Question

Individually prepare a presentation about teams and leadership. The presentation should address the following:

▪ Critically discuss the importance of teams and team leadership in organisational performance.
▪ Distinguish between workgroups and teams and the leadership thereof.
▪ Critically compare and contrast formal and informal groups within organisations and within wider society.

▪ Critically discuss the stages of group and team development and the role of leadership in maximising group and team performance.

Note

1000 words

Answer 1

A team may be defined as a group of individuals who join together either temporarily or permanently to attain a specific goal. In the workplace, there are several types of teams that are segregated based on their own characteristics. They are as follows:

• Project team: In a project team two or more individuals join together to work on a particular project. Typically the project team gets diluted after the project ends. For example, A team involved in the construction of a house.

• Crossfunctional team: A cross-functional team is when two or more individuals from separate departments or functions join together to achieve a common goal. For example, A team working on developing a new product involving persons from different functional expertise.

• Self-directed team: A self-directed team has the authority and even the budget to independently manage on its own based on its own set of goals. For example, Federal Express uses a self-directed team where the individual team is responsible for the success or failure of the project.

Importance of a team:

Unity is motivated when the work is done as a team. This is because teamwork not only helps to gain friendship and loyalty in a workplace but also helps to motivate and support each other that fills the negatives into positives. Work individually focuses only on promoting self achievements that may not propel a healthy working environment.

An appropriate team structure provides different set levels of perspectives and problem-solving approaches that allow the team to get more brainstorming items and solutions for the problems. For example, An individual may be good at communication and another may be good at technical details. As a team, they can be able to convince an unsatisfied customer to solve a particular problem that may be related to his purchase.

Teamwork improves the efficiency as the workload is shared among different individuals within the team reducing the pressure on a single person. A simple example is moving a heavy load from the ground floor to the first floor through stairs. When the weight is shared by two or more individuals the load can be lifted easily.

Teamwork emphasizes learning new things from others as it helps to gain new concepts or ideas from people who have more experience and expertise on the particular factor. This helps to expand the skills and knowledge that can be learned from colleagues.

Leadership may be defined as the ability of an individual to guide or have control over an individual or a set of teams. In simple terms, it is the art of motivating other individuals to get the desired job done. Some of the leadership qualities that make good leaders are:

• Decision-making skills

• Creativity and Innovation

• Communication

• Technically proficient

• Honesty or Integrity

Leadership is an important factor as it sets a clear vision and directs the team to get the job done effectively. A good leader helps the team to realize the organizational goal as a team effort as it is a vital factor for the organization.

Leadership aids authority with which tangible results can be achieved from the team when appropriately motivated. The only factor that needs careful attention to be paid is that the authority cannot be imposed on an individual or the team more than a limit.

Leadership helps in managing tough situations and to take appropriate decisions. A good leader will be able to take critical decisions and communicate with the team in such a way that the team agrees unanimously to the decisions prescribed by the leader.

Workgroups	Teams
The individual has their own accountability in workgroups. Workgroups focus on individual goals and achievements. Individual work products are produced in the workgroups. The goals and objectives are shaped by the manager of the workgroups. The individuals in the workgroups meet periodically together to share information and their own perspectives.	The accountability is both on the individual and the whole team. Shared goals are focused as a team. Collective work products are produced in the team. The goals and objectives are set or shaped by the leader within the team. The individuals of a team meet very frequently to discuss various factors such as decision making, planning, problem-solving, etc.,

Formal group

Informal group

In a formal group task accomplishment is the main objective. The structure of the formal group is predefined and is well defined. In a formal group, importance is given based on the position. The relationship between one another within the group is mostly professional where the communication moves in an appropriate direction. The life of the formal group depends on the type of group. The size of the formal group is usually large.

In an informal group personal satisfaction is the main objective. The structure of an informal group is not well defined. In an informal group, importance is given based on the individual person. The relationship between one another in the group is mostly personal where the communication moves in all the directions. The life of the group depends on the individuals involved in the group. The size of an informal group is relatively small.

It is necessary to develop the team appropriately in order to achieve the desired target. According to Bruce Tuckman, there are four stages involved in developing a group. They are:

• Forming - The forming stage is the initial stage of the group development that involves bringing the individuals having different set of skills all together

• Storming - In the storming stage, the team members need to be informed with the set of goals and objectives that are expected from the team. During the storming stage, the members of the team share their perspectives on how the goals and objectives can be achieved.

• Norming - When then the purpose of the team is clearly defined, the team now focuses on shared values on how the work will be done and when and through which medium they need to be communicated

• Performing - The performing stage is the final stage of the team development in which the team actually performs the defined tasks. Motivation is required at this stage to drive the team successfully towards the goal.

The leadership plays an important role especially at the performing stage to support and motivate the team towards the goal. All the attributes of the leadership are needed to be implemented in order to maximize the effectiveness of the team. Apart from the technical and managing skills, the leader should possess a proper communication trait in such a way that desired performance and decisions are communicated effectively and ensured that the team is clear on their expected tasks.