Introduction to Leadership UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO and Team ... Update_/UNIT 1... ·...

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Self-Instructional Material 5 Introduction to Leadership and Team Effectiveness NOTES UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO LEADERSHIP AND TEAM EFFECTIVENESS Structure 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Unit Objectives 1.2 What is Leadership? 1.3 What is a Team? 1.4 Leadership in Teams 1.4.1 Principles of Team Building 1.4.2 Key Work Functions of a Team 1.4.3 Team and Its Leader 1.4.4 Principles of Leadership in Teams 1.4.5 Key Factors of Leadership 1.5 Team Leadership and Social Identification 1.6 Need for Team Balance 1.7 Team Assessment 1.7.1 Assessing Team Strength 1.8 Using Team Wheels 1.9 Summary 1.10 Key Terms 1.11 Answers to 'Check Your Progress' 1.12 Questions and Exercises 1.13 Further Reading 1.0 INTRODUCTION Leadership, a critical management skill, is the ability to motivate a group of people towards a common goal. It involves setting a new direction for a group. Effective leadership has the ability to impact our daily life. The success of a business or an industry is determined by the leaders it chooses or inherits. Team effectiveness refers to the ability to get people in a company to work together effectively. The idea behind this concept is that much can be achieved by a group of people who work together, rather than by individuals who work on their own. Team effectiveness is determined the right combination of skills, motivation and the ability to solve conflicts without compromising the quality of the project. Team effectiveness skills are critical for effective leadership and to gain better understanding of the team. The relationship between leadership and team effectiveness is such that it gives an overview of how to set goals that prevent team ineffectiveness, set goals, motivate people and evaluate individual and team performance. In this unit, you will get a comprehensive overview of leadership and team effectiveness.

Transcript of Introduction to Leadership UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO and Team ... Update_/UNIT 1... ·...

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UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TOLEADERSHIP AND TEAMEFFECTIVENESS

Structure1.0 Introduction1.1 Unit Objectives1.2 What is Leadership?1.3 What is a Team?1.4 Leadership in Teams

1.4.1 Principles of Team Building1.4.2 Key Work Functions of a Team1.4.3 Team and Its Leader1.4.4 Principles of Leadership in Teams1.4.5 Key Factors of Leadership

1.5 Team Leadership and Social Identification1.6 Need for Team Balance1.7 Team Assessment

1.7.1 Assessing Team Strength1.8 Using Team Wheels1.9 Summary

1.10 Key Terms1.11 Answers to 'Check Your Progress'1.12 Questions and Exercises1.13 Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Leadership, a critical management skill, is the ability to motivate a group of peopletowards a common goal. It involves setting a new direction for a group. Effectiveleadership has the ability to impact our daily life. The success of a business or an industryis determined by the leaders it chooses or inherits.

Team effectiveness refers to the ability to get people in a company to work togethereffectively. The idea behind this concept is that much can be achieved by a group ofpeople who work together, rather than by individuals who work on their own. Teameffectiveness is determined the right combination of skills, motivation and the ability tosolve conflicts without compromising the quality of the project.

Team effectiveness skills are critical for effective leadership and to gain betterunderstanding of the team. The relationship between leadership and team effectivenessis such that it gives an overview of how to set goals that prevent team ineffectiveness,set goals, motivate people and evaluate individual and team performance.

In this unit, you will get a comprehensive overview of leadership and teameffectiveness.

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1.1 UNIT OBJECTIVES

After going through this unit, you will be able to:• Know the scope of leadership and teams• Understand the principles of team building and the key work functions and factors

of a team• Assess the relationship between team leadership and social identification• Analyse the need for team balance• Learn how to assess the strength of a team• Know how to use team wheels

1.2 WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?

Leadership is an integral part of management and plays a vital role in managerialoperations. If there is any single factor that differentiates between successful andunsuccessful organizations, it could be considered as dynamic and effective leadership.Perhaps, it would be a valid assumption to state that the major cause of most businessleaders, even though management primarily relies on formal position power to influencepeople whereas leadership stems from a social influence process. However, managementis an integral component of technical as well as social processes.

Leadership is not an attribute of business alone. In the army, in the government, inuniversities, in hospitals and anywhere else where people work in groups, the leadershipfunction emerges. There must be somebody to guide that group. The group leader mayalso be an informal leader, one who emerges form the ranks of the group according toconsensus of the members.

Leadership may be defined as the art of influencing and inspiring subordinates toperform their duties willingly, competently and enthusiastically for achievement of groupobjectives. Most management writers agree that, ‘leadership is the process of influencingthe activities of an individual or a group in efforts towards goal achievement in a givensituation.’

It is important to have the element of willingness in the above definition. Thiselement differentiates successful and effective leaders from the ‘common run of themanagers’. Motivating and influencing people to move towards a common goal are allessential elements of management but the ‘willingness’ of the followers to be led, highlightsa special quality that puts a leader high above others.

Based on these elements of the leadership function, the leadership may be definedas:

L = F (f,g,w,s) where leadership (L) is a function (F) off = followersg = goal

w = a measure of willingness on the part of subordinates, ands = a given situation

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1.3 WHAT IS A TEAM?

A team may be defined as a small group of individuals having complementary skills whojoin together to achieve a common goal, purpose or mission of an organization. This is anapproach where the team members themselves create a set of goals for their performanceand are mutually accountable or responsible for the results. To become a powerfulgroup, members need to have a common commitment, failing which all team membersact as individuals. This particular definition focuses on some important aspects ofsuccessful teams, which are:

• Small number: According to this definition, a small group is able to deliver farbetter results than large groups; for instance, a group consisting of fifty people istheoretically a team, however, groups of such size usually break into sub-teamsrather than function as a single team. On the contrary, a group of five to tenindividuals have a higher probability of successfully sorting out their individual,hierarchical and functional differences, and work towards a common goal, andalso be accountable for the results.

• Complementary skills: To succeed as a team, the team members must havean appropriate mix of skills and traits. If the team members have homogenousskills they will not be effective in accomplishing their set goals and objectives. Onthe other hand, if the skills and traits needed for the job are more than that required,it will again cause unnecessary disruptions, thereby affecting the results. Thusthe team skills must be optimum and appropriate according to the job in hand.There are basically three categories of team skills:ο Technical abilities or expertise needed for the taskο Problem-solving and decision-making skillsο Interpersonal skills

• Common performance goals and purpose: Teams must set their goals on thebasis of the demands placed on them by the organization. This helps the team indefining the boundaries and scope of their job and authority, which must be clearand flexible enough to allow modifications that may be required for commitmentto develop. A team’s purpose and its performance goals enjoy a symbioticrelationship. Both are interdependent and necessary to stay relevant and vital.

