Jovita Saras Putri

1611011030

TEAM LEADERSHIP

The word team is correctly used to describe an interacting group that is small and has
members with a common purpose, interdependent roles, and complementary skills. Effective
team performance derives from several fundamental characteristics. First, team members
need to successfully integrate their individual actions. They have specific and unique roles,
where the performance of each role contributes to collective success. This means that the
causes of team failure may reside not only in member inability, but also in their collective
failure to coordinate and synchronize their individual contributions. Second, teams are
increasingly required to perform in complex and dynamic environments. This characteristic
applies particularly to organizational teams, and especially to top management teams.

DETERMINANT OF TEAM PERFORMANCE:

 Commitment to task objectives and strategies

Member commitment to task objectives and performance strategies for attaining them
facilitates cooperation, innovation, and extra effort to accomplish difficult tasks
 Member skills and role clarity
Group performance will be higher when members have the knowledge and skills
necessary to do the work, and they understand what to do, how to do it, and when it
must be done
 Internal organization and coordination
The performance of a team depends not only on the motivation and skills of members,
but also on how members are organized to use their skills. The design of work roles
and the assignment of people to them determine how efficiently the team carries out
its work. Performance will suffer if a team has talented people but they are given
tasks for which their skills are irrelevant, or if the team uses a performance strategy
that is not consistent with member skills.
 External coordination
Many specific types of leadership behaviors are relevant for improving external
coordination and adaptation. Examples include: (1) maintaining a network of contacts
who can provide relevant information; (2) encouraging members to develop their own
networks of useful contacts; (3) consulting with other subunits about plans and
decisions that affect them; (4) monitoring progress in operations involving other
subunits or organizations; (5) meeting with clients or users to learn more about their
needs; and (6) negotiating agreements with clients. As in the case of internal
coordination, responsibility for the leadership functions can be shared by members of
the team.
 Resources and political support
Relevant resources may include budgetary funds, tools and equipment, supplies and
materials, and facilities. A production team cannot maintain a high level of output
without a dependable supply of materials. An air force crew will be rendered
 ineffective if they have no jet fuel to fly their plane. Maintaining a dependable supply
of resources is especially important when the work cannot be done without them and
no substitutes can be found. Resource acquisition is less important for a group that
needs few resources to do the work or has its own ample supply of resources.
 Mutual trust, cohesiveness, and cooperation
There are many ways a leader can increase mutual trust and collective identification
with the team. Examples include: (1) articulating an appealing vision of what the
team can jointly accomplish; (2) using symbols and rituals to make membership more
unique and desirable; (3) conducting team building activities; and (4) making
recognition and rewards contingent on member contributions to team performance.
 Collective efficacy and potency
Collective efficacy is likely to be higher for a team with strong member skills, a high
level of mutual trust and cooperation, ample resources, and a relevant performance
strategy. Prior success can increase collective efficacy, which in turn can enhance a
team’s subsequent performance. A downward spiral can also occur, with failure
resulting in lower collective efficacy, negative affect, and additional declines in
performance. High collective efficacy is desirable, but the perception of capabilities
should be realistic; as noted earlier, overconfidence can encourage a team to pursue
very risky strategies that will fail.
 Accurate, shared mental models
Research on teams found that they are likely to have higher performance if members
have a shared mental model that is accurate. Problem solving is more difficult when
team members have different assumptions about the cause of the problem. A shared
understanding about cause-effect relationships can facilitate the development of
effective strategies and plans by a team and increase their commitment to implement
them. However, group performance is unlikely to improve unless the mental model is
not only shared but also accurate.
 Collective learning
One distinction is between transition phase and performance phase of group activities.
The transition phase involves determining who will be members of the group and
making initial decisions about performance strategies, work assignments, and member
roles in the group. If the mission, objectives, and formal leadership roles for the
group are not already determined by the parent organization, then these decisions
must be made as well
 Member Diversity
Groups with diverse membership are likely to be less cohesive, because people tend to
be less accepting of others who have different beliefs, values, and traditions.
Diversity can also impede communication when members use different language,
jargon, measures, or criteria. On the positive side, having members with different
perspectives, experiences, and knowledge can result in more creative solutions to
problems. The importance of diversity for group performance varies somewhat for
different types of groups and different situations.
. If a team is to work effectively, the following four variables need to be in place:

