Leadership and Teambuilding PDF

LESSON III LEADERSHIP AND TEAM BUILDING Leadership Leadership is defined as the “ability to influence others towards desired goals. It also means “doing the right things’  It is a call to everyone….  It is the process of infl...

LESSON III LEADERSHIP AND TEAM BUILDING Leadership Leadership is defined as the “ability to influence others towards desired goals. It also means “doing the right things’  It is a call to everyone….  It is the process of influencing the activities of a person or a group to achieve a goal in a given situation.  “any attempt to influence the behavior of another individual or group” according to Paul Hersey.  “actual change in behavior is needed for successful leadership according to Bernard Bass. SERVANT LEADERSHIP The following are ten characteristic of a servant leader: 1. ONE WHO LISTENS – Communication and decision-making skills of a leader are enhanced by listening deeply to other. 2. ONE WHO CAN EMPATHIZE – People need to be accepted and recognized for special and unique spirits. Thus, servant leaders strive to understand and empathize with those they serve. 3. ONE WHO HEALS – Servant leaders need to recognize that they have an opportunity to help make whole “the broken spirits of those with they come contact with. 4. ONE WHO IS AWARE – General Awareness (particularly self- awareness) is essential. It aids understanding issues of ethics and values. 5. ONE WHO CAN PERSUADE – Servant leaders use persuasion rather than positional authority in making decision within an organization. Convincing, rather coercing others, is the goal. 6. ONE WHO CAN CONCEPTUALIZE – Servant leaders nurture the ability to “dream great dreams” and are able to think beyond day-to-day realities in problem solving. 7. ONE WHO HAS FORESIGHT - Foresight is a quality rooted in an intuitive mind. Servant leaders understand the lessons of the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequences of decisions for the future. 8. ONE WHO CAN BE STEWARD – Servant leaders hold institutions in trust the greater glory of society. 1  9. ONE WHO IS COMMITTED TO THE GROWTH OF PEOPLE – Servant leaders nurture the personal, professional and spiritual growth of those around them. 10. ONE WHO CAN BUILD COMMUNITIES – Servant leaders recognize the importance of community especially large institution, and strive to help foster community development. BRANDON SAWYER formulates these 10 commandments of Servant Leadership: 1. Thou shall not plug thy ears. Which means communication and decision- making may come from suggestions and participation not by your instinct alone. 2. Thou shall not condescend. Means you should accept and acknowledge the other’s unique individuality they have the right to be accepted or treated as people. 3. Thou shall not deny treatment. You should treat colleagues fairly and justly after all they are also part of the organization. 4. Thou shall not force compliance. Big decisions are most effective when you persuade others to believe in your position and consensus within the group. 5. Thou shall not avert thy eyes. General awareness, especially self- awareness, strengthens your ethical understanding enabling you to deal with complex issues more effectively. 6. Thou shall not be shortsighted. You must consider the past situation for it will help you see the bright side of things and eventually will help you see the consequence in the future. 7. Thou shall not be thick. Nurture your ability to dream great dreams, thinking beyond day-to-day management realities. 8. Thou shall not thwart humanity. Be committed to the true value of people beyond their tangible contribution as workers. 9. Thou shall not plunder. Remember that you hold your institution in trust for the greater good of society, and along with everyone else; you are a steward of the organization. 10. Thou shall not divide and conquer. Develop a greater sense of community among all members of the organizations. TEAMWORK Teamwork – work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole group/team to achieve the common goal. CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE TEAM 1. Clear purpose The vision, mission, goal or task of the team has been defined and is now 2  accepted by everyone. There is an action plan. 2. Informality The climate tends to be informal, comfortable, and relaxed. There are no obvious tensions or signs of boredom. 3. Participation There is much discussion and everyone is encouraged to participate. 4. Listening The members use effective listening techniques such as questioning, paraphrasing, and summarizing to get out ideas. 5. Civilized disagreement There is disagreement, but the team is comfortable with this and shows no signs of avoiding, smoothing over, or suppressing conflict. 