NOTES: Module 5 Learning Materials for Team Assignment Discussion

Meeting (Assignment 5.3)

The Notes Assignments are in place of any course quizzes. They are a way to do several things
including have information for students to take to their discussion team meetings, to ensure that
students have read/watched the assigned materials, and to help integrate learning from the
materials into student’s long term memory.
For the Assignment discussion meeting in Module 5, use this template to record and submit your
notes on the materials assigned in Learning Materials, following the prompts provided.
Remember that these are not intended to be comprehensive summaries of each of the readings or
videos.

Taking the readings/videos/website as a whole, comment on the following:

1. What have you learned about team leadership that you think might be helpful in the
“real” world of organizational leadership?

Notes: I have learned that, when organized properly, teams can be a source for creative and
innovative ideas. Having a diverse team will stimulate thinking and will more than likely arrive to 2.
the correct outcome or decision.

Our textbook, Virtual Team Success, explains that leading a virtual team can be challenging but
leaders must find ways to approach those challenges in order to be successful. Leaders should
find creative ways around challenges, such as using a phone call the same way one would pop in
to an office just to say hello or check in. Leading virtual teams means that expectations must be
clear, with defined check in points and methods to address issues as they arise.

I also learned that being a team leader is not about the title, or having power over people, it’s
about being a facilitator and executing vision. Great leaders need to go beyond either/or
decisions and determine the optimal solution that may lie somewhere between the either/or
scenario.

In a self-directed team, such as the one you are on for this class, what of the leadership
materials/etc. can you use now? In other words, what leadership skills can be applied
in circumstances where you aren’t the designated leader?

Notes: I am in a leadership position at work and there is a lot in the textbook I have started using
now that my department has been forced to work from home. I check in with my direct reports
every morning not just to discuss their plan for the day, but also to see how they’re feeling and
what they may need from me. I have also looked for free resources that will help us stay
organized and communicate project status, such as Trello. I had not worked on a virtual team
before, and the timing of this class was amazing, as so many people now find themselves on a
3. How would your experience in this class have been different had I appointed or each
had elected a particular student as the team leader?

Notes: I think I would’ve been disappointed if a team leader was appointed. I think it would’ve
take away from the experience and limited my learning experience. I know that some people
prefer being the leader, and conversely some people don’t like being in the forefront. This class
gives everyone an opportunity to play all roles and learn from each class meeting. While I prefer
being in a supporting role, I know that I can step up and lead. Even with my group, who I have
grown very fond of, I feel that one person would’ve jumped at the opportunity to be the group
leader and that would’ve had a negative effect on the group in the long term. Rotating leadership
or roles felt fair and the work felt evenly distributed in this course.

Submit: Save this as a word processing file (following the submission instructions in the
syllabus) and submit as your assignment for Module 5: Notes, Assignment 5.3. See the grading
rubric for more information about specific requirements for this assignment.