• Common approach: For successful accomplishment of tasks, every teammember needs to have a common approach towards goal achievement. Eachmember must do an equal amount of work. The intricacies of each work and howit fits into the total picture must be decided well in advance. It is just like a jigsawpuzzle where every member does his/her bit and finally a relevant picture emerges.

• Mutual accountability: A team’s mutual accountability is the most importantaspect of this approach. It is the solemn or sincere promise we make to othersand to ourselves. In turn, it is based on two critical factors—commitment andtrust.According to Katzenbach and Smith’s (1993) definition, ‘A team is a small number

of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose,performance goals and approach, for which they are mutually accountable.’

According to the MIT Information Services and Technology, a team is describedas ‘Individuals working together in a committed and dedicated way to achieve a common

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goal or mission. The work is interdependent and team members share responsibility andhold themselves accountable for attaining the results.’

According to Lewis McClear and Taylor (1998), a team is defined as, ‘A group inwhich members work together intensively to achieve a common group goal.’

There is some amount of confusion about groups and teams. It is because generallythese two terms are used interchangeably. However, it is imperative to know that thesetwo terms are not the same; in fact, we can say that a team is a special type of collectionof individuals or a group. Social researchers and scientists have defined groups as acollection of two or more individuals who share common goals, who consider or perceivethemselves as being a group, and who interact among themselves with stable patternrelationships. The most important aspects of a group are:

• Social interaction: The most important characteristic of a group is socialinteraction which means that individuals must have some degree of influenceon each other. The communication between group members may be verbal ornonverbal; however, to be considered as a group, the members must havesome impact mutually.

• Stable structure: Groups or teams both must possess, more or less, a stablestructure. Although groups often undergoes changes, some stable relationsthat keep the group members united must be kept intact. A collection ofindividuals that frequently changes cannot be considered a group. For it tobecome a group, a greater degree of stability is required.

• Common interests: One more important feature of a group is that themembers must enjoy common interests; for instance, a group of philatelymembers, members of Resident Welfare Associations, etc.

• Considering oneself as a part of a group: Individuals who are a part of agroup must perceive themselves as a group. Basically it means that membersmust be able to recognize or consider each other as members of their groupand also distinguish themselves from non-members.

Differences between a group and a team

A group is any assemblage of people regardless of whether or not outcomes are shared.All teams are groups, but not all groups are teams. All departments are groups, but notall departments are teams. The major differences between a team and a group are:

1. Results: The performance of a group is actually a function of the individual effortsof its members, whereas in teams the result includes both individual as well ascollective work efforts. In collective work, every task is completed with the helpof two or more individuals, such as surveys, experiments, etc. In teams, the job isdone with the collective efforts of all members.

2. Accountability: The second most important distinction between groups and teamsis the accountability factor. Groups usually come together to share someinformation, perspectives, insights, experiences, etc. They help individuals toimprove their performance of standards. Here, the major attention is on theindividual goals and performance. Members of a group take responsibility fortheir individual actions and performances. On the other hand, in the case of teams,individuals as well as the team are together accountable for the results. In anutshell, you can say that a team is more than the sum of its parts or its individualconstituent units.

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3. Common commitment: Common commitment is the glue with which team membersare held together and they perform their tasks and work as a team rather than asindividuals. For this, the team members decide a common goal or a purpose inwhich they have full faith. After defining the purpose and understanding thedemands placed by the organization, teams get the necessary direction andmomentum.

1.4 LEADERSHIP IN TEAMS

It is a fact that people are generally motivated by awards and rewards. Accordingly,once an individual has agreed to do a particular job, they would have to listen to theirmanager and accept his authority. It is the basic responsibility of the followers to actaccording to the directions and guidance of their manager.

With the ever-increasing complexity of the business environment, it has becomevery important to understand the intricacies of team dynamics and how to steer teamstoward high performance. The functions of a team leader range from just providingleadership and guidance to the team members to, dealing with all the stakeholders, takingcare of team status, task accomplishment, etc.

A leader can make an outstanding team provided he/she is fully committed andthat every team member follows some basic principles of team building.

1.4.1 Principles of Team Building

As we already know, a team is a group of people linked with a common purpose. Agroup need not necessarily make a team. A team has members with complementaryskills which are used to achieve certain goals. While achieving the group goals might bethe actual target, team members, through communicating and learning from each other,eventually maximizes their strengths and minimizes their weaknesses.

However, there are certain principles of team-building to be followed by themembers in order to achieve the end target. It is the manager’s duty to clarify to each ofthe members what the team expects from them. The key responsibilities of every memberin a team needs to be written down and explained in simple terms so that there is noambiguity in anyone’s minds while they begin working on the project. The team memberneed to be committed to the cause of achieving the organizational as well as the teamgoals and maintain the timeframe that they have committed to the manager. Everymember should assume personal responsibility for team productivity; they shouldeffectively work towards the entire team’s success. The team members need to begiven enough freedom and empowerment to carry out their work successfully. Theteam should collaborate with each other in order to take the task forward smoothly, forwhich simple and effective communication is essential. It is imperative for the managerand the various team members to communicate freely and openly about the nature ofwork, the team goals and methods adopted in work, common team norms and practices,etc. The manager should be polite, humble and approachable so that team members donot hesitate to approach him with whatever issues they might have. This helps themanager to feel the pulse of the team and be ready for any unprecedented events. Thisalso helps the manager to bring about coordination among team members.

There is also an approach in the process of team-building known as the ‘role-defining’ approach. This requires every member of the team to be well conversant with

Check Your Progress

1. Define whatleadership is.

2. Define what a teamis.

3. Briefly state thesignificance of‘mutualaccountability’ in ateam.

4. List the importantaspects of a group.

5. In terms ofaccountability,how would youdifferentiatebetween groupsand teams?

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the various roles that they are expected to play in the team. The members shouldcollectively ‘in the same boat’ and responsible for the proper functioning of the team.Whenever a new member joins the team he always feels culturally-challenged; i.e., hemight not know about the various norms of the team and the culture of the organization.It is the responsibility of the manager and all the team members to make the new memberfeel comfortable in the new settings.

Five approaches to team-building

There are five approaches to positive team-building exercise. These are: a) interpersonal,b) role-definition, c) values approach, d) task-based approach and e) social identificationapproach.

(a) Interpersonal approach: The interpersonal approach is based on the humanisticpsychology that emerged in the 1950s. This approach talks about developing veryhigh levels of social and personal awareness between the team members. Thebetter ability to communicate with each other, understand each other’s personalitybetter, will help the team members work together easily. The interpersonal approachpromotes bond between the members of a particular team to enhance itsproductivity. We all know that it is always easier to work with friends rather thanenemies. Whenever there are opposing individuals or factions in a team, it getsdifficult for people to work together without creating bitterness in the workplace.

(b) Role-definition: This approach focuses on the various roles and norms whichexist within the team. Benne, Sheats, Belbin and others have developed typologiesof role types which became threshold for people to define every member throughhis/her roles in the team. The role-definition approach enhances coordination inthe team by defining the specific roles of individuals, expectations from the groupas a whole and the shared responsibilities of the members of a team.

(c) Values: This approach talks about the values that the team members adopt whilecarrying out their individual responsibilities. This also talks about the values thatthe organization adopts, practices and promotes. The team should have similarvalues; otherwise, it would be extremely difficult for members to come at onelevel and communicate effectively for the betterment and smooth functioning ofthe team.

(d) Task-based approach: This approach focuses on individual skills of the teammembers and how they can all contribute in the successful running of the teamand thereby, of the organization. The tasks that the team faces need to be laidbare in definite terms by the manager to the members. Then, once the bigger taskhas been broken down to smaller goals, each member would be required to contributein his/her own way and according tom his role, to achieve the targets.

(e) Social Identification: This approach talks about the team members’ need tobelong to the team. Good communication techniques, understanding each others’points of view, standing up for each other in crisis, taking up unfinished jobs ofother members, would help people to come closer and feel a part of the sameteam. Team members should have adequate self-esteem and respect for eachother so that they may come close to each other while working in the same team.People who feel alienated have difficulties in working at a close coordination. Inorder for teams to thrive, the members need to share some common platforms orinterests.

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1.4.2 Key Work Functions of a Team

Times have changed and unlike the earlier times when a small-scale entrepreneur wasable to build an empire single-handedly. In today’s business scenario, the environmenthas become so complex and competitive, that it is not easy to achieve success on yourown. The business environment is in a continuous state of turmoil, and achievement oftasks depends more and more on the outputs of teams rather than efforts of a singleperson. Thus it has become very significant to understand the intricacies of team dynamicsand how to steer teams toward high performance (Table 1.1).

Table 1.1 Dimensions of Teamwork

Dimension Definition Subskills Adaptability Team members use information form the

task environment to adjust strategies through the use of flexibility, compensatory behavior, and reallocation of resources

Flexibility Compensatory or back-up behavior Providing assistance

Shared situational awareness

Team members develop shared knowledge of the team’s internal and external environment.

Shared orientation Team awareness

Performance monitoring and feedback

Team members give, seek, and receive task-clarifying feedback.

Performance monitoring Providing feedback Error correction

Team management

Team members direct and coordinate task activities, assign tasks, plan and organize, and motivate other team members.

Resource management Motivation Planning and goal setting

Team relations Team members optimize interpersonal interactions by resolving conflicts, use of cooperation, and building morale.

Conflict resolution Cooperation Morale building

Coordination Team members organize team resources, activities, and responses to ensure complete and timely completion of tasks.

Task organization Response coordination Timing and activity pacing

Communication Team members exchange information efficiently.

Seeking or requesting information Providing information Acknowledgement and confirmation

Decision making

Team members integrate or pool information, identify alternatives, select solution, and evaluate consequences.

Assessment Evaluation Problem solving

Teamwork Dimensions (Adapted from Cannon-Bowers et al., 1995)

Research indicates the many advantages and important work functions of teamswhich are discussed as follows:

1. Defining a problem: Teams have the capacity to define problems moreclearly and in an accurate way. Since members of a team come from avariety of backgrounds, it is easier for them to visualize a problem fromdifferent perspectives. On adding these perspectives we come to a clear-cut definition of the problem.

2. Collection of data: Teams on the basis of variety of skills and abilities oftheir members are able to collect more data than a single individual on aproblem or a task at hand.

3. Development of alternatives: Teams can come up with more alternativesthan a single individual. For this purpose they can use a variety of techniquessuch as Delphi techniques, nominal group technique, brainstorming, etc. Letus quickly understand what these methods are:

• The Delphi method: It is a methodical and interactive forecastingmethod which depends on a panel of experts. The experts answer

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questionnaires in two or more rounds. After each round, a facilitatorpresents an anonymous summary of the experts’ forecasts from theearlier round as well as the reasons they offered for their judgments.Therefore, experts are encouraged to modify their earlier answers inlight of the replies of other members of their panel. It is believed thatduring this process the range of the answers will decrease and thegroup will converge towards the ‘correct’ answer. Finally, the processis stopped after a pre-defined stop criterion (e.g., number of rounds,achievement of consensus, and stability of results) and the mean ormedian scores of the final rounds decides the outcomes.

Delphi is founded on the principle that forecasts from a structuredgroup of experts and is more precise than those from unstructuredgroups or individuals. The technique can be adapted for use in face-to-face meetings, and is then called mini-Delphi or Estimate-Talk-Estimate (ETE). Delphi is frequently used for business forecastingand has certain advantages over another structured forecastingapproach and prediction markets.

• The nominal group technique: It is a decision-making method whichis used by groups of many sizes, who want to make their decisionquickly, as by a vote, but want everyone’s opinions taken into account(contrary to conventional traditional voting, where only the largestgroup is considered). The difference lies in the method of tallying.First, every member of the group gives their view of the solution, witha brief explanation. Then, duplicate solutions are removed from thelist of all solutions, and the members rank the solutions. The numberseach solution receives are added and the solution with the lowest (i.e.most favoured) total ranking is chosen as the final decision. There aredifferences on how this technique is used. For example, it can identifystrengths versus areas in need of development, rather than be used asa decision-making voting alternative. Also, options do not always haveto be ranked, but may be evaluated more subjectively.

• Brainstorming: It is a group creativity technique developed togenerate a large number of ideas for the solution of a problem. In1953, the method was promoted by Alex Faickney Osborn in his bookApplied Imagination. Osborn felt that groups could double theircreative output with brainstorming.

Although brainstorming has become a popular group technique,researchers have not found proof of its effectiveness for enhancingeither quantity or quality of ideas generated. Because of such problemsas distraction, social loafing, evaluation apprehension, and productionblocking, brainstorming groups are little more effective than other typesof groups, and they are actually less effective than individuals workingindependently.

Although conventional brainstorming does not increase theproductivity of groups (as measured by the number of ideas generated),it still offers benefits, such as boosting morale, increasing workenjoyment, and promoting teamwork. Thus, several efforts have beenmade to improve brainstorming or use more effective variations of thebasic technique.

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4. Evaluation and selection of alternatives: Discussion in groups alwaysyields more positive and meaningful solution to a problem. Teams are moreobjective in their discussions unlike a single individual.

