Leadership (Part 1)

Introduction
Leadership is a concept, which is put into operation by the individuals in their personal and professional
lives. In order to implement this concept in an effective and worthwhile manner, individuals need to
acquire an understanding in terms of meaning and significance of leadership. When they understand
the meaning and how this concept will prove to be useful to them in carrying out their job duties well
and achieve the desired goals, they will put it into operation. Leaders have the main objective of
providing knowledge, support and assistance to their subordinates in carrying out their job duties in a
well-ordered and regimented manner and achieving the desired goals and objectives. When leaders
are performing their job duties or are working with other individuals, they need to inculcate the traits
of morality and ethics and lead to goodwill and well-being. Furthermore, leaders need to be well-aware
in terms of measures and approaches to cope with changes and ensure that they prove to be effective,
and useful to the members as well as the organization as a whole.

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Chapter I: Team and team management
I.1 Defining a team
A team is a group of people who collaborate on related tasks toward a common goal.
 In a business setting, most work is accomplished by teams of individuals. Because of this, it is
important for employees to have the skills necessary to work effectively with others.
 Organizations use many kinds of teams, some of which are large and some of which are small,
some of which are permanent and some of which are temporary.
 Teams are formed to accomplish tasks that are too large or complex to be done by an individual
or that require a diverse set of skills and expertise. People on a team collaborate on sets of
related tasks that are required to achieve an objective. Each member is responsible for
contributing to the team, but the group as a whole is responsible for the team’s success.

I.2 Teams in the workplace

Sports teams are a good example of how teams work. Similarly, in business settings most work is
accomplished by teams of individuals who collaborate on activities with defined outcomes. Because
teams are so prevalent in business organizations, it is important for employees to have the skills
necessary to work effectively with others.
I.2.1 The purpose of teams
Organizations form teams to accomplish tasks that are too large or complex for an individual to
complete. Teams are also effective for work that requires different types of skills and expertise. For
example, the development of new products involves understanding customer needs as well as how to
design and build a product that will meet these needs.
I.2.2 Defining teamwork
Teamwork involves a set of interdependent tasks and activities performed by individuals who
collaborate with each other to achieve a common objective. That objective can be creating a product,
delivering a service, writing a report, or making a decision. Teamwork differs from individual work in
that it involves shared responsibility for a final outcome.

Figure 1: Teamwork: Human skill involves the ability to work effectively as a member of a group and
to build cooperative effort in a team.

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I.2.3 Teamwork processes
While the substance of the tasks involved in teamwork may vary from team to team, there are three
processes that are common to how teamwork gets done: the transition process, action processes,
and interpersonal processes. During each of these processes, specific sets of activities occur.
1. The transition process is the phase during which a team is formed. Activities include:
 Mission analysis: establishing and understanding of the overall objective,
 Goal specification: identifying and prioritizing the tasks and activities needed to achieve the
mission,
 Strategy formulation: developing a course of action to reach the goals and achieve the
mission.
2. Action processes comprise the phase during which a team performs (realizes) its work. Activities
include:
 Monitoring milestones and goals: tracking (suivre et controller) progress toward completion
of tasks and activities to see where the team got to,
 Monitoring systems: tracking the use of resources such as people, technology, and
information,
 Coordination: organizing and managing the flow of team activities and tasks so as to
coordinate between team members,
 Team monitoring and support: assisting individuals with their tasks by, for example, providing
feedback and coaching.
3. Interpersonal processes include activities that take place during both the transition and action
processes. These include:
 Conflict management: establishing good working conditions to avoid disagreement, and
resolving conflict when it occurs,
 Motivation and confidence building: motivating individuals and generating their willingness
to work together to achieve the mission,
 Affect management: helping team members to regulate their emotions as they work together.

I.2.4 Characteristics of effective teamwork

An effective team accomplishes its goals in a way that meets the standards set by those who evaluate
its performance. For instance, a team may have a goal of delivering a new product within six months
on a budget of $100,000. Even if the team finishes the project on time, it can be considered effective
only if it stayed within its expected budget.
Effective teamwork requires certain conditions to be in place that will increase the likelihood that each
member’s contributions—and the effort of the group as a whole—will lead to success. Effective teams
share five characteristics:
 Shared values: a common set of beliefs and principles about how and why the team members
will work together,
 Mutual trust: confidence between team members that each puts the best interest of the team
ahead of individual priorities,

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  Inspiring vision: a clear direction that motivates commitment to a collective effort,
 Skill/talent: the combined abilities and expertise to accomplish the required tasks and work
productively with others,
 Rewards: recognition of achievement toward objectives and reinforcement of behavior that
supports the team’s work.
Effective teamwork requires that people work as a cohesive unit. These five characteristics can help
individuals collaborate with others by focusing their efforts in a common direction and achieving an
outcome that can only be reached by working together.

