My entire life I have had some form of team leadership and until now I did not even realize it. I have played sports my entire life but I never really thought about how that leadership has worked. There is so much more that goes on in team leadership that I was not really aware of how important these aspects are in leading a team. One aspect in particular is shared leadership, which involves risks and takes courage for team members to step forward to provide leadership outside of the formal role of a team leader (PSU, WC, 2020, L. 9). Shared leadership opened my eyes to how important team leadership is not only to sports but to the work environment as well. These individuals that step up in sports could be the team captains, but is not limited to just the captains, and in the work environment it could really be anyone that is part of that specific team or anyone working for the company. There are also important components to team leadership that I never realized had so much effect on the team including: clear-evaluating goals, a results-driven structure, competent team members, unified commitment, collaborative climate, standard of excellence, external support and recognition, and principled leadership (PSU, WC, 2020, L. 9). These components can be broken down in both relations to sports and relations to a work environment. But for this particular blog I will discuss my personal experiences through sports.
At the beginning of every Field Hockey season, we would have a meeting that would address goals we wanted to achieve throughout the season. This would be creating clear-evaluating goals. Each player would list personal, such as beating a certain mile time or scoring a certain number of goals or as a goalie achieving a low goals against average, and team goals, such as beating a certain team or winning a number of different championships, they wanted to achieve. As for a results-driven structure, it was all about winning the big games or making a certain mile time to show that you are continually approving throughout the season. Obviously in sports you always want the best players on the field and to do that it is necessary to make cuts to have the most competent team members. In high school, it is also about splitting up the roster into JV and Varsity so that you have the highest level of competition on the field. Every team has a unified commitment to winning but they also have to want the same thing out of the season whether it be to win the championship or to just trying their best no matter what. A collaborative climate is essential in any sports team. Everyone wants to feel like they are doing something for the good of the cause and they also want to make sure that their voices are heard. For a standard of excellence, there is a code of conduct that every player must read and sign to show that they know what is expected of them and what will not be tolerated on the team. The team members have the support from coaches and the support from their families and club team members and coaches. The team also had players of the games which recognized a special player that played exceptional and did above and beyond to help the team. A principled leadership of the team would be the coaches and captains because they are there to help lead the team to be the best team they can be.
For team leadership to work there are critical functions that are needed which include task functions of team performance and maintenance. Task functions of a team performance are getting the job done, making decisions, solving problems, adapting to changes, making plans and achieving goals. Maintenance is developing a positive climate, solving interpersonal problems and developing cohesion (PSU, WC, 2020, L. 9). Task functions of a team performance relation to a sports team, getting the job done would include winning games and championship while achieving the goals that the team set in place. Making decisions includes choosing a roster, who plays where and who starts the game. Solving problems includes game time decisions and throughout the game such as plays and game plans that can help the team win. Adapting to changes includes changing the roster due to injuries and seeing what is working on the field and what is not working. Making plans includes creating the rosters, planning the plays and creating game plans. Achieving goals includes winning and achieving the goals that the team made at the beginning of the season. Maintenance in relation to a sports team, developing a positive climate would include always staying positive even if there is a tough loss, the negativity could be detrimental to the team and cause issues for the rest of the season. Solving interpersonal problems is important because if there are issues between the players it can affect the on-field performance of everyone on the team which is not putting the team’s best foot forward. Developing cohesion would include team bonding both in-season and off-season.
To conclude, team leadership is important and has aspects such as shared leadership and components. These components include: clear-evaluating goals, a results-driven structure, competent team members, unified commitment, collaborative climate, standard of excellence, external support and recognition, and principled leadership. It also has critical functions which include: task functions of a team performance and maintenance (PSU, WC, 2020, L. 9). But team leadership is not just seen in sports it can be seen in a multitude of different work environments as well.
References:
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). PSYCH 485 Lesson 9: Team Leadership. Retrieved from
https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2040131/modules/items/28001779
The formation of a team is easier to build than to maintain a long and successful working relationship with different individuals. A manager can acquire the best players from every team in a sports league, but it does not mean they will be a successful group that wins a trophy. Team leadership requires leaders to produce internal and external actions that can help develop a successful group. In order for a leader to get started, they must learn to be behaviorally flexible and have an open mind with diverse needs (Northouse, 2016). Team members can include individuals from different cultures that are not accustomed to a new environment. There can also be team members that are inexperienced with a group setting and have an immature personality. Leaders should approach different situations using face to face interactions that help resolve problems.
While there can be hurdles with a sports team, a leader should also prepare a strategic plan for every game. A leader who uses the same formula and starting lineup does not create innovative strategies. Captains should prevent a team from being complacent because it can lead to an unwanted result. A negative routine can infect the environment with a lethargic work rate. It is important for a team to have standards of excellence because it will encourage individuals to perform at their highest levels (Northouse, 2016). Another strategy leaders can help is by external environmental leadership actions. There can be cases where a player on a team is introverted and has difficulty connecting with people. Leaders can step in by helping them form connections with respected individuals such as captains.
The downfalls with team leadership derive from the assumption that leaders are fully capable to handle every situation. Some leaders will find it difficult to deal with scenarios because of their inexperience in a different setting. An individual from Europe can be confused by the social norms of America. Inexperience is another issue that can prove to be detrimental with team leadership. New leaders can be apprehensive with responsibility and have poor communication skills. Furthermore, an individual could misunderstand a leadership role and forget to use the proper approach.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. 7th Edition. Sage publications.