5. Implementation of solution: While implementing the solution of anyproblem, the team members are more capable of defining their roles appro-priately, and therefore the implementation also happens in a systematic way.

Team members generally have a different approach to work, a different way ofdoing things, than single individuals.

1.4.3 Team and Its Leader

We know that a team is a collection of individuals which is brought together for thesimple purpose of attaining a major outcome or a set of results. A team leader is a personor a group of persons who provide effective guidance, direction, etc., to a team especiallyif the team members are less experienced or new to the organizational setup. He coachesand supervises the team members, and monitors the quantitative as well as the qualitativeoutcomes to be achieved by the team. A leader basically keeps the team on the righttrack. The leader works with his team mates, they may not necessarily report into him.A team leader, however, generally is a manager or in a very senior position within anorganization and is expected to provide necessary help and support to leaders and theirteams in achieving their team goals (Figure 1.1).

A good team leader listens attentively to his team members, and to his internaland external stakeholders (customers) to ensure that the team produces the rightoutcomes. The duties of a leader are quite dynamic and different in different organizations,depending on the size of the organization, its purpose, people, and the type of results tobe delivered, but usually it includes the responsibility of building an effective team andensuring good teamwork. This term is used to stress on the cooperative and collaborativenature of a team which is in sharp contrast to a typical command structure, where thehead of a team is its ‘commander.’

Functions of a team leader

Figure 1.1 shows the varied roles of a team leader.

Mandatory Role of The Team Leader

Delegation & Empowerment

Communication Skills

Managing Conflict

Negotiating & Influencing

Developing & Maintaining A Customer Focused Team

Motivating the Team

Managing Performance

Personal Development

Effective Team Meetings

Coaching & Developing Staff

Figure 1.1 Role of a Team Leader

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The functions of a team leader are varied in nature. Some of the important functionsof a team leader are discussed as follows:

• They provide team leadership and coaching: A team leader’s mainfunction is to create and develop an environment that is conducive for buildingtrust, fosters open communication, allows creative thinking, and aids cohesiveteam effort. They provide the team with a vision of the project objectives andpurposes that need to be achieved. By appreciating the team members theymotivate and inspire them. They are expected to make others follow them bysetting a good example. They must take care that their behaviour is consistentwith what they preach. They train and help in the all-round development ofteam members, help resolve dysfunctional behaviours, build team synergyand aid in the process of problem solving. They always need to strive for teamconsensus and win-win situations, and steer the team to have positivediscussions and decisions.

• Leaders maintain healthy group dynamics: A leader’s job is to maintainpeace and harmony in the team so that every member’s attention is solelyfocused on task accomplishment instead of negative conflicts and confrontationswhich usually are unavoidable due to different backgrounds, interests,experiences and perceptions of each member. They step in only whennecessary, especially when the group is busy resolving issues.

• Leaders must inspire creativity and instill risk-taking abilities in theirteam members: A leader must appreciate the entire team’s accomplishmentson multiple occasions so as to boost their morale and develop confidence inthem. He/she must help the team in understanding the requirements of itsinternal and external customers. and take necessary actions accordingly. Theleader must ensure that the team creatively takes care of all issues pertainingto their job within the provided specifications.

• Team leaders provide necessary business information: Team leader, asthe chairperson of a team, organizes sub-groups as appropriate to solve issuesand perform tasks simultaneously. He/she ensures that the products or servicesto be delivered, are prepared to satisfy the project requirements, cost andschedule. He aids the team in staying focused and right on track.

• Team leaders coordinate team logistics: Team leaders work in tandemwith functional managers, departmental heads and the sponsor of the team, toobtain the necessary resources needed by the team to carry out their jobssmoothly. Every minute detail that is needed by the team such as furniture,equipment, men and machines, etc. is detailed by team leaders. In other words,they take care that all the resources needed by the team in accomplishingtheir tasks are provided to them on time. They also organize team meetings,and coordinate team reviews. They help team members in the preparation ofpresentations, design layouts, drawings, analysis and other important ormandatory documentation.

• Help in communicating the status and accomplishment direction ofthe teams: One of the functions of a team manager is to compile statusreports of various team activities according to the schedule. They keep theproject manager and the product committee updated on progress made, anyissues, opportunities faced, etc. They act as a pivotal point to communicateand resolve issues concerning interface and integration with other teams.

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They provide constant guidance to the team based on general direction givenby the management.

The manner in which a particular team is led, guided and directed has a significantimpact on the success or failure of the team. Team members generally identify certainvalues they want their leader to uphold, which are:

• Total commitment and dedication towards their team members and towardsthe task delegated to them

• Must exhibit the desire and inclination to not only support but also take activepart in the team

• Must possess a great degree of enthusiasm, be able to inspire the team• Must be competent enough and have sufficient expertise to carry out his/her

job successfully• Must possess the ability to bind the team together to achieve better and faster

results

Leading teams

According to Jim M. Allen, in today’s dynamic world, one thing that is stable is our desireto build effective and successful teams. However, team-building and team leadingtechniques are dynamic in nature too and keep on changing to keep pace with time andcurrent requirements. To lead a team in the 21st century, and make it a winning team,the team leaders are expected to keep in mind the following points:

• The team leader needs to ensure that his team is a team and not just a group sincetheir characteristics is quite different. The team leader must understand the basicdifferences between a team and a group, so that he can take suitable actions.Some of the differences between the two are ownership, understanding, creativityand contribution, trust, personal development, participative decision making, etc.

• The leader does not build a team, it is the team that builds itself. It is not the leaderwho builds a team, although he may be responsible in shaping the team accordingto the requirements. The leader simply creates the environment conducive for theteam to flourish.

• Team members must share and develop a common vision. For the team to succeed,it is imperative that the team members share a common vision so that all of themare focused solely on the tasks assigned to them instead of focusing on individualgoals.

• The leader must keep his team as small as possible. We have already studied inthe earlier unit that as the size of the team increases, it becomes difficult tocoordinate the actions of the members and communication also gets difficult.

• The team manager must develop his team mates such that they are able to thinkand act fast. The team leader must ensure that he formulates team ‘rules’ ornorms which must be clear to the team members.

• The team leader must realize that the survival of the team is only possible whenthere is an open and honest communication amongst team members at all times.The leader must ensure that every member offers his input, ideas, and criticismwhile discussing issues pertaining to the tasks of the team. There must be no fearof reprisals.

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• It has been aptly said that the teams that learn the most will lead the most. Theteam leader must ensure that his/her team is always aware of latest information,techniques, and technology that is needed for them to understand and be the bestin their field. At the same time they must enjoy learning and treat it as an ongoingactivity.

