Have you ever been a part of a really successful team? The kind of team that you see in movies? One of those teams where incredible motivational talks are commonplace and everyone is so inspired that they change the world. I don’t know about you, but I have never been on one of those teams. In fact, my team experiences are more likely to come out of a horror story than an inspirational movie. I think the jarring difference between the reality of most team experiences and the idealized experience portrayed in movies leaves people feeling stuck when a team gets off on the wrong foot. Even though Hollywood movies leave us poorly equipped to course correct bad team experiences, there is still hope for changing our experience. The first step in doing this is by readjusting our view of team leadership.
I recently had a team leadership experience running a club that could be filed under horror story experience. In part this occurred because the idealized view of teams that I received from movies had me approaching team leadership all wrong. Learning more about team leadership has made me realize that adjusting my view of team leadership is necessary for future success. Being a good team leader is simultaneously more complex and easier to achieve than movies would have you believe. Team leadership is more complex than most people think because there are more elements to consider than one may initially realize. Yet, once aware of these components of team leadership, it becomes easier for someone to be a good team leader because they no longer have to be an inspirational superhuman like the team leaders portrayed in movies.
In real-life team leadership, a leader needs to analyze and assess their team continuously in order to refine behavior (Northouse, 2016). In order to assess team abilities it is important to be aware of what to look for, something that movies never get right. Eight characteristics that are found to be common of successful teams are a clear & elevating goal, a results-driven structure, competent team members, unified commitment, collaborative climate, standards of excellence, external support and recognition, and principled leadership (Northouse, 2016). As a club leader, I struggled to improve my team because at the time I wasn’t aware of the eight characteristics for team success and so my failed attempt at leadership felt hopeless. However, being aware of these team characteristics can readjust our view of team leadership because we know the important elements of team behavior to focus on.
Beyond focusing on the eight characteristics to work towards as a team, it is important to understand the right way to correct problems as a leader. Although movies often portray a charismatic leader that solves all of the problems, in real team leadership things often happen differently. Leaders spend more time assessing situations and appropriately intervening when the situation call for it. It is important for leaders to be aware of internal and external factors that could impact the team, to monitor those and factors, and take executive action when necessary to correct issues that may arise (Northouse, 2016). All three components are necessary for team success. In my experience as a club leader, I spent time assessing the situation, but often failed to take executive action when the situation called for it.
Studying team leadership may point to differences in how we perceived leadership based on what is portrayed in movies. I know that my view of team leadership was previously skewed, but I now recognize how to be a more successful leader. In real-life, a team leader doesn’t need to be a hero. Instead, a team leader should focus on assessing their team and learning to take appropriate action when necessary. By readjusting our view of team leadership, we can avoid many of the pitfalls leading to team horror stories and instead, we may experience the elusive life-changing team experience after all.
References:
Northouse, P. (2016). Leadership Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.