leadership in teams:a functional approach to understanding leadership structures and processes

LEADERSHIP IN TEAMS

A FUNCTIONAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING STRUCTURES AND PROCESSESl

The Nature and Team Performance and Leadership in Teams

Team performance cycles

Transition phase (planning)

Action phase (work )

Needs during Transitions phase

Establishing team charter Setting goals Developing positive team norms Deciding on a task performance strategy Developing a shared understanding within the

team Becoming clear on the distribution of

knowledge within team

Needs during action phase

Monitoring output and system Changing conditions Coordinating team actions Communication Coaching and monitoring team behavior Maintaining boundaries

Managing interpersonal needs

Fostering motivation Promoting a sense of psychological safety Emotions and conflicts

Leadership in teams

Team’s needs satisfactionIncrease team effectivenessImprove performanceFocus on leadership

Sources of leadership:

Locus of leadership• Internal and external

Formality of leadership• Formal or informal

Four distinct bases of sources of leadership

Internal and formal

Internal and informal

External and formal

External and informal

Transition Phase Leadership Functions

Compose Team Define mission Establish expectations and goals Structure and plan Train and develop team Sense making Provide feedback

• Structuring Team• Planning Team• Evaluate Team Performance

In this phase, important team leadership functions include

Compose Team

Team Behavior and performance is a reflection of its members.

Alignment of the team composition with the current and future environment.

Team members capable knowledge and skills along with trust and cooperation.

Define Mission

Team mission clear, compelling and shared among team members.

Informal sources play stronger role at developing a common understanding of the mission and formal sources helping to define the mission itself

Establish Expectations and Goals

individual level, clear and challenging goals are important for directing individual action and motivation to achieve performance targets.

Team level, Teams form a common identity among individual members and enhance the team’s commitment.

Active participation of team members leads to more committed team goals and act as more cohesive unit.

Structure and Plan

Method Role Clarification Timing, Scheduling and Work flow

Train and Develop team

Coaching, developing and mentoring Each team member has the knowledge and

skills specific to that role. Interpersonal processes(trust & cohesion)

associated with effective teamwork

Sense Making

Identify important environmental events Interpreting these events given the team

performance situation Communicating this interpretation to the

team.

Provide feedback

Regulatory mechanism that direct and control individual behavior.

Provision of timely, specific objective and balanced feedback to individual members.

Action Phase Team Leadership Functions

Manage team boundaries Challenge team Perform team task Solve problems Provide resources Encourage team self-management Support social climate

Monitor team

Important function to examine the team’s process performance and the external team context. And to provide key data that informs many of the other leadership functions

Literature review Kane et al. (2002) found that team leader monitoring was

positively related to team cohesion and ratings of leader effectiveness

Zohar (2002) examined two types of monitoring in the context of team safety

These studies suggest that this function comes in different forms and the best type of monitoring is situationally dependent

Manage team boundaries

To have a fairly tight boundary around itself To have a fairly loose boundary At least two related activities falling under this

leadership function First is selling the team’s ideas to others in the

organization Second is coordinating external team activities

Challenge team

Its involves challenging teams with regard to their task performance and confronting the team’s assumptions, methods and processes in an effort to find the best ways to accomplishing the team’s work.

In literature review, different authors different terms this leader behavior as challenging the status quo empowering leadership is encouraging opportunistic thinking.

This functions are reflected in the intellectual stimulation component of transformational leadership.

Perform team task

Its involves taking a more active role in the team’s work by participating, intervening, or otherwise performing some of the team’s task work and it also suggested that the leadership skill at its most basic level is “the ability to get things done.

Solve Problems

This function is to diagnose and solve any problems that keep teams from realizing their potential.

In literature review, Shea and Guzzo (1987: 347) argued that effective team leaders must know how to “diagnose problems accurately and intervene effectively.

Provide resources

This function is to provide resources for the team. For example informational, financial, material and personnel resources.

Encourage team Self-management

This theory suggests that by encouraging team members to resolve task and teamwork related problems themselves.

Support social climate

It is the final team leadership function during the action phase.

This support function occurs throughout the task cycle when it is particularly important to tend to the team’s social environment

Mahmood hayat khan Master of Science in Project ManagementRiphah International university Islamabad