6. Consensus decisions For important decisions, the goal is substantial but not necessarily unanimous agreement through open discussion of everyone’s ideas, avoidance of formal voting, or easy compromises. 7. Open communication Team members feel free to express their feelings on the tasks as well as on the group’s operation. There are few hidden agendas. Communication takes place outside of meetings. 8. Clear roles and work There are clear expectations about the roles played by each team member. When action is taken, clear assignments are made, accepted and carried out. Work is fairly distributed among team members. 9. Shared leadership assignments While the team has a formal leader, leadership functions shift from time to time depending on the circumstances, the needs of the group, and the skills of the members. 3  10. External relations The team spends time developing key outside relationships, mobilizing resources, and building credibility with important players in other parts of the organization. 11. Style diversity The team has a broad spectrum of team-player types including members who emphasize attention to tasks, goal setting, focus on process, and questions about how each team is functioning. 12. Self-assessment Periodically, the team stops to examine how well it is functioning and what may be interfering with its effectiveness. EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK THROUGH COOPERATION, TRUST, AND COHESIVENESS Cooperation Individuals are said to be cooperating when their efforts are systematically integrated to achieve a collective objective. (The greater the integration, the greater the degree of cooperation.) Cooperation can be encouraged by reward systems that reinforce teamwork along with individual achievement. Cooperation can be encouraged by literally tearing down walls, or not building them in the first place. Cooperation diminished as the health care became larger. Managers need to restrict the size of work teams if they desire to facilitate cooperation. Trust Trust is defined as reciprocal faith in others’ intentions and behaviors. Trust involves a “cognitive leap” beyond the expectations that reason and experience alone would warrant.” How to Build Trust 1. Communication. Keep team members and employees informed by explaining policies and decisions and providing accurate feedback. Be candid about one’s own problems. 2. Support. Be available and approachable. Provide help, advice, coaching, and support for team members’ ideas. 3. Respect. Delegation, in the form of real decision-making authority, is the most important expression of managerial respect. Actively listening to the ideas of others is a close second. (Empowerment is not possible without trust.) 4  4. Fairness. Be quick to give credit and recognition to those who deserve it. Make sure all performance appraisals and evaluations are objective and impartial. 5. Predictability. Be consistent and predictable in your daily affairs. Keep both expressed and implied promises. 6. Competence. Enhance your credibility by demonstrating good business sense, technical ability and professionalism. Cohesiveness Cohesiveness is a process whereby “a sense of ‘we-ness’ emerges to transcend individual differences and motives. Members of a cohesive group stick together and are reluctant to leave the group because of the following reasons: 1) they enjoy each other’s company or 2) they need each other to accomplish a common goal. TEAM BUILDING Team building is a catch all term for a whole host of techniques aimed at improving the internal functioning of work groups. Team building workshops strive for greater cooperation, better communication, and less dysfunctional conflicts. Experiential learning techniques such as interpersonal trust exercises, conflict-handling role-play sessions, and interactive games are utilized. EIGHT ATTRIBUTES OF HIGHT PERFOMANCE TEAMS 1. Participative leadership. Creating interdependence by empowering, freeing up, and serving others. 2. Shared responsibility. Establishing an environment in which all team members feel as responsible as the manager for the performance of the work unit. 3. Aligned on purpose. Having a sense of common purpose about why team exists and the function it serves. 4. High communication. Creating a climate of trust and open, honest communication. 5. Future focused. Seeing change as an opportunity for growth. 6. Focused on task. Keeping meetings focused on results. 7. Creative talents. Applying individual talents and creativity 8. Rapid response. Identifying and acting on opportunities. The eight attributes effectively combine many of today’s most progressive ideas on management, among them being participation, empowerment, service ethics, individual responsibility and development, self-management, trust, active listening and envisioning. 5