I.2.5 The Role of teams in organizations

The modern organization
In organizations, teams can be constructed both vertically (varying levels of management) and
horizontally (across functional disciplines).
The role of teams in organizations
The primary role of a team is to combine resources, competencies, skills, and bandwidth (Amount of
data) to achieve organizational objectives. The underlying assumption of a well-functioning team is
one of synergy, which is to say that the output of a team will be greater than the sum of each
individual’s contribution without a team architecture in place.
I.2.6 Types of teams
Teams may be permanent or temporary, and team members may come from the same department
(functional teams) or different ones (cross-functional team). Common types of teams found in
organizations include project teams, virtual teams, and cross-functional team.

 Project teams are created for a defined period of time to achieve a specific goal. Members of
a project team often belong to different functional groups and are chosen to participate in
the team based on specific skills they can contribute to the project. Software development is
most commonly done by project teams
 Virtual teams have members located in different places, often geographically dispersed, who
come together to achieve a specific purpose. Academic researchers often work on virtual
teams with colleagues at other institutions.
 Cross-functional teams combine people from different areas, such as marketing and
engineering, to solve a problem or achieve a goal. Healthcare services are frequently delivered
by interdisciplinary teams of nurses, doctors, and other medical specialists.
It is common for an organization to have many teams, including teams of several types. Effective
teamwork depends on choosing the type of team best suited to the work that needs to be
accomplished.

I.2.7 Advantages of teamwork

The benefits of teamwork include increased efficiency, the ability to focus different minds on the same
problem, and mutual support.

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  When a team works well together as a unit they are able to accomplish more than the
individual members can do alone.
 Teamwork creates higher quality outcomes that are more efficient, thoughtful, creative, and
effective, as well as faster.
 Individuals benefit from teamwork through mutual support and a great sense of
accomplishment.

The primary benefit of teamwork is that it allows an organization to achieve something that an
individual working alone cannot. Teamwork provides:
- Higher quality outcomes
Teamwork creates outcomes that make better use of resources and produce richer ideas.
 Higher efficiency: Since teams combine the efforts of individuals, they can accomplish more
than an individual working alone.
 Faster speed: Because teams draw on the efforts of many contributors, they can often
complete tasks and activities in less time.
 More thoughtful ideas: Each person who works on a problem or set of tasks may bring
different information and knowledge to bear, which can result in solutions and approaches an
individual would not have identified.
 Greater effectiveness: When people coordinate their efforts, they can divide up roles and tasks
to more thoroughly address an issue. For example, in hospital settings teamwork has been
found to increase patient safety more than when only individual efforts are made to avoid
mishaps.

- Better context for individuals

The social aspect of teamwork provides a superior work experience for team members, which can
motivate higher performance.
 Mutual support: Because team members can rely on other people with shared goals, they can
receive assistance and encouragement as they work on tasks. Such support can encourage
people to achieve goals they may not have had the confidence to have reached on their own.
 Greater sense of accomplishment: When members of a team collaborate and take collective
responsibility for outcomes, they can feel a greater sense of accomplishment when they
achieve a goal they could not have achieved if they had worked by themselves

I.2.8 Hazards of teamwork

The collaborative nature of teams means they are subject to pitfalls that individuals working alone do
not face. Team members may not always work well together, and focusing the efforts of individuals on
shared goals presents challenges to completing tasks as efficiently and effectively as possible. The
following pitfalls can lead to team dysfunction and failure to achieve important organizational
objectives.

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 - Individuals shirking (neglecting) their duties
Since team members share responsibility for outcomes, some individuals may need to do additional
work to make up for those not contributing their share of effort. This can breed resentment and foster
other negative feelings that can make the team less effective.
- Skewed (biased) influence over decisions
Sometimes an individual or small number of team members can come to dominate the rest of the
group. This could be due to strong personalities, greater abilities, or differences in status among
members. When individuals either do not feel listened to or believe their ideas are not welcome, they
may reduce their efforts.
- Lack of trust
Effective collaboration requires team members to have confidence that everyone shares a set of goals.
When that belief is missing, some individuals may not feel comfortable sharing their ideas with the
group. Lack of trust can also lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings, which can undermine
the group’s efforts.
- Conflicts hamper (limit) progress
While conflicts are a common aspect of working together and can even be beneficial to a team, they
can also negatively affect team performance. For instance, conflict can delay progress on tasks or
create other inefficiencies in getting work done.
- Lack of teaming skills
When team members do not have the collaboration skills needed to work well with others, the overall
ability of the team to function can be limited. As a result, conflicts may be more likely to arise and more
difficult to resolve.
- Missing task skills
A team that does not have the expertise and knowledge needed to complete all its tasks and activities
will have trouble achieving its goals. Poor team composition can lead to delays, higher costs, and
increased risk.
- Stuck in formation
Sometimes the group cannot move from defining goals and outlining tasks to executing its work plan.
This may be due to poor specification of roles, tasks, and priorities.
- Too many members
The size of the team can sometimes affect its ability to function effectively. Coordination and
communication are more complex in a larger team than in a smaller one.
- Groupthink
Groupthink is a process of reasoning or decision-making by a group, especially one characterized
by uncritical acceptance of or conformity to a perceived majority view. Outcomes can suffer if
team members value conflict avoidance and consensus over making the best decisions. People can
feel uncomfortable challenging the group’s direction or otherwise speaking up for fear of breaking
a team norm. Groupthink can limit creativity, lead to poor choices, or result in mistakes that might
otherwise have been avoidable.
While teams offer many benefits, their effectiveness rests on how well members can avoid common
pitfalls or minimize their negative consequences when they occur.

