The elements that contribute to productive teams are similar to those that represent Team Leadership. Therefore, it can be suggested that by observing the components of Team Leadership, the effectiveness of the team will be maximized.
Once a group is brought together, they will go through a series of phases as they refine the dynamic of their team. As defined by Tuckman (1965) these respective phases are known as forming, storming, norming, and performing. Each phase defines an important process that will refine their team dynamic. The group will witness a transformation from meeting together in the “forming stage”, to working through conflict to develop their value set in the “storming” and “norming” phases, to finally working together in what can be considered a team dynamic in “performing”.
Team Leadership is about focusing not only on the goal but maximizing the talents of each member. To accomplish both of these things means that the group needs to possess multiple components. (Northouse, 2016, pg 368 – 371)
The first being a clear and elevated goal. This will be the ultimate deciding factor of whether or not a team is effective. It gives the team purpose and direction. This component can be seen as the reason or the “forming” phase for every team as it is a project or goal that is initiating this group to come together.
Second is a results-driven structure. It is important at this point that the process in which the objective attained make sense for the nature of the goal. A creative goal should allow flexibility as well as empower their members to feel autonomous in their work.
It is important that a team is only as strong as its weakest link and therefore competent team members only must be considered. Strong competency in all the members will not only contribute to a stronger end product but will also keep other members to remain as motivated to do their best work.
Developing a unified commitment and collaborative environment occurs during the “norming process” as shared values are developed and members begin to understand their personal contributions in the dynamic. Being able to fully understand how each member contributes to the role strengthens focus on the task and allows for a more open conversation so that there is a synergy.
External support and recognition is a periphery component but important nonetheless. The team will not be successful without the tools they need or feedback they require. This typically comes from an outside person in a leadership role who administered the goal to the group.
This outside source may also collaborate with the group and model certain behaviors in an effort to serve as an example to the group. This final component is considered principled leadership.
It is these factors that were defined to fully understand the complexity of team leadership but they are equally effective in helping to maximize the effectiveness of each team. These components should be kept in mind as team leaders and members work to meet the needs of their team and reach their goals.
References:
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership; Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Tuckman, B.W. (1965) Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63, 384-399.
dqt5182 says
Hello Meghan! Thank you for your research. I too wrote about the eight characteristics. I compared the team that I work with to the eight characteristics to try to do an objective look at the makeup of my team from a team-leadership perspective.
After doing this I began to ask, is it a requirement that all characteristics be met in order to be deemed a successful team? My opinion is that effectiveness can still be had even if all characteristics are not met. There should be main ones that should be focused on to make the team effective, the fourth characteristics having a unified commitment, the third step is having competent team members, the sixth having standards of excellence and last the seventh, support and recognition.
Having unified commitment speaks for itself. Without identity and unifying objectives, the team melds properly. Northouse (2016) says creating team spirit is important for having everyone in the group feel part of every aspect of the group.
Having competence among the group members I think is imperative. Being both functional competent and interpersonally competent is a must in a group setting (Northouse, 2016). Having subject matter expertise within the group to get the objective done and to lead others in the group will lead to an effective group.
Having a standard by which to function is what keeps teams on goal. It’s especially important to have standards affixed to a team so that they are always pushed to give their best work (Northouse, 2016). This also gives team members a guide for their behavior and expectations while on the team.
Lastly, having support and recognition may be, in my opinion, one of the most important. Effectiveness and excellence can be achieved so long as the team has all materials, instructions, and support they need. (Northouse, 2016). As long as a team is supported and they feel as though leadership believes in their ability to complete the mission you will have a team that works well for you to complete goals.
To contrast slightly, I would say one of the least important, and by least important I don’t mean it’s not needed, rather, I would say if I had to pick one that my team did not exhibit but still have the ability to be effective would be collaborative climate. I think if you have high unified commitment, the collaborative climate will come when the team becomes a team to finish the objective. Collaboration comes when the team gets the objective. Perhaps I’m slightly biased as this is how my team works. It may not be as effective for a different team under a different dynamic.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership; Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.