Successful Team Dynamics: A Leader's Contributions and Responsibilities

Essay , 2008 , 8 Pages , Grade: 96.00

Business economics - Operations Research

Team dynamics and groups are used by multinational to owned locally companies and academic institutions as part of a project to create, develop, or research a new product, procedure or solution. Regardless of the environment, team dynamics is a growing trend. Realizing that results from a successful learning team as a whole outweigh any possible results from the team’s individual members by themselves only adds value to the team dynamics concept. A successful team dynamics completion can only be accomplished by the supervision of an excellent team leader. Orchestrating a successful team through its life cycle is difficult and takes a special person to lead the team. A successful team leader’s contributions and responsibilities are varied. However, according to (Johnson, 2005), “Successful team leadership is not just about accomplishing tasks. Team dynamic leadership is about accomplishing both tasks and fostering relationships.” The contributions and responsibilities of the leader to the team dynamics system are the ability to provide leadership, focus, coordination, and most important communication

Team dynamics and groups are used by multinational to owned locally companies and academic institutions as part of a project to create, develop, or research a new product, procedure or solution. Regardless of the environment, team dynamics is a growing trend. Realizing that results from a successful learning team as a whole outweigh any possible results from the team’s individual members by themselves only adds value to the team dynamics concept. A successful team dynamics completion can only be accomplished by the supervision of an excellent team leader. Orchestrating a successful team through its life cycle is difficult and takes a special person to lead the team. A successful team leader’s contributions and responsibilities are varied. However, according to (Johnson, 2005), “Successful team leadership is not just about accomplishing tasks. Team dynamic leadership is about accomplishing both tasks and fostering relationships.” The contributions and responsibilities of the leader to the team dynamics system are the ability to provide leadership, focus, coordination, and most important communication.

As President John F. Kennedy stated in his Day of Affirmation Address, University of Capetown, South Africa, June 6, 1966, “Only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly." (Kennedy, 1966) As a team is brought together, the leader must immediately set the stage by providing leadership and coaching to reach the lofty expectations and goals set forth before them (Crow, 1999). Leadership and coaching involves setting good examples or leading by example, creating an environment and atmosphere of openness, and providing the team with a vision of the ultimate goals and objectives. An open line of communication provides an avenue for creative thinking and cooperative teamwork and collaboration. In turn this will give each team member the impression that his or her contribution is valued (Collins, 2007).

Coaching and developing team members will involve at times resolving dysfunctional behaviors and intervention to facilitate problem solving and collaboration. Problem solving can be difficult and not every team member will be satisfied. Seeking a win-win situation with a team consensus is important to maintain healthy team dynamics (Crow, 1999).

For example, according to Harari (2007), General (Ret.) Colin Powell states:

Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.

Good leadership involves responsibility to the welfare of the group, which means that some people will get angry at your actions and decisions. It's inevitable if you're honorable. Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity: You'll avoid the tough decisions, you'll avoid confronting the people who need to be confronted, and you'll avoid offering differential rewards based on differential performance because some people might get upset. Ironically, by procrastinating on the difficult choices, by trying not to get anyone mad, and by treating everyone equally "nicely" regardless of their contributions, you'll simply ensure that the only people you'll wind up angering are the most creative and productive people in the organization.

Harari, (2007) states Powell as continuing:

The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is (sic) the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.

If this were a litmus test, the majority of CEO's would fail. One, they build so many barriers to upward communication that the very idea of someone lower in the hierarchy looking up to the leader for help is ludicrous. Two, the corporate culture they foster often defines asking for help as weakness or failure, so people cover up their gaps, and the organization suffers accordingly. Real leaders make themselves accessible and available. They show concern for the efforts and challenges faced by underlings-even as they demand high standards. Accordingly, they are more likely to create an environment where problem analysis replaces blame.

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• College: University of Phoenix
• Course: Skills for Professional Development
• Grade: 96.00
• Author: James Tallant (Author)
• Publication Year: 2008
• Pages: 8
• Catalog Number: V167468
• ISBN (eBook): 9783640841363
• ISBN (Book): 9783640839766
• Language: English
• Tags: successful, team, dynamics, leader, contributions, responsibilities