Lead and Manage Team Report - Team Leadership and Communication

This report delves into the critical aspects of team leadership and management, encompassing team performance, communication strategies, and the role of leadership. It explores the significance of innovation, learning, and commitment within a team, emphasizing the use of positive and constructive feedback for team member development. The report analyzes a workplace performance issue stemming from differing perspectives between team members and managers, proposing problem-solving tools such as effective listening and compromise. Furthermore, it highlights the qualities of a good role model and the importance of open communication, including strategies for maintaining it through meetings, newsletters, and emails. Finally, the report discusses methods for evaluating team cohesion and performance, such as workforce diversity training programs and the implementation of resolution techniques. The reference section provides a comprehensive list of sources used in the report.

Running head: LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
Lead and Manage Team
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note

2LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
Task 1
a) The three areas of team performance include innovation, learning and building
commitment. Innovation is required in the team to stay ahead of others by doing and
creating something which will be an out- of- the box idea or activity. Success of a
business is dependent on the flexibility and innovation without constantly putting
pressure on the team. Productivity of a team is increased when they have the right skills
to learn and succeed. The leader has to assure the team that skill development is
expected. The team has to be groomed in a way that they are committed to the success of
the business (Anderson 2016).
b) One of the methods to be used while giving feedback is that there should be positive as
well as negative comments. The team members will be motivated after receiving positive
feedback while they will be able to rectify their mistakes after listening to the negative
feedback. The other method is that the feedback should be given on time without delay.
Feedback should be given as per the demand of the situation. There is no use of giving
feedback later when the work is already done. In that way, the member will lose the
chance of improving his work (Boies, Fiset and Gill 2015).
Task 2
The performance issue in the workplace included the difference in the thinking power of
the team members with the manager (Ford 2014). The people in the team were thinking that their
way of working is better than that of the manager. The reason behind this difference in thinking
is due to the fact that the employees only think about themselves. If they do not understand the
managerial way of working then they protest at once. This becomes an issue in the workplace

3LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
when the manager is unable to deal with such challenges from the employees and address the
concern in an open and respectful manner. When the team members were given instruction on a
particular activity, they were not attentive towards it and simply acted according to their own
will. These kinds of behavior evolved an aura of conflict and non- cooperation in the workplace
which had a negative impact on the organizational performance (Belbein 2012).
The manager can use the problem solving tools such as listening. With effective listening
the team members will understand that their opinion is being valued. After listening to their
concerns it is important to identify what they want. The manager can also use their ideas if those
seem to be feasible and it should be assured that the team is able to accept their required work
and the process of doing it. The process of problem- solving is more of a compromising nature
than competing. It starts with the kind of approach from the other party such as the team
members in the given scenario. The manager can use this approach for solving the issue in the
workplace as this method does not consider the opponent as a threat but as an ally. The manager
will be able to understand the team members’ situation and the reason behind their particular
behavior which will help him in working towards the solution of the issue (Kouzes and Posner
1990).
Task 3
A role model is someone at whom the team will look up to and act as per his instructions.
To become a role model and represent the team as per their demand is not an easy task. An
effective team leader must work on him to bring the change that he wants others to reflect. As it
is said that action speaks louder than words but there is no calculation of the frequency at which
the action is spoken of. If the leader is unable to bring the change in him it is not appropriate of

4LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
him to expect the same change in his team. Leadership refers to standing in the lead and to find
the way being a role model the necessary change that is required in the team. An individual can
be a role model for his team when he will be able to motivate his team as well as the stakeholders
and become an example- setter. He must be able to set high standards of responsibility for
themselves and their behavior as well. Motivating the team is secondary whereas the primary
factor is to motivate oneself (Gorman 2014). The role model will be such that his team members
will get the support whenever necessary. A good leadership model has the five qualities of self-
reflection, self- awareness, empathetic, has courage, vision and integrity and is able to take the
leading position. A role model should be such that after the end of his conversation the team
members can appreciate and aspire to be like him (Maslow et al. 1998).
Task 4
a) In order to maintain an open communication process meetings should be held once a
week with the local stakeholders and for the international stakeholders, conference
calls to be used for meetings. Newsletter, emails and posters can be used as a form of
internal communication within the organization (Green et al. 2016).
b) The communication can be maintained by improving both horizontal and vertical
communication which make ways for exchanging ideas and seeking information and
questions. Opportunities should be provided to the employees in the organizations so
that they can overcome the barriers of language and feel confident to share their
opinions. The team leader is accountable for encouraging his team to communicate
freely (Krumm et al. 2016).
c) i) The evaluation can be done regarding team cohesion when the members will have
bonds connecting them to each other as well as the total group.

5LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
ii) The team members need to work together with the common aim of achieving the
organizational goal by appreciating each others’ strengths (Pieterse, Van Knippenberg
and Van Dierendonck 2013).
iii) Resolution techniques of ‘plan, do, check and act’ can be implemented for
evaluating team performance.
d) If a workforce diversity training program can be conducted then it will help the
members to realize the value of individual contribution for achieving a common
orientation. If communication is facilitated as individuals and as a team then it
becomes easy to achieve the goal (Rapp et al. 2016).
e) The workforce diversity training program will stress on the importance of treating
everyone with respect and focus on the effectiveness of diversity (Sparks et al. 2015).
The internal and external stakeholders might not be interested in this program
thinking that they do not need such training.
f) Clear policies and norms of the organization can be placed as a support mechanism
for the team (Woodcock 2017).

6LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
Reference
Anderson, D.L., 2016. Organization development: The process of leading organizational
change. Sage Publications.
Belbin, R.M., 2012. Team roles at work. Routledge.
Boies, K., Fiset, J. and Gill, H., 2015. Communication and trust are key: Unlocking the
relationship between leadership and team performance and creativity. The Leadership
Quarterly, 26(6), pp.1080-1094.
Ford, J.K., 2014. Improving training effectiveness in work organizations. Psychology Press.
Gorman, J.C., 2014. Team coordination and dynamics: Two central issues. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, 23(5), pp.355-360.
Green, B., Mitchell, D.A., Stevenson, P., Kane, T., Reynard, J. and Brennan, P.A., 2016. Leading
article: how can I optimise my role as a leader within the surgical team?. British journal of oral
and maxillofacial surgery, 54(8), pp.847-850.
Kouzes, J.M. and Posner, B.Z., 1990. The credibility factor: What followers expect from their
leaders. Management Review, 79(1), p.29.
Krumm, S., Kanthak, J., Hartmann, K. and Hertel, G., 2016. What does it take to be a virtual
team player? The knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics required in virtual
teams. Human Performance, 29(2), pp.123-142.
Maslow, A.H., Stephens, D.C., Heil, G. and Bennis, W., 1998. Maslow on management. New
York: John Wiley.

7LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
Pieterse, A.N., Van Knippenberg, D. and Van Dierendonck, D., 2013. Cultural diversity and
team performance: The role of team member goal orientation. Academy of Management
Journal, 56(3), pp.782-804.
Rapp, T.L., Gilson, L.L., Mathieu, J.E. and Ruddy, T., 2016. Leading empowered teams: An
examination of the role of external team leaders and team coaches. The Leadership
Quarterly, 27(1), pp.109-123.
Sparks, G.A., Herman, R., Wolfe, P. and Zurick, A., 2015. Leading through the complexities of
team dynamics to achieve and sustain organizational goals. Journal of Behavioral Studies in
Business, 8, p.1.
Woodcock, M., 2017. Team development manual. Routledge.