CLC Lecture 3

Team Leadership

  • All levels of the organization need to be included in team leadership

    • Team leadership is process-oriented and based on lateral decision-making

    • Effective leadership in teams requires behavioral flexibility and problem-solving skills applicable to teams

    • Discretion is needed when determining if leader intervention is necessary

Hill's Model of Team Leadership

  • Hill's Model is designed to simplify and clarify the complex nature of team leadership

  • It provides an easy tool for leadership decision-making for team leaders

Decisions in Team Leadership

  • Leaders need to determine when to intervene or continue monitoring team dynamics

    • Intervening too soon or too late could be damaging to team effectiveness

    • Experience and gathering information help develop this skill

  • Leaders must decide whether intervention is required to improve task and/or people needs

    • For virtual teams, it might be better to start with people needs

  • Leaders need to decide when to intervene between the team and its external environment

Internal Actions in Team Leadership

Task Actions

  • Focusing on appropriate goals

  • Having the right structure to achieve goals

  • Making decision-making easier

  • Training team members through seminars

  • Setting and maintaining standards for individual and team performance

Relational Actions

  • Coaching to improve interpersonal skills

  • Encouraging collaboration among team members

  • Managing conflict to allow intellectual conflict but not personal conflict

  • Enhancing team commitment

  • Satisfying the trust and support needs of team members

  • Being fair and consistent in exercising principled behavior

External Actions in Team Leadership

  • Environmental actions are required to keep the team protected from the external environment

  • Networking to form alliances and gain access to information

  • Advocating for the team with those who affect its environment

  • Negotiating with senior management for recognition, support, and resources

  • Protecting team members from environmental diversions

  • Examining external indicators of effectiveness

  • Providing team members with appropriate external information

Team Leadership Effectiveness

  • Two overarching dimensions: team performance and team development

  • Questions to assess team effectiveness:

    • Specific, realizable, clearly articulated goals?

    • Results-oriented structure?

    • Capable team members?

    • Unity with respect to commitment to goals?

    • Collaborative climate among team members?

    • Standards of excellence to guide the team?

    • External support and recognition for the team?

    • Effective team leadership?

Hill's Model for Assessing Team Effectiveness

  • Constantly assess team effectiveness and determine the need for intervention

  • Internal task, internal relational, and/or external environmental interventions may be required

Strategic Leadership

  • Strategic leadership is viewed as a critical aspect of an organization's effectiveness

  • Mainly concerned with top managers who have decision-making responsibilities

  • Top managers create a sense of purpose, interact with key stakeholders, and navigate complex environments

Rowe's Model of Strategic Leadership

  • Synergistic combination of visionary leadership and managerial leadership

  • Ensures long-term viability while maintaining short-term financial success

  • Strategic leaders anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility, think strategically, and work with others to initiate changes

  • Six strategic leadership behaviors for enhanced organizational performance:

    1. Determining the firm's purpose or vision

    2. Exploiting and maintaining core competencies

    3. Developing human capital

    4. Sustaining an effective organizational culture

    5. Emphasizing ethical practices

    6. Establishing balanced organizational controls

Difference between Leadership and Strategic Leadership

  • Leadership can be accomplished at any level of the organization and impact different types of goals

  • Strategic leadership is concerned with the higher levels of the organization and influences the direction and vision of the organization

Definitions and Themes of Strategic Leadership

  • Definitions of strategic leadership focus on top managers

  • Strategic leadership is viewed as critical to firm success

  • Leaders develop others and influence them ethically and transparently

  • Leaders articulate a vision