Leadership and Team Development
8 chapters | 1 hour
Course Content
1. Introduction
2. Leadership vs Management
3. Leadership Theories
4. Leadership Styles5 Topics
5. Leadership Trends
6. Tuckman's Group Stages4 Topics
7. Hackman's Five-Factors-Model5 Topics
8. Conclusion
Leadership and Team Development - Exam
1. Introduction
Welcome to Leadership & Team Development!
Probably the most important part of becoming any sort of leader in the
modern workplace is to be the person that others choose to follow. Even
where compulsion is possible, it tends not to work very well.
If people decide that they don’t want to do things your way, then they
can find any number of ingenious ways to undermine your wishes. Even
if the obstructive behavior justifies dismissal, firing someone always has
negative consequences for morale, focus, and productivity. In fact, you
can end up spending so much time and effort defending your decision to
your boss, co-workers, or an employment tribunal that you don’t have
any time left to do your job properly.
If you want to take a leadership role, then the most important questions
you can ask are:
▪ Which leadership style is the most appropriate?
▪ Which leadership style is most prevalent in your organization?
▪ Why should my team follow my lead?
▪ How can I alter my competencies and behaviors to become this
type of leader?
The answers to these questions depend on your role, your team, and
the task at hand. Whilst there are some skills that you will need to
develop in order to be an effective leader, your role, your team, and the
task will all affect which of these skills you use.
Before getting down to answering the question of why people would
choose to follow your lead, you will need to understand the different
leadership styles and types of teams that are found in the workplace.
2. Leadership vs Management
Although sometimes used synonymously, leadership and management
can be quite different. Leaders may be managers, but not all managers
are leaders. The main difference between leaders and managers is that
leaders have people follow them while managers have people who work
for them.
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
– Peter F. Drucker
A successful business owner needs to be both a strong leader and
manager to get their team on board to follow them towards their vision of
success. Leadership is about getting people to understand and believe
in your vision and to work with you to achieve your goals while managing
is more about administering and making sure the day-to-day things are
happening as they should.
Key characteristics of a strong leader are:
▪ Honesty & Integrity: get your people to believe you and buy
into the journey you are taking them on
▪ Vision: know where you are, where you want to go and enroll
your team in charting a path for the future
▪ Inspiration: making sure your team understands their role in
the bigger picture
▪ Ability to Challenge: do things differently and have the
courage to think outside the box
▪ Communication Skills: keep your team informed of the journey
and where you are heading
Common traits of a strong manager are:
▪ Being Able to Execute a Vision: take a strategic vision and
break it down into a road map to be followed
▪ Ability to Direct: day-to-day work efforts, review resources
needed and anticipate needs along the way
▪ Process Management: establish work rules, processes,
standards, and operating procedures
▪ People Focused: look after your people, their needs, listen to
them and involve them
In order for you to engage your staff in providing the best service to your
guests, clients or partners, you must enroll them in your vision and align
their perceptions and behaviors. You need to get them excited about
where you are taking them while making sure they know what’s in it for
them. With smaller organizations, the challenge lies in making sure you
are both leading your team as well as managing your day to day
operation. Those who are able to do both will create a competitive
advantage.
Remember: leaders may be managers, but not all managers are leaders!
3. Leadership Theories
What is it that makes some people excel in leadership roles? Leadership
theories seek to explain how certain people become leaders. Such
theories often focus on the characteristics of leaders, but some attempt
to identify the behaviors that people can adopt to improve their own
leadership abilities.
A number of different leadership theories have been introduced to
explain exactly how and why certain people become great leaders, but
most can be classified into eight major types:
1. “Great Man” Theories
Have you ever heard someone described as “born to lead?” According to
this point of view, great leaders are simply born with the necessary
internal characteristics such as charisma, confidence, intelligence, and
social skills that make them natural-born leaders. Great man theories
assume that the capacity for leadership is inherent – that great leaders
are born, not made. These theories often portray great leaders as heroic,
mythic and destined to rise to leadership when needed. The term “Great
Man” was used because, at the time, leadership was thought of primarily
as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership.
2. Trait Theories
Similar in some ways to Great Man theories, trait theories assume that
people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited
to leadership. Trait theories often identify particular personality or
behavioral characteristics shared by leaders. For example, traits like
extraversion, self-confidence, and courage are all traits that could
potentially be linked to great leaders. If particular traits are key features
of leadership, then how do we explain people who possess those
qualities but are not leaders? This question is one of the difficulties in
using trait theories to explain leadership. There are plenty of people who
possess the personality traits associated with leadership, yet many of
these people never seek out positions of leadership.
3. Contingency Theories
Contingency theories of leadership focus on particular variables related
to the environment that might determine which particular style of
leadership is best suited for the situation. According to this theory, no
leadership style is best in all situations. Success depends upon
a number of variables, including the leadership style, qualities of the
followers and aspects of the situation.
4. Situational Theories
Situational theories propose that leaders choose the best course of
action based upon situational variables. Different styles of leadership
may be more appropriate for certain types of decision-making. For
example, in a situation where the leader is the most knowledgeable and
experienced member of a group, an authoritarian style might be most
appropriate. In other instances where group members are skilled
experts, a democratic style would be more effective.
5. Behavioral Theories
Behavioral theories of leadership are based upon the belief that great
leaders are made, not born. Consider it the flip-side of the Great Man
theories. Rooted in behaviorism, this leadership theory focuses on the
actions of leaders, not on mental qualities or internal states. According to
this theory, people can learn to become leaders through teaching and
observation.
6. Participative Theories
Participative leadership theories suggest that the ideal leadership style is
one that takes the input of others into account. These leaders
encourage participation and contributions from group members and
help group members feel more relevant and committed to the decision-
making process. In participative theories, however, the leader retains the
right to allow the input of others.
7. Management Theories
Management theories, also known as transactional theories, focus on
the role of supervision, organization and group performance. These
theories base leadership on a system of rewards and punishments.
Managerial theories are often used in business; when employees are
successful, they are rewarded; when they fail, they are reprimanded or
punished.
8. Relationship Theories
Relationship theories, also known as transformational theories, focus
upon the connections formed between leaders and followers.
Transformational leaders motivate and inspire people by helping group
members see the importance and higher good of the task. These leaders
are focused on the performance of group members, but also want each
person to fulfill his or her potential. Leaders with this style often have
high ethical and moral standards.
There are many different ways of thinking about leadership, ranging from
focusing on the personality traits of great leadership to emphasizing
aspects of the situation that help determine how people lead. Like most
things, leadership is a highly multi-faceted subject and it is a mixture of
many factors that help determine why some people become great
leaders.
4. Leadership Styles
There is not a one-size-fits-all leadership style for all firms. However,
having a thorough understanding of various leadership styles enables
executives to not only adopt the correct characteristics for themselves
but also choose better managers throughout the organization.
Lesson Content
Autocratic Leadership
Laissez-Faire Leadership
Democratic Leadership
Transformational Leadership
Transactional Leadership
Autocratic Leadership
This style of leadership is both directive and controlling. The
leader will make all decisions without consulting employees and will also
dictate employee roles. Micromanaging is a form of autocratic
leadership in which upper management controls even the smallest tasks
undertaken by subordinates. The autocratic style of leadership limits
employee freedom of expression and participation in the decision-
making process. It may result in alienating employees from leadership
and will not serve to create trust between managers and subordinates.
Further, creative minds cannot flourish under autocratic leadership.
Autocratic leadership may best be used when companies are managing
less experienced employees. Western companies operating in less
developed countries often use autocratic leadership. It allows the
parent corporation more control over its overseas investment. In
countries where the government controls the economy,
Western corporations often use autocratic leadership because the
employees are used to making decisions to satisfy the goals of the
government, not the parent corporation.
Managers should not use the autocratic leadership style in operations
where employees expect to voice their opinions. It also should not be
used if employees begin expecting managers to make all the decisions
for them, or if employees become fearful or resentful.
Laissez-Faire Leadership
This free-rein form of leadership, if it is to be successful, requires
extensive communication by management with employees. It is the
style of leadership that makes employees responsible for most of the
decisions that are made, and in which they are minimally supervised.
Employees are responsible for motivating and managing themselves on
a daily basis under this leadership style.
Laissez-faire leadership may best be used when employees are
educated, knowledgeable, and self-motivated. Employees must have
the drive and ambition to achieve goals on their own for this style to
be most effective.
Laissez-faire leadership is not a good idea in situations where
employees feel insecure about the manager’s lack of availability or the
manager is using the employees to cover for his or her inability to carry
out his or her own work. This type of situation can create resentment and
result in an unhealthy work environment.
Democratic Leadership
This style of management is centered on employee
participation and involves decision making by consensus and
consultation. The leader will involve employees in the decision-making
process and they will be encouraged to give input and delegate
assignments. Democratic leadership often leads to empowerment of
employees because it gives them a sense of responsibility for the
decisions made by management. This can also be a very effective form
of management when employees offer a different perspective than the
manager, due to their daily involvement with work. A successful leader
will know when to be a teacher and when to be a student.
Democratic leadership may best be used when working with highly
skilled and experienced employees. It is most useful for implementing
organizational changes, for resolving group problems, and when the
leader is uncertain about which direction to take and therefore requires
input from knowledgeable employees.
One of the downsides of democratic leadership is that it may lead to
endless meetings and therefore create frustration among employees if
used for every decision made by a company. Democratic leadership is
not a good idea in situations when the business cannot afford to make
mistakes – for instance, when a company is facing a crisis situation such
as bankruptcy.
As with many categories that describe business concepts, an
organization and its leadership may apply any or all of these
leadership styles.
For instance, the managing partners of an architectural firm may utilize
autocratic leadership style with the lower levels in its clerical and
administrative functions but employ a democratic or laissez-faire
leadership style with its professional staff of architect-associates and
partners.
Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership is based on the ability of the leader
to motivate and influence followers through their intellectual
stimulation, and individual consideration. These leaders offer a role
model that inspires, interests, and challenges their followers to take
greater ownership for their work. A transformational leader understands
the strengths and weaknesses of each follower and assigns tasks that
enhance each individual’s performance.
Leaders who have a clear vision and are able to articulate it effectively
to others often characterize this style of leadership. They look beyond
themselves in order to work for the greater good of everyone. This type
of leader will bring others into the decision-making process and will
allow those around them opportunity to learn and grow as individuals.
They seek out different perspectives when trying to solve a problem and
are able to instill pride into those who work under them. Transformational
leaders spend time coaching their employees and learning from them as
well.
Transactional Leadership
This leadership style is characterized by centralized control over
employees. The transactional leader will control outcomes and strive for
behavioral compliance. Employees under a transactional leader are
motivated by the transactional leader’s praise, raise, and promise
(rewards). They may also be corrected by the leader’s negative
feedback, threats, or disciplinary action (sanctions).
This type of leadership makes certain assumptions about your team.
Firstly, that they are only motivated by reward or punishment; they have
no self-motivation. Secondly, that they know from the outset that they
must obey your instructions without question and expect to be closely
monitored and controlled.
The most effective leadership style is using a combination of
styles. Leaders should know when it is best to be autocratic and when to
be democratic. They can also be transformational and transactional at
the same time; these are not mutually exclusive styles and in fact can
complement one another extremely well.
5. Leadership Trends
In today’s competitive environment, leaders are continually
searching for new ideas and approaches to improving their
understanding of leadership. They need to stay on top of the current
trends influencing their company, their industry, their employees and
attitudes toward the working world in general.
These are five of the most important recent leadership trends:
1. Coaching
A new trend of effective leadership, coaching, has become extremely
popular throughout different organizations. When coaching,
management provides employees with ideas, feedback, and
consultation, but decisions will ultimately be left in the hands of the
employees. Coaching prepares employees for the challenges they will
face. The lower an employee’s skill and experience level, the more
coaching the worker will require. The interactions that an employee has
with the manager are the best opportunities they have for enhancing
their respective skills. Coaching enables the employees to excel at their
tasks. Instilling confidence in employees is extremely important. If
management conveys the belief that employees will exceed
expectations, it helps them do so.
2. Employee Empowerment
As organizations and companies become increasingly borderless,
employee empowerment becomes ever more important. This trend
in leadership has allowed employees to participate in the decision-
making processes. Employee empowerment is also a method for
building employee self-esteem and can also improve customer
satisfaction. It also ties them more closely to the company goals and will
serve to increase their pride in their work and loyalty to the organization.
3. Global Leadership
As corporations become increasingly international in scope, there is
a growing demand for global leaders. Although many of the qualities that
make a successful domestic leader will make a successful global leader,
the differences lie in the abilities of the leader to take on a global
perspective. Global leaders are often entrepreneurial; they will have the
ambition to take their ideas and strategies across borders. They will also
have to develop cultural understanding; global leaders must be sensitive
to the cultures of those working under them, no matter where they are
based. Global leaders must also be adaptable; this is part of accepting
the cultural norms of different countries in which they are operating.
They must know when to adapt the operational structure of the
organization or adjust their leadership styles in order to relate to those
around them. However, as adaptable as they must be, the global leader
should not adapt his or her ethics or values to suit local tastes. Global
leaders must also serve as role models, fighting corruption, not giving in
to it.
4. Equitable Treatment
An important trend in leadership is the equitable treatment of employees.
This does not mean that each employee will be treated the same; it
means that every employee will be given the amount of individual
attention they require, and it will involve leadership knowing his or her
employees. A good leader will get to know employees well enough to
give them what they need in order to best perform. For some employees
that may mean more structure; for others, it may mean more freedom.
Some employees may need to be monitored more carefully, while others
may work better independently. Leaders must know how to bring out the
best in employees and how to build solid relationships with them; the
most effective way of doing this is by getting to know them individually.
5. Feedback
Employees thrive on feedback, and by providing feedback and
communicating effectively, managers can give employees the tools they
need to improve their performance. Providing feedback will not dampen
employee morale in most cases, but will allow opportunities for
employees to learn from their mistakes and move on to perform their
tasks better. Positive reinforcement should be used to encourage
employees’ positive behavior, but when criticism is necessary, make
sure it is constructive. Managers can do this best by telling employees
exactly what was observed and how they interpreted it; this also will
allow employees to better understand what the manager saw in their
performance and to explain if there has been a misunderstanding.
6. Tuckman’s Group Stages
One of the most influential studies about team building is Bruce
Tuckman’s four-stage model called ‘Tuckman’s Stages for a Group’ from
1965. It states that the ideal group decision-making process should
occur in four stages. These enable a group to tackle problems, find
solutions and deliver results.
Lesson Content
Stage 1: Forming
Stage 2: Storming
Stage 3: Norming
Stage 4: Performing
Stage 1: Forming
This first stage involves the bringing together of a group of individuals to
form a team. At this stage, members usually have positive expectations
about the venture, although they may harbor some anxiety about other
members, such as who they are and what they are like. At this point, it is
about building relationships within the group and clarifying the team’s
mission. Initially, individuals behave independently of each other, but as
they gather information and impressions the team members begin to
agree on goals and tackle particular tasks.
The length of this first stage will depend on how clearly the task is
defined and on how much experience the individuals have of working in
a team. Groups with simple tasks will move through orientation quickly,
but groups with complex goals and tasks may spend much longer in this
stage. Teams made up of people who are used to being autonomous will
take longer to build the necessary relationships for a successful team
than those used to working in a group. Many individuals may be
reluctant to contribute at this stage and their support of the leader is
given cautiously.
As a manager you need to be very ‘hands-on’ at this stage, giving clear
directions and structure to make sure that your team builds strong
relationships. You can facilitate this by making sure your
communications dispel any misunderstandings that could arise about
roles and responsibilities.
With decisions being made in the majority of cases by the nominated
leader you also need to ensure that no team member is committing
themselves to do too much, or too little, of the planned work.
By paying attention from the outset to building good relationships, as
well as focusing on a clearly defined task, your team will perform better
than teams whose managers rush through or skip over the relationship-
building stage.
Stage 2: Storming
During this second stage, where team members feel more able to
express and question opinions, you will see more evidence of internal
conflict. Your role as a manager is to contain and direct this energy into
a productive channel. You need to be aware that some level of internal
conflict will cause a simultaneous dip in team morale.
Your management role will have to become more supportive, guiding the
team in their decision-making and offering explanations of how these
decisions came about. You need to define what you and the organization
expect of the team in terms of professional behavior.
This more instructional approach will enable you, as team manager, to
prevent any conflict from getting out of control and poisoning
relationships between team members.
You will be able to recognize when your team moves into the ‘storming’
stage because you will observe your team beginning to address the
differences between their initial perceptions and the reality of the
situation that they have been formed to address. This will cover issues
such as what problems they are really supposed to solve, how they will
function independently and together, and what leadership model they will
accept.
As your team members begin to negotiate the work assignments and
express their views on the best way to achieve the task outcome
disagreements will arise. Through your active listening skills, you will
mediate and help decisions to be made through compromise as the most
efficient way to attain the necessary outcomes.
While your team members confront each other’s ideas, test differing
perspectives, discuss what the group needs to do, and how best to
accomplish it, your role becomes one of a facilitator building trust within
sub-groups of the team.
Team storming, whilst it may be contentious and unpleasant, will be
resolved relatively quickly with your guidance and support. You must
view this as a necessary step for your team to become a cohesive
whole, not as an enormous irritation to be dismissed. You may also
choose to break the team into smaller subsets of cohesive individuals
within your team so that morale and productivity are raised.
Stage 3: Norming
Once your team has reached the third stage of its development the
members focus on resolving differences so that the mission and goals
can be clearly defined. Your role within the team transfers from that of a
leader to that of a team member.
Team members are learning more about each other and how they will
work together and are developing tools such as a problem-solving
process, a code of conduct, a set of team values, and measurement
indicators. The team has now established core processes, and as
manager, you need to ensure the team avoids spending unnecessary
time on issues related to the smaller processes.
During this period of negotiation and discussion, your role becomes one
of observer and facilitator in order to assist your team in establishing the
ground rules of behavior as they learn to work together. Their attitudes
are characterized by decreasing animosities toward other members;
feelings of cohesion, mutual respect, harmony, and trust; and a feeling of
pleasure in accomplishing tasks.
Your team is truly developing a sense of team pride, and you will see
evidence of increased productivity as skills develop. The team arrives at
decisions that are more in line with their purpose rather than from a
position of compromise.
You can begin to transform your role as coach to one of a mentor and
delegator, offering your team greater opportunities to raise their levels of
expertise.
Stage 4: Performing
Now your team has reached the final stage of its development and can
bring real benefits to you and the organization. Your team members are
now competent, autonomous, and able to handle the decision-making
process without supervision.
Your team has been accomplishing work at every stage, but it is at this
‘performing’ stage that work is accomplished most effectively. Morale is
high and the general atmosphere is positive. Team members’ attitudes
are characterized by positive feelings and eagerness to be part of the
team.
Members are confident about the outcome, enjoy open
communication, exhibit high energy, and disagreement is expected and
allowed as long as it is channeled through means acceptable to the
team. Leadership within the team is often shared and tasks are
delegated within the team, which makes the overall decision-making
process operate more easily than at earlier stages.
As a manager, once your team is operating at this level then your role
becomes one of overseer and delegator. You are no longer involved in
day-to-day activities and the team’s relationships with each other
emulate the high degree of trust and loyalty you show in your
relationship with the team.
Another key task you will perform at this stage is one of monitoring your
team’s relationships and performance to ensure that the group dynamics
remain positive and productive. This is because changes in the
dynamics of the group can result in high-performing teams reverting to
earlier team-building stages.
7. Hackman’s Five-Factors-Model
In 2002, whilst working at Harvard University, J. Richard Hackman
developed a research-based model for designing and managing
workgroups. His research centered around the question of why only
some groups were successful. He identified the factors that can
increase the chances of success for teams.
Lesson Content
1: Being a Real Team
2: Compelling Direction
3: Enabling Structure
4: Supportive Context
5: Expert Coaching
1: Being a Real Team
What does Hackman mean by ‘being a real team’? The elements he said
were required to ensure your team is ‘a real team’ are:
▪ the members have a shared task,
▪ the team boundaries clearly state who is inside or outside of
the group, and
▪ the group membership is stable.
As a manager, you will have direct control over the first two elements of
what constitutes ‘a real team’, but it is the stability of the group members
that is often the hardest aspect to control. If you are based in a project-
type environment then it is probable that team stability will last only as
long as the project.
Instability within the team composition can also arise from the nature of
the work. For example, managing within a call center environment is
often plagued by a high rate of staff turnover due to the nature of the job
and the fact that it often attracts transient individuals.
As a manager in this type of environment, you will be able to minimize
the inevitable disruption of staff turnover by developing an induction
program that quickly integrates new recruits into the team.
2: Compelling Direction
The second factor of this model is that of providing your team with a
compelling direction. This means that you provide your team with clear
goals, which are both challenging and consequential.
As a manager, whatever type of team you are responsible for, you have
direct control over the goals you set your team. You can also ensure that
you set SMART goals for your staff that motivate and reward them.
SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-
Bound.
These goals need to clearly state how the team contributes to the
organization so that the team is aware of their own contribution to the
overall mission.
3: Enabling Structure
The structure that your team exists in is the third factor that Hackman
cites as influential in making your team a success. Some of these
aspects you will have control over, while others are going to be dictated
by the type of organization you are in and your role within it.
Where possible, offering your team variety in the tasks they must
complete improves the team’s success. Examples might include small
changes in task assignment if you are managing a call center team, or
keeping the size of your team at a manageable level so that they are not
too large and become unwieldy. Sometimes you may want to make
small sub-groups within a large team so that the qualities of successful
teams can be nurtured.
Within your team’s structure, you will also want to ensure that some of
your key players have good social skills. This makes certain that
persuasion and well-presented arguments rather than conflict form the
basis for decision making within the team. These social skills will also
ensure that behavior is guided by strong norms.
4: Supportive Context
The fourth quality required to ensure successful teams is that of support.
A supportive context is essential for companies and organizations, as
they are made up of small groups which when combined form a larger
group.
This support framework is made up of three elements: reward,
development, and information.
• The reward must be linked to the performance of the group or
team. This system must be based upon rewarding the group’s
performance and cooperation.
• The second element of the support must be the development of
individual members’ skills through an educational system. For
many organizations, this educational system is formed around
the Appraisal System, and as a manager, it is vital that you
develop your skills in this area.
• The third supportive element is connected to the provision
of information and guaranteeing easy access to this data and
materials. Your ability as a manager to ensure your team has
access to the information and materials they need to develop
their own skills is crucial.
You can take advantage of the advances in communications technology
(computers, notebooks, smartphones, etc.) and the internet. You will be
able to guide your team to the best resources and information they
require to develop their skills.
5: Expert Coaching
The final aspect of the Five Factor Model is that of expert coaching and
mentoring. Through the annual appraisal system and your day-to-day
management of the team, you are able to identify which members of
your team require help with a task, or help those individuals develop
their interpersonal skills.
Once this need has been identified, you coach the person in how they
can best meet this challenge and develop the skills they lack. You must
be conscious not to be too overbearing in your manner, as this can
seriously undermine the effectiveness of the team. The latter is a
criticism that Hackman draws attention to in his research and it will
significantly reduce the success of any team.
Most teams you encounter in the working world are likely to exhibit a mix
of Tuckman’s Four Stages and Hackman’s Five Factor Model in their
day-to-day operations.
As a manager, it is useful to be able to identify the stage at which your
group is operating and which of the five factors are present in your
organization. By understanding the group dynamics of your team in this
way you are better able to adapt your leadership style and behaviors to
suit your current team.
You will encounter teams that are an almost permanent fixture, but in
which individual members may come and go. Your role in this instance is
to ensure that any new members are integrated into the pre-existing
team as quickly as possible. This enables the team to continue to
operate most effectively.
Other teams are more temporary in nature, often set up for a specific
project. Frequently this type of team will be made up of individuals who
are familiar with and have a great deal of experience of working in
teams. If you are managing this type of team you will facilitate the team
to be a cohesive unit as they are likely to be very clear about each
other’s responsibilities. This means that the forming and storming stages
will be more quickly resolved as the whole team is focused on its
objective.
8. Conclusion
Over the last 40 years, dozens of leadership theories have been
published by academics and management consultancies looking to
create a proprietary leadership method. As a result, there is a huge body
of work available on leadership and team development.
If you decide to study the available information on leadership, then you
should do so knowing that most of what you read is simply a rehash of
existing theories with some unique selling point or ‘spin’ grafted on in
order to turn it into a saleable method.
In addition, most books on leadership can’t resist the temptation to deal
with this topic as if every manager really did have the potential to
become the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. Whilst this might make for a
thrilling read, it is usually quite difficult for you to apply any of the advice
given unless you’re on the board of directors or are working for a small
organization where you really do have a lot of influence and authority.
Team working provides a wide variety of benefits to organizations from
bringing together diverse expertise to building a workplace community.
This makes it very difficult to generalize about teams as even within the
same organization there will be teams that have very little in common.
The best management style for any particular team will be influenced by
its purpose and composition. This means that you will have to think
carefully about each piece of team building or team management advice
that you encounter. You will need to ask yourself, under what conditions
would this be helpful, be of limited use, or be completely inappropriate?
For you as a manager, the most important aspect of your leadership is
deciding how much freedom to give your team. Too much, and they
may not achieve their targets, too little, and you will restrict their personal
development and job satisfaction which can cause problems with
motivation and productivity.
There is no easy answer to this problem and the best course of action is
to consider each case on its merits with a clear appreciation of the risks
involved in giving too much autonomy.
Thank you for taking this course and good luck with the quiz!