1. Task: Does the team know what its task is? Is the task reasonably unambiguous and
consistent with the mission of the team? Does the team have a meaningful piece of
work, sufficient autonomy to perform it, and access to knowledge of its results?
2. Boundaries: Is the collective membership of the team appropriate for the task to be
performed? Are there too few or too many members? Do the members collectively
have sufficient knowledge and skills to perform the work? In addition to task skills,
does the team have sufficient maturity and interpersonal skills to be able to work
together and resolve conflicts? Is there an appropriate amount of diversity on the
team? That is, are members different enough that they have varied perspectives and
experiences, and yet similar enough to be able to communicate and relate to one
another?
3. Norms: Does the team share an appropriate set of norms for working as a team?
Norms can be acquired by the team in three ways: ( a ) they can be imported from
the organization existing outside the team, ( b ) they can be instituted and reinforced
by the leader or leaders of the team, or ( c ) they can be developed by the team itself
as the situation demands. If the team is to have a strategy that works over time, it
must ensure that conflicting norms do not confuse team members. It also needs to
regularly scan and review prevailing norms to ensure that they support overall
objectives.
4. Authority: Has the leader established a climate where her authority can be used in a
flexible rather than a rigid manner? Has she, at one end of the authority continuum,
established sufficient competence to allow the group to comply when conditions
demand (such as in emergencies)? Has she also established a climate such that any
member of the team feels empowered to provide expert assistance when
appropriate? Do team members feel comfortable in questioning the leader on
decisions where there are no clear right answers? In short, have conditions been
created where authority can shift to appropriately match the demands of the
situation?

LEADERSHIP IN CROSS FUNCTIONAL TEAM

Leadership Behaviors Needed in Cross-functional Teams

Envisioning

 Articulating strategic objectives or a vision that inspires commitment by team

members.
 Helping the team understand and improve their assumptions and mental models
regarding the relationships among task variables.
 Suggesting creative ideas and encouraging the team to consider innovative
performance strategies.
Organizing

 Planning and scheduling team activities to achieve coordination and meet project
deadlines.
 Helping the team establish standards and methods for assessing progress and
performance.
 Arranging and conducting meetings to solve problems and make decisions in a
systematic way.

Social Integrating

 Encouraging mutual trust, acceptance, and cooperation among team members.

 Facilitating open communication, equal participation, and tolerance of dissenting
views.
 Mediating conflicts among members and helping them find integrative solutions.

External Spanning

 Monitoring the external environment of the team to identify client needs, emerging
problems, and political processes that will affect the team.
 Promoting a favorable image of the team among outsiders.
 Influencing people outside the team to provide adequate resources, approvals,
assistance, and cooperation.

SELF-MANAGED TEAM

In self-managed work teams (sometimes called semi-autonomous work groups), much of the
responsibility and authority usually vested in a manager’s position is turned over to the team
members. Most self-managed work teams are responsible for producing a distinct product or
service. Any type of team can be “self-managed,” but this form of team governance is
typically used for teams that perform the same type of operational task repeatedly and have a
relatively stable membership over time.

Benefits and limitation: Self-managed work teams offer a number of potential benefits,
including stronger commitment of team members to the work, more effective management of
work-related problems, improved efficiency, more job satisfaction, less turnover, and less
absenteeism. However, self-managed teams are difficult to implement, and they can be a
dismal failure when used in inappropriate situations or without competent leadership and
support.

Guidelines for Leading Teams

 Emphasize common interests and values.

 Use ceremonies, rituals, and symbols to develop collective identification.
 Encourage and facilitate social interaction.
  Conduct process analysis sessions.
 Increase incentives for mutual cooperation.
 Hold practice sessions under realistic conditions.
 Use after-activity reviews to facilitate collective learning by the team.

Guideline for Leading Decision in Group Meeting

 Inform people about necessary preparations for a meeting.

 Share essential information with group members.
 Describe the problem without implying the cause or solution.
 Allow ample time for idea generation and evaluation.
 Separate idea generation from idea evaluation.
 Encourage and facilitate participation.
 Encourage positive restatement and idea building.
 Use systematic procedures for solution evaluation.
 Encourage members to look for an integrative solution.
 Encourage efforts to reach consensus when feasible.
 Clarify responsibilities for implementation.

Sources:

Leadership in Organization, Gary Yukl.

Leadership, Richard L. Hughes.