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I.2.9 Differences between groups and teams
All teams are groups of individuals, but not all groups are teams.
A group is composed of two or more individuals who share common interests or characteristics and
whose members identify with each other due to similar traits. Groups can range greatly in size and
scope. For example, members of the millennial generation are a group, but so is a small book club
formed by neighbors who enjoy reading.
Team members work together toward a common goal and share responsibility for the team’s success.
Groups differ from teams in several ways:
 Task orientation: Teams require coordination of tasks and activities to achieve a shared aim.
Groups do not need to focus on specific outcomes or a common purpose.
 Degree of interdependence: Team members are interdependent since they bring to bear a set
of resources to produce a common outcome. Individuals in a group can be entirely
disconnected from one another and not rely on fellow members at all.
 Purpose: Teams are formed for a particular reason and can be short- or long-lived. Groups can
exist as a matter of fact; for example, a group can be comprised of people of the same race or
ethnic background.
 Degree of formal structure: Team members’ individual roles and duties are specified and their
ways of working together are defined. Groups are generally much more informal; roles do not
need to be assigned and norms of behavior do not need to develop.
 Familiarity among members: Team members are aware of the set of people they collaborate
with, since they interact to complete tasks and activities. Members of a group may have
personal relationships or they may have little knowledge of each other and no interactions
whatsoever.
Sometimes it is difficult to draw a distinction between a team and a group. For instance, a set of
coworkers might meet on occasion to discuss an issue or provide input on a decision. While such
meetings typically have an agenda and thus a purpose and some structure, we would not necessarily
think of those in attendance as a team. The activity scope and duration is just too small to involve the
amount of coordination of resources and effort that teamwork requires.

I.3 Team dynamics

Team dynamics represents the way in which team members interact and behave, and the
psychological processes underlying (at the basis of) these interactions within the team. When team
members engage in work projects, their behaviors are interdependent and from these interactions,
there is a team emergence of attitudes, motivation, and cognition that influence how team members
feel about each other, their team, and team projects. This constellation of affect, attitude and
behaviors represent team dynamics and are the foundation for team work (Bell, Brown, Colaneri &
Outland, 2018; Salas, Cooke & Rosen, 2008).

NB: ( Cognition is a term referring to the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and
comprehension. Some of the many different cognitive processes include thinking, knowing,
remembering, judging, and problem-solving. These are higher-level functions of the brain and
encompass language, imagination, perception, and planning.)

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I.3.1 Team dynamics originates from the concept of groups dynamics

The research on team dynamics or team processes originates from the concept of groups dynamics
and the Gestalt (pronounced) notion that the ‘whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’ The social
psychologist, Kurt Lewins, conducted research on the interaction between individuals and considered
group dynamics to describe both the positive and negative forces within a group (Dion 2000).

I.3.2 Team cognition, cohesion and conflict are important dimensions of team dynamics

Over the past decade, research has focused on the importance of team dynamics in predicting team
performance. Because the area of team dynamics is broad, we will focus on several key team
dynamics:

 team cognition,

 team cohesion,

 team conflict.

Although this list does not encompass all aspects of team dynamics, researchers have focused on
these three because of their importance in effective teamwork.

- Team cognition

Team cognition is the term used when a team thinks as a unit. Individuals within
the team contribute to team cognition. Having a broad scope of cognitive diversity is good
for team cognition. When there are various ways to think between members on the team, the latter
ends up with more perspectives and ideas. Team cognition focuses on team decision-making and
how team evaluate situations.

- Team cohesion

Team cohesion refers to the social connections or bonding that occurs between team members, and
to the degree of closeness that individuals feel within a team. The main factors that
determine team cohesion are the similarity between members' interests, group size, shared
successes, and the threat of external competitors. Motivational factors that create these social binds
(attaches) between team members tend to increase team productivity (Beale et al., 2003).

- Team conflict

Team conflict occurs when there are disagreements between team members in terms of both
disagreements concerning tasks and also conflict within relationships between team members
(Weingart et al., 2015).

Task conflict occurs when there is disagreement about the content of tasks and relationship conflict
occurs when there is a clash of values between team members. The research suggests that task
conflict can actually be beneficial for team performance whereas relationship conflict is detrimental.

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Figure 2: The importance of team dynamics for the team performance and how to improve it

In conclusion, the research on team dynamics shows that it is important for organizations to
recognize the importance of team interactions. Although individual knowledge is important, it is not
enough to foster effective team work.

Most important is relationship-building between team members. In research on team cohesion,

cognition, and conflict, the worst-performing teams were those whose team members clashed in
their interactions and conversations.

Organizations can introduce training interventions that equip employees with interpersonal skills
that focus on being an effective team member. During hiring, employers can also include teamwork
competencies as a requisite for selection.

In conclusion, the research on teamwork shows the importance of team dynamics and how
unconscious psychological forces can impact how team members work together. In particular, the
research shows that team interactions are the main ingredient for successful team collaborations
whereby team members use effective communication to complete tasks.