Lead and manage team effectiveness - Desklib

This article discusses the skills required to improve team performance, the importance of consultation in the workplace, creating a team performance plan, coaching and mentoring programs, and strategies to improve team participation in decision making. It also includes a case study on resolving disputes among team members.

Running head: LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
Lead and manage team effectiveness
Assessment 2
Name of Student:
Name of College:
Authors Note:
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LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
Contents
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................2
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................2
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................4
Task 4...............................................................................................................................................8
Task 5...............................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................11
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LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
Task 1
I was employed in Woolworths, one of the biggest retail supermarkets of Australia in the
marketing and sales department of the company. I was the team leader of one of the team of the
company comprising of 12 members. The main purpose of my team was to understand the
demands and requirements of the customers visiting the various stores of the company and
accordingly pitching them appropriate products which would help in increasing the sales of the
products of Woolworths and contribute to accomplishment of the objectives of the company. The
team mainly existed to assess the needs of the customers and to help them in their purchase
decision by making them purchase the products of the company. The team mainly wanted to
achieve the objective of the company to increase its market share.
Task 2
a. As stated by Gander et al. (2018) the skills that are required to improve the performance and
the productivity of my team and its members are communication skills, co-ordination skills,
leadership skills and decision making skills.
b. The above mentioned skills will help the team to move effectively through the various stages
of Team Development. Each individual skill which is discussed above will help in moving
through the various stages of Team Development to the performing stage.
As stated by Natvig and Stark (2016) the co-ordination skill of the team members will assist in
the forming stage of team development as in the forming stage all the team members come
together to work as a team with different skills and competencies. Therefore it is very important
for the team members to possess co-ordination skill in order to improve the co-ordination with
other co-members.
According to Parmentier and Picq (2016) the communication skill of the team members will
assist in the storming stage of team development as in the storming stage the team members
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LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
begin to sort out their differences and gain each other’s trust. Therefore communication is a very
important skill required for the team members in the storming stage.
The leadership skill of the team members will assist in the norming stage of the team
development as in this stage the team members are aware of the competition in the team and the
common goal of the team. Therefore effective leadership skills are required from the team
members in order to resolve various issues which can arise in the team in the norming stage.
According to Matsudaira (2017) the decision making skill of the team members will assist in the
performing stage as in this stage the team members reach a high level of success which results in
highly motivated and knowledgeable team members. Therefore the team members are expected
to take their own decisions by themselves and as such decision making skill is required during
the performing stage of team development.
c. Consultation plays a huge role in a work team in order to establish a common understanding
regarding the manner organizational goals and objectives are achieved by team and individual
responsibilities. Two examples of consultation in workplace are as follows
 During the implementation of various technological innovations in Woolworths, the top
management ensures to undertake consultation in which the lower level employees are
provided briefing about the new technologies and its benefits. Also employee’s views and
opinions are taken into account before implementing the new technology so that while
implementing before and during different phase’s management take into account the
views of the lower level employees so that implementation can be done in an effective
manner.
 During the change of leadership in the middle management of the company, the top
management of the company involved consults the lower management regarding their
expectations from their middle management managers so that it could be easy for the top
management of Woolworths to select the best possible managers in the middle
management of the company.
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LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
Task 3
a.
Team Performance Plan
Objective:
The main objective of the team is to achieve gaining effective knowledge regarding
understanding of the demands and expectations of the customers in order to influence their
decision making regarding the purchase of the products of Woolworths. Another objective of
the team is to develop their communication and inter-personal skill in order to facilitate
effective interaction with the customers so as to engage them in the conversation process. The
objectives are needed to be achieved within 30 days and should be of high standard.
Actions Timeline Responsibilities Resources Review dates
Focusing on the
feedbacks
received from
the customers
and taking
necessary
actions to
address those
feedbacks.
5/10/2018 The roles that
team members
need to take in
order to achieve
the objective are
team facilitator.
The team leader
will be
responsible for
facilitating
various actions in
the team by
addressing the
The resources
which will be
required by the
team in order to
achieve this
objective are the
feedbacks forms
filled by the
customers of the
company.
7/10/2018
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LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
feedbacks
received.
Preparing
proactively
various queries
and issues
related to
various products
of the company
that can be
raised from
customer by
forecasting in
advance.
12/10/2018 The roles that
team members
need to take in
order to achieve
the objective are
team
coordination. The
marketing
manager of
Woolworths will
be responsible for
preparing the
team members
regarding various
queries of the
products.
According to
Toegel and
Barsoux (2016)
the resources
which will be
required by the
team to achieve
this objective
are market
insight report
and market
research report
regarding the
products of the
company.
15/10/2018
Improving the
communication
and presentation
skills of the
team in order to
communicate
and demonstrate
their views to
the customers in
a more
productive and
efficient manner
29/10/2018 The roles that
team members
need to take in
order to achieve
the objective are
team facilitator.
The Human
Resource
manager of the
company will be
responsible in
facilitating
As stated by
Senaratne and
Udawatta (2013)
the resources
which will be
required by the
team in order to
achieve the
objective are
various training
manual
regarding
3/11/2018
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LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
which would
help in
increasing
customer
interactions.
training and
development
programs for the
team members.
improvement of
communication
and presentation
skills. The fund
which will be
required to
achieve the
objective is the
charges
associated with
hiring a training
manager and
other training
equipment and
materials.
Focusing on
increasing the
negotiation
skills of the
team in order to
communicate
with the
customers in a
better and
effective way
which will
benefit both
parties.
5/11/2018 The roles that
team members
need to take in
order to achieve
the objective are
team members.
The Human
Resource
Manager of the
company will be
responsible for
improving the
negotiation skills
of the team
As stated by
Ramsbottom
(2015) the
resources which
will be required
to achieve the
objective of the
team are various
online and
printed articles
regarding
improvement of
the negotiation
skills.
7/11/2018
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LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
members.
Indicators or measures of success: The measures of success of the objectives of the team
members are rate of increase in customer satisfaction level by 30% within 45 days of the
completion of the tasks. The other measures of success are reduction in the negative
feedbacks regarding customer service of Woolworths by 50% by the end of the current year.
Potential barriers: As stated by Kiweewa, Gilbride, Luke and Clingerman (2018) the potential
barriers in achieving the objectives of the team members are the reluctance of the team
members in learning various new skills and competencies. The other potential barrier
regarding the achievement of the objectives are lack of support from the top management of
the company in providing various reports and insights which can be helpