introduction with the manager or supervisor of the department, in which he/she is going to work. Employees are also introduced. Facilitated group activity Manager or Supervisor, depending the hierarchy 30 minutes Presentation of overall working processes of the department, its role responsibilities and position in the organisational functioning Activity between trainee and Supervisor/Manager Manager or Supervisor, 30 minutes Paper and Web-Based training module, which describes organisation’s customer base, distributors, supply chain, delivery process, documentation, etc Self Study Supervisor/Trainee 4 hours Mentoring program. An experienced leader or expert has to function as the mentor for the trainee, and he/she should ‘shadow’ the mentor for major part of the work. Expert shadowing Mentor and the Trainee End Of Day 1 Printed materials about the department process Self study Supervisor/Training team Day 2 15 minutes Discussion of previous day’s training, particularly clarification of any doubts Interactive Supervisor or Manager 5 hour Mentoring program with the same mentor, following him/her doing different set of works Expert shadowing Mentor and the Trainee 15 minutes One-on-one discussion with HR manager regarding training, particularly whether he/she is satisfied with the training One on One interaction HR 30 minutes Collective discussion with HR and Supervisor whether to go for further training or not Three way interaction HR/Supervisor/ Trainee Apart from these training schedule, one of the key process which can be carried out as part of leadership training is involving the trainee Manager in various key organizational processes as well as decision making processes. That is, before a decision has to be taken, the decision making process will be initiated and during that process the leader or manager or supervisor without taking the decisions unilaterally, can forward his/her ideas, strategies, thoughts, etc to the trainee as part of discussion and elicit his/her feedback. Based on the trainee’s feedbacks and views, the leader can carry out an analysis of his/her own and then come up with a decision. It becomes evident that this process is oriented toward providing the leader with comprehensive skills that can be used for improving leadership abilities (Pernick 2002). In any organization, if the employees particularly employees with leadership responsibilities are given important roles and asked to come up with feedbacks and suggestions for some strategies, they will optimize their mental and physical abilities. As it will be a situation, where the trainee has to prove oneself among the group of other leaders, they will heighten their motivational levels to come up with feasible and effective suggestions. Give them a clear sense of purpose, an accurate explanation of their personal importance in the running of the organisation, and regular communication about the direction and performance of the business, and they will come up with apt results. (HR zone). References cipd. Employee communication, viewed on December 11, 2010 http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/comconslt/empcomm.htm?IsSrchRe s=1 HR zone, HR tip: Controlling absence, viewed on December 11, 2010 http://www.hrzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=176289&d=1063 Mawson, TC 2001, “Can we really train leadership?”, Leadership & Management in Engineering, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 44-46. Pernick, R 2001, “Creating a leadership development program: Nine essential tasks”, Public Personnel Management, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 429-445 Rockefeller, JD. 1996, Humanistic Management by Teamwork, Edited by Baldwin, D. A. Libraries Unlimited Stockley, D, Motivation and financial and non-financial rewards, viewed on December 11, 2010 http://derekstockley.com.au/newsletters-05/025-motivation-reward.html trainingzone.co.uk, Coaching and Mentoring: Understanding the Differences, viewed on December 11, 2010 http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=154289 Read More