Roles of Leaders
Selection and Staffing for Team Effectiveness /
The Roles of Leaders in High-Performance Teams
MGT 451 Team Leadership
December 19, 2013
Coming up with high performing teams in organizations and institutions heavily depends on the type of leadership styles. The most important aptitude of any leader is ensuring that his or her people can work as a team in meeting the goals and objectives of the organization. Getting tasks accomplished in good time, motivating employees to remain focused and guiding them towards good business practices are some of the core roles of a leader. Focusing on principles of teamwork, best practices and issues arising in contemporary organizations, this paper will critically discuss the role of leaders in high-performance teams.
Before discussing the role of leaders in high-performance teams, it is important to first of all look at why high-performance teams need highly skilled leaders. Hanlan (2004) defines a team as collection of a certain number of people with harmonized skills and whose commitment is towards achieving the organization’s goals and objectives using a mutually accountable approach. A high-performance team normally comes up with results that are extraordinary and go beyond expectations. Transforming teams into high-performance is very important because teams are the basic foundation of many organizations. A high-performance team is essential because most of the projects in organizations are always complex, unclear and require creativity and commitment (Hanlan, 2004). Transforming teams to come up with extraordinary results in the shortest time possible requires a leader who is not only competent but who can also employ critical and creative skills in making judgments.
The first major role that leaders are supposed to play in high-performance teams is facilitating an ideal environment for high performance. According to Winter (2003), a facilitative leader is not just a decision
The Roles of Leaders in High-Performance Teams
MGT 451 Team Leadership
December 19, 2013
Coming up with high performing teams in organizations and institutions heavily depends on the type of leadership styles. The most important aptitude of any leader is ensuring that his or her people can work as a team in meeting the goals and objectives of the organization. Getting tasks accomplished in good time, motivating employees to remain focused and guiding them towards good business practices are some of the core roles of a leader. Focusing on principles of teamwork, best practices and issues arising in contemporary organizations, this paper will critically discuss the role of leaders in high-performance teams.
Before discussing the role of leaders in high-performance teams, it is important to first of all look at why high-performance teams need highly skilled leaders. Hanlan (2004) defines a team as collection of a certain number of people with harmonized skills and whose commitment is towards achieving the organization’s goals and objectives using a mutually accountable approach. A high-performance team normally comes up with results that are extraordinary and go beyond expectations. Transforming teams into high-performance is very important because teams are the basic foundation of many organizations. A high-performance team is essential because most of the projects in organizations are always complex, unclear and require creativity and commitment (Hanlan, 2004). Transforming teams to come up with extraordinary results in the shortest time possible requires a leader who is not only competent but who can also employ critical and creative skills in making judgments.
The first major role that leaders are supposed to play in high-performance teams is facilitating an ideal environment for high performance. According to Winter (2003), a facilitative leader is not just a decision
References: Hanlan, M. (2004). High performance teams: How to make them work. NJ: Greenwood Publishing Group. Hawkins, P. (2011). Leadership team coaching: Developing collective transformational leadership. NY: Kogan Page Publishers. Kanaga, K. & Kossler, M. (2011). How to form a team: 5 keys to high performance. LA: Centre for Creative Leadership. Shephard, W. & Isaksen, S. (2013). Leadership for high performance teams: The role of facilitating CPS. Norwegian School of Management Sullivan, J. (2012). Multiunit leadership: The 7 stages of building a high-performing partnerships and teams. Washington D.C: Business & Economics. Wheelan, S. (2010). Creating effective teams: A guide for members and leaders. NY: SAGE. Winter, G. (2003). High performance leadership: Creating, leading and living in high performance world. NY: John Wiley & Sons.