• The focus of the team must always be on its own efforts and not on the efforts ofits competitor. Though, strategically it is correct to keep abreast of what thecompetition is doing, the team members must, however, entirely focus their energieson achieving and improving their team’s outcome.

• For the team to make a difference, it must do things differently. If the team doesthe work in the same age-old way, it will stay exactly where it has always been.So the team must keep innovating and creating newer ways and methods of doingthings.

1.4.4 Principles of Leadership in Teams

Leadership may be quite simple to explain, but it is not so easy to practice. It is aboutbehaviour and skills. If we study history, we would find that the successful leaders werefollowed mainly because people used to trust and respect them, rather than the abilitiesor the skills they possessed. There is a basic difference between leadership andmanagement. While the latter relies more on planning, organizational and communicationsskills, the former relies on management skills too. It has been observed that the stress ismore on qualities such as honesty, humility, courage, commitment, integrity, sincerity,confidence, positivity, determination, compassion, sensitivity, etc. We have already studiedthat leadership can be performed with different styles. Some leaders may have only onestyle while others may adapt and use different leadership styles for different situationsor use a combination of styles as demanded by situations.

In today’s highly competitive world, ethical leadership has gained a lot ofimportance. The business world has become more transparent, dynamic and globallyconnected than it has ever been. The strategies and ideologies of organizations arealways under scanner by the media as well as the general public. Along with highlyincreased awareness and interest among people on the issues of corporate responsibilityand many such related concepts, the modern leader needs to understand better ways tolead people and achieve success.

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP

Idealized influence

Individualizedconsideration

Inspirationalmotivation

Intellectual stimulation

Management by exception

Contingent reward

EXPECTEDOUTCOMES

PERFORMANCEBEYOND

EXPECTATIONS

The additive effect of transformational

leadership

Figure 1.2 Transformational and Transactional Styles of Leadership

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There are broadly two categories of leadership: transformational leadership andtransactional leadership. Transformational leadership is more strategic in nature andtypically driven by top level of an organization whereas transactional leadership is moretactical and driven by middle and lower management of an organization. Sometimes,depending upon the size of a business and its requirements, a team manager could berequired to juggle between the two categories of leadership. We would, however, bediscussing more of transactional leadership in this unit as it is the initial stage of leadershipthat a team leader must know about.

The job of a transactional leader is to create and develop such work structureswherein everything related to the tasks that needs to be accomplished, rewards on doinggood jobs and punishment in case the task has not been done up to the mark, are mentionedclearly so that there is no scope for any misunderstandings later. It is not necessary tomention punishments, but it must be clear in the minds of the followers. Sometimes, inorder to establish discipline there may be formal systems of reprimanding individuals incase their job is not up to the mark (Figure 1.2).

The first and foremost function of a transactional leader is to negotiate the contractthrough which the subordinate is given a salary and other benefits, and the company getsauthority over the subordinate. Once a particular job has been assigned to the subordinate,he becomes responsible for it. In case anything goes wrong, the subordinate is heldresponsible. The transactional leader sometimes also uses the principle of managementby exception, according to which if something is operating to defined performance thenit does not need attention. However employees are rewarded for exceeding expectations,and asked to take corrective actions in the event their performance is below expectations.

In a nutshell, we can say that transactional leadership is based on contingency,that is, the rewards or the punishments given to the subordinates are subject to theirperformance.

Principles of leadership

Practicing the following principles of leadership, while leading teams in an organization,is quintessential to the success of a leader. These principles are:

• Self-introspection/seeking self-improvement: As a first step, a leader mustknow his/her basic attributes. The efforts of self-improvment basically refers tostrengthening one’s attributes, abilities and capabilities continuously so as to conquerany kind of challenges in future. This is done with the help of self-study, formalclasses, sharing experiences and interacting with others.

• Be technically proficient: It is expected of a leader that he be proficient in his/her job and aware of his employees tasks and the way they are doing it. If theleader is not technically sound, he would not be able to supervise his team memberssuccessfully.

• Take responsibility for your actions: The leader must look for different waysto take his/her organization to scale new heights. The team leader must alwaysbe on the lookout to find novel ways to upgrade his organization and in case thingsgo wrong, as they invariably always do sooner or later, instead of blaming others,they must analyse the situation, take corrective action, and then move on to thenext challenge.

• Take timely decisions: To make sound, accurate and timely decisions, the teamleader must use excellent problem solving, decision making, and planning skills.

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• Set example: The team members look up to their leader for inspiration, guidanceand proper direction. So it is the duty of the leader to try to become an role modelfor his employees to follow.

• Know your team mates and care for their well-being: The team leader mustlearn to understand the nature of human beings and the significance of sincerelycaring for his workers. By observing their colleagues, the team leader canunderstand the needs and expectations of his/her team members and know howto boost their morale and develop their confidence. While getting the tasksaccomplished by them, the leader must take care of their well being andbetterment.

• Keep your workers informed: The team leader must possess excellentcommunication link with his/her team members and other stakeholders in theorganization. The team leader must keep them in loop and give them timely inputsand information regarding their tasks and the organization, so that they do notface any difficulties due to lack of proper information.

• Develop a sense of responsibility in the workers: The team leader mustdevelop his/her teams to help them carry out their professional responsibilities ina proper way.

• The team leader must ensure that tasks are well understood, supervised,and accomplished: The team leader must ensure that the team members haveproperly understood the tasks that need to be accomplished.

• Train as a team: Although people sometimes do call their organization, department,or unit a team, but in reality they are not teams. They are simply a collection ofpeople doing their jobs. A team, however, to truly function as a team, needs toconstantly strive and train its members to work together effectively.

• Use the capabilities of the organization: The capabilities and competence ofthe organization can be used optimally by developing a sense of team spirit withinthe teams.

1.4.5 Key Factors of Leadership

The major factors of leadership are discussed as follows:• Follower: Different people and situations need different styles of leadership. For

instance, a new recruit requires a greater degree of supervision as compared toan experienced employee. Thus, in the earlier situation authoritative leader woulddo well and in the next situation a democratic leader is suitable. An employeelacking encouragement or motivation needs a different approach than one with ahigh degree of motivation. The leader must know his people. The starting point isto have a good understanding of human nature, such as human needs, emotions,and motivation.

• Leader: The leader must have a proper and honest understanding of whom he/she is, what he/she knows, and what he/she can do. It is imperative to mentionhere that it is the followers, and not the leader who decides whether a leader issuccessful or not. If they do not trust their leader, they will not be inspired. To besuccessful, a team leader has to develop trust amongst his followers (Figure 1.3).

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Figure 1.3 Qualities of a Leader

• Communication: A leader leads with the help of a two-way communication. Itcan be verbal or non-verbal.

• Situation: One of the important factors affecting leadership is the situation andthe changes occurring in it. All situations are different. What one does in a particularsituation to solve a problem, might not work in another situation. The leader mustuse his/her own judgment to decide the best possible action and the style ofleadership needed for each situation.Various contingencies may affect these factors, for instance, the relationship of

the leader with his/her seniors, the skill level of his people, the informal leaders within anorganization, and the structural framework of the organization.

1.5 TEAM LEADERSHIP AND SOCIALIDENTIFICATION

We have already studied that good team leaders do the following:• Keep the goals, purposes and objectives of the team meaningful and relevant.• Develop and build commitment and confidence in the team members.• Strengthen and mix the available skills and capabilities in the team.• Manage good interpersonal relations with internal as well as external stakeholders.• Create opportunities for all members of the team.• Do concrete work.

A good team leader knows and believes in the team and its advantages. Thus he/she is able to resist the temptation of controlling things. They practice patience and takea back seat as the teamworks to solve the issues facing them (Figure 1.4).

Check Your Progress

6. State at least fiveprinciples of teambuilding.

7. What do youunderstand by thesocial identificationapproach of teambuilding?

8. List the varioustechniques usingwhich teamsdevelopalternatives.

9. What are thefunctions of a teamleader?

10. Identify theprinciples ofleadership.

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Enduring SocialConnections Resulting

from Identification

Antecedents (Causes)of Sport TeamIdentification

Sport TeamIdentification

State and Trait Social Psychological

Health

ThreatIdentity

Coping withThreat

Temporary SocialConnections Resulting

from Identification

Figure 1.4 Graphic Representation of Team Leadership and Social Identification

Katzenbach and Smith have identified two important things that efficient teamleaders never do and these are:

1. They never play the game of blame because they recognize that problemsdo occur and mistakes do happen. So instead of blaming team members, theleaders help the individual to solve an occurrence of error. They also makethem realize that such mistakes must not be repeated again. Since in acommitted team, success and failures are part of the game, they do notwaste their time in reprimanding or blaming others. They utilize this timeand treat it as an important lesson learned.

2. Good leaders never give excuses for their shortcomings. If there is anyshortfall in the team’s performance, they acknowledge the failure, take itsonus and search for constructive ways to sort out the problem. This generallydoes not happen in normal organizations, where the executives waste theirtime in giving excuses for the failures. Here, individuals are reprimanded orpunished for not giving their hundred per cent.

By taking the responsibility of team’s failure, the team leader basically consolidatesthe sense of teamwork and commitment of the team members. This proves that themodern team leader combines both transactional and transformational qualities. Theprinciples such as creating opportunities for other team members, participating in theteam’s work, managing relationships with external stakeholders, etc. emphasize thetransactional nature of the leadership. On the other hand, principles such as building andstrengthening team member’s confidence and sense of commitment, focusing on teamgoals and objectives, strengthening the mix and level of the team member’s skills andabilities are few of the features of transformational style of leadership. On the basis ofabove principles, the team leader makes sure that the team is on the right track and theteam members are appreciated and encouraged to continue to give their best. Theseprinciples also help the team leader to build up and maintain a strong sense of socialidentification between team members. The team leader works hard to create the teamas a special unit, along with distinctive skills and capabilities and is differentiated fromrest of the members of the organization. It is very important for the team leader to studythe group dimensions and the significant role played by social identities in outlining asituation and guiding human behaviour. The social identities are referred to as, ‘an inherentpart of an individual’s self concept which derives from his/her knowledge of his

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membership of a team along with the value and emotional significance attached to themembership.’

Much of our actions and thought processes are generally shaped by our connectionto the social groups that can vary from extremely large and abstract groups such asreligious communities to very small working teams or at the most a family. Suchconnections provide varied social identities that define our experiences and guide us inour way of thinking, being and acting. These social identities actually make us who weare.

Social Identification process is referred to as the process by which a particularaspect of self-image is developed on the basis of an in-group preference or ethnocentrismand a perception of belonging to a social or cultural group. We know that all humanbeings are social animals, and hence they spent most of their lives living and interactingin groups. The social identities, thus, developed from these interactions tell them whothey are. Some researchers consider the group to be at a very critical level at which,selection occurs and the characteristics or traits that favours the group are more likely tobe passed on.

Tyler (2000) gave a theory which was a refined version of social identificationtheory. The general findings of the theory were that in groups whose members aretreated with various ways of respect, group members are willing to work hardfor group interests without being specifically given incentives for their exact contributions.

1.6 NEED FOR TEAM BALANCE

All systems, organizations, groups and teams require balance so that they can performoptimally. Nature understands this, and thus we find that whenever there is an upheavalin the balance of nature, there are resulting natural calamities, but as is the nature ofhuman beings, they struggle with it more than accept and embrace it. Similarly, theweather systems maintain a proper balance between the actions of high and low pressuresystems. In the same way, the human body also maintains its equilibrium through avariety of enzymes, hormones, and systems, ecosystems also strive to maintain balancewith the help of food chain and the cooperative nature of nature itself. Human beings,however, tends to disrupt the balance of these systems for petty short-term gains orbenefits. From an organizational point of view, teams seem to realize and understand thisrequirement for balance to a much greater degree than other units of businesses. In thework environment, individuals often emphasize efficiency in attaining goals to a fargreater degree than perhaps more important issue of quality or safety. It is significant tonote that one can achieve success from a production or service system in the short termwithout maintaining a balanced approach to performance management and improvement.Sustained and stable levels of excellence, however, in the levels of performance can beachieved only from a balanced system.

A business unit or an organization has its own points of equilibrium already in place.

Building a balanced team

To build a balanced team, the team manager needs to ensure that the team membershave the necessary skills needed to get the job done but at the same time they must alsoappreciate diversity in their backgrounds. If we work in a team, we need it to operate asan ‘ideal person’. It must be hundred percent effective, in harmony, creative, able buildconsensus, encourage self-reflection, and be able to work with details. If some

Check Your Progress

11. 'Katzenbach andSmith haveidentified twoimportant thingsthat efficient teamleaders never do.'What are these twothings?

12. Name some featuresof thetransformationalstyle of leadership.

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characteristics are missing, a problem arises. Sometimes there is a tendency inorganizations to hire people with a similar nature and a similar way of thinking. We liketo deal with them, they are likeable to us and we talk in ‘the same language’. If we builda team which is in harmony with this tendency, it can happen that each member of theteam may have some of the required characteristics, but some of them would be missingfrom the group.

The Myers-Briggs typology could also be one of the tools which helps build abalanced team and also helps define its weak points. It helps us understand ourselvesand others and find ways to communicate and operate better in a team. The way inwhich we use the strengths of our team and overcome the weaknesses of our teammembers, decides how our team is successful.

Some important points apart from the tools to build a balanced team are mentionedas follows:

• Ensure complementary skills among the team members.• Use external consultants to fill any gaps in the teams.• Establish linkages with other teams in case your team is lacking in a particular

area.• Develops team members so that they are well equipped to work in any part of

the team wheel.• Structure team meetings so that all parts of the team wheel are discussed.

1.7 TEAM ASSESSMENT

To understand how to assess a team, let’s take an instance of a large manufacturingcompany where team management wheel is used to assess the team. In this organization,the senior manager was concerned about the members of his team not workingcollectively. Due to this reason, deadlines were missed, the quality of work suffered, lotsof interpersonal arguments, conflicts and unnecessary confrontations occurred and nonew ideas were generated. Ultimately, the manager decided to bring the team together,and discussed about the various types of work wheel. This prompted a discussion on‘What areas do we need to be strong in to meet various challenges in our business?’ Theteam unanimously agreed that there was a need to be strong in creating, promoting anddeveloping products and services, since these days the markets are experiencing rapidchanges in all spheres.

To find out the areas that needed to be improvised, they completed a questionnaireand gained feedback on their customer preferences and strengths. The conclusion wasthat they were quite good at organizing, producing and inspecting things. Further, theydiscussed how to improve in the areas that were perceived or highlighted as weak. Theydecided that they must start improvising by putting more time and effort into those areasand undergoing training wherever required. They realized that the conflicts betweenthose who wanted to spend more time on innovating and those who wanted to maintaineverything so that the production system was not disturbed should cease. In order toimprove their performance, they started by setting objectives in the key areas and thenmet again after a few months to assess the progress. By following this for some time,they realized that they were more successful in completing their tasks in a far betterway.

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1.7.1 Assessing Team Strength

The first step towards bringing positive change or modifications in the team performanceis to assess and analyse its present state. One must understand the current situation inorder to devise a best course of action for improvement in future, whether for them asindividuals, for their team, or for their entire organization.

The steps of assessing team strength are as follows:• Discover team style: The first step to assess one’s team strength is to find

out what their team is made up of.• Identify and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the team:

The major function of the team profile is that it helps to find out the distributionof a team members’ styles of behavior. The guide provided along with theprofile provides them with a powerful team building tool to tap the innatepotential of each team member and build a stronger team. A self-scoring 22page profile famously known as ‘As I see myself’, helps in measuring andsummarizing the advantages, strengths and challenges of the four basicbehaviour styles. These styles are:– Controller– Stabilizer– Analyzer– PersuaderIt is designed in such a manner that it can be immediately applied. Learn howothers perceive your style with the help of a questionnaire that is self scoringin nature and needs to be filled up by colleagues, family members or friends.If one needs to know how his or her behaviour is perceived by others, this isan efficient means to find out.

• Know your personal impact: By understanding how one views himself/herself and how others view him/her, one can know the impact of one’spersonality.

• Identify the differences: Try to find out changes in the behaviour whichhelps in building stronger relationships and influencing others positively. Itmeans that a greater degree of focus on one’s behaviour rather than thepersonality is a must since one cannot make choices to adapt one’s behavioraccording to the dynamic situations in order to become a good leader or abetter contributor towards the team.

• Leadership practices inventory: The leadership practices inventory is a360 degree leadership assessment instrument developed by James M. Kouzesand Barry Z. Posner. This instrument has been used to measure and analyzethe behaviour of the leaders. This instrument has two main advantages:– It helps in continuously testing our original findings that this model or the

instrument that is a valid view of the global leadership,– It also helps the leaders assess the degree to which they actually use those

practices so that they can bring about improvement in their behaviour.• Team assessment: This instrument is a way to identify a team’s strengths

and challenges. It also measures the six essential characteristics of highperforming teams. They are mutual responsibility and accountability, trust,respect, commitment to a clear and common purpose, willingness and abilityto resolve conflicts, and focus on measurable results.

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• Organization performance profile: This tool helps us in knowing about thestrength’s and challenges faced by an organization. Most of the organizationsthat are quite successful also concentrate on the accepted ‘metrics’ of businessperformance. These are productivity, employee retention, profit, productivity,and customer satisfaction. Global organizations have a different focus. Theyknow that these metrics are the results of effective performances but not theactual causes of them. So in order to achieve excellence in performance, theyconcentrate on the practices of leadership, culture variables and patterns ofbehaviour that drive the metrics.

In this way, the team’s strengths and weaknesses can be analyzed and assessed.If we know the outcomes, we can work to rectify the situation, thereby, creating the bestteam.

1.8 USING TEAM WHEELS

Team members often are inclined to exploring the team management wheel. Althoughthis is useful to them for the kind of work they do, but if the entire team is made up ofexplorers, there can be a serious problem. While paying attention to exploring, it isimportant to keep a tab on the control function as well. For instance, in a sales team, themembers found out that their work preferences were all in the explorer-promoter,assessor-developer, and thruster-organizer part of the team management wheel. Theyalso agreed that they did not link with other team activities as much as they should have.On studying the team wheel in detail, they realized that they should work closely on theadvising function and control organ of the organization. This way they would be able tolink their team externally to two others on a regular basis. Basically, there are two teamwheels discussed as follows:

1. One having task focus2. The other with personal work preference focus

It is important to have a balanced team, if the task involves all the team wheelfunctions, not only in terms of work function skills and competencies, but also personalwork preferences. Sometimes, it may only be possible to have a team that has preferencesin just a few areas. To create a powerful impact, there must be a proper understandingof how both team wheels can work to the advantage of the organization and the teammembers. The two wheels provide a strategic framework for:

• Planning• Recruitment of people• Allocation of resources• Management of people• Use of time

1.9 SUMMARY

In this unit, you have learned that:• Leadership is an integral part of management and plays a vital role in managerial

operations. The factor that differentiates between successful and unsuccessfulorganizations is dynamic and effective leadership.

Check Your Progress

13. How would youdefine an idealperson in a team?

14. What are the fourbehaviour styles ofidentifying thestrengths andweakness of ateam?

15. What kind of astrategicframework isprovided by a teamwheel?

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• Leadership may be defined as the art of influencing and inspiring subordinates toperform their duties willingly, competently and enthusiastically for achievementof group objectives.

• A team may be defined as a small group of individuals having complementaryskills who join together to achieve a common goal, purpose or mission of anorganization. In a team, members need to have a common commitment, failingwhich all team members act as individuals.

• A group is any assemblage of people regardless of whether or not outcomes areshared. All teams are groups, but not all groups are teams. All departments aregroups, but not all departments are teams.

• Team members must be committed to the cause of achieving organizational andteam goals and maintain the timeframe committed to the manager. Personalresponsibility should be assumed for team productivity and people should effectivelywork towards the entire team’s success.

• There are five approaches to positive team-building exercise. These are:a) interpersonal, b) role-definition, c) values approach, d) task-based approachand e) social identification approach.

• The duties of a leader are quite dynamic and different in different organizations,depending on the size of the organization, its purpose, people, and the type ofresults to be delivered, but usually includes the responsibility of building an effectiveteam and ensuring good teamwork.

• To build a balanced team, the team manager needs to ensure that the team membershave the necessary skills needed to get the job done but at the same time theymust also appreciate diversity in their backgrounds.

• It is important to have a balanced team, if the task involves all the team wheelfunctions, not only in terms of work function skills and competencies, but alsopersonal work preferences.

1.10 KEY TERMS

• Adaptability: It is a dimension of teamwork that is exhibited by team memberswho use information from the task environment to adjust strategies through theuse of flexibility, compensatory behaviour and reallocation of resources.

• Authority: It is defined as the possession of powers by a team member or aleader based on a formal role.

• Team leader: It is a person(s) who provides guidance, instruction, direction andleadership to individuals in a team or group to accomplish key tasks and objectives.

• Team-building: It refers to a wide range of team activities undertaken, usuallyin a business context to improve team performance.

1.11 ANSWERS TO ‘CHECK YOUR PROGRESS’

1. Leadership may be defined as the art of influencing and inspiring subordinates toperform their duties willingly, competently and enthusiastically for achievementof group objectives. It can also be defined as the process of influencing the activitiesof an individual or a group in efforts towards goal achievement in a given situation.

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2. A team may be defined as a small group of individuals having complementaryskills who join together to achieve a common goal, purpose or mission of anorganization. According to Katzenbach and Smith’s (1993), ‘A team is a smallnumber of people with complementary skills who are committed to a commonpurpose, performance goals and approach, for which they are mutuallyaccountable.’

3. Mutual accountability is the most important aspect in a team. It signifies thesolemn or sincere promise that team members make to others and to themselvesthat is based on two critical factors—commitment and trust.

4. The important aspects of a group are listed as follows:• Social interaction• Stable structure• Common interests• Considering oneself as a part of a group

5. In terms of accountability, groups usually come together to share some information,perspectives, insights and experiences. They help individuals to improve theirperformance of standards. The major attention is on individual goals andperformance. Members of a group take responsibility for their individual actionsand performances.On the other hand, in teams, both individuals as well as the team are togetheraccountable for the results. In a nutshell, a team is more than the sum of its partsor its individual constituent units.

6. The five principles of team building are listed as follows:(i) Team members need to be committed to the cause of achieving organizational

and team goals and maintain the timeframe that they have committed to themanager.

(ii) Every member should assume personal responsibility for team productivityand should effectively work towards the entire team’s success.

(iii) Team members need to be given enough freedom and empowerment andshould collaborate with each other to take the task forward smoothly.

(iv) The manager should be polite, humble and approachable so that teammembers do not hesitate to approach him with whatever issues they mighthave. This helps the manager to feel the pulse of the team, be ready forunprecedented events and bring about coordination among team members.

(v) In a ‘role-defining’ approach, every member of the team should be wellconversant with the various roles that they are expected to play in the team.

7. The social identification approach talks about the team members’ need to belongto the team. Good communication techniques, understanding each others’ pointsof view, standing up for each other in crisis and taking up unfinished jobs of othermembers would help people come closer and feel a part of the same team. Teammembers should have adequate self-esteem and respect for each other, and forteams to thrive the members need to share common platforms or interests.

8. The various techniques using which teams develop alternatives are listed as follows:• Delphi method• Nominal group technique• Brainstorming

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• Evaluation and selection of alternatives• Implementation of solution

9. The functions of a team leader are as follows:• Provide team leadership and coaching• Maintain healthy group dynamics• Inspire creativity and instill risk-taking abilities in team members• Provide necessary business information• Coordinate team logistics• Communicate status and accomplishment direction of teams

10. The principles of leadership are as follows:• Self-introspection/seeking self-improvement• Technical proficiency• Taking responsibility for actions• Taking timely decisions• Setting an example• Knowing teammates and caring for their well-being• Keeping teammates informed• Developing a sense of responsibility in teammates• Ensuring tasks are understood, supervised and accomplished• Using the capabilities of the organization

11. ‘Katzenbach and Smith have identified two important things that efficient teamleaders never do.’ These two things are listed as follows:• Never playing the game of blame• Never giving excuses for shortcomings

12. Principles such as building and strengthening team member’s confidence andsense of commitment, focusing on team goals and objectives, strengthening themix and level of the team member’s skills and abilities are few of the features oftransformational style of leadership.

13. An ideal person in a team would be hundred per cent effective, in harmony,creative, able to build consensus, encourage self-reflection and be able to workwith details.

14. The four behaviour styles of identifying the strengths and weakness of a team areas follows:

(i) Controller(ii) Stabilizer(iii) Analyser(iv) Persuader

15. The team wheels provide a strategic framework for the following:• Planning• Recruitment of people• Allocation of resources• Management of people• Use of time

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1.12 QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

Short-Answer Questions

1. What are the principles of team-building?2. Briefly state the different approaches of team leadership.3. Name the various principles of leadership.4. What do you understand by social identification? Why is it important?5. What is the need for team balance?6. How can team strength be assessed?7. What are the four basic behaviour styles?

Long-Answer Questions

1. Describe the key work functions of a team.2. Explain the functions of a team leader.3. What do you understand by team leadership? Explain the principles of leadership.4. Explain leadership traits.5. How do we build a balanced team?

1.13 FURTHER READING

Argyris, C. ‘Personality and Organization Theory Revisited’, Administrative ScienceQuarterly, Vol. 18, 1973, pp. 141–167.

Bass, B.M. 1985. Leadership and Performance: Beyond Expectations. New York:Free Press.

Bennis, W. 1966. Changing Organizations. New York: McGraw-Hill.Bennis, W.G. 1992. Leaders and Leadership. Boston: Harvard Business Review Books.Blake, R.R. and Mouton J.S. 1964. The Managerial Grid III. Houston, TX: Gulf

Publishing Co.Conger, J.A. ‘Inspiring Others: The Language of Leadership’, Academy of Management

Executive. Vol. 5, No.1, 1991, pp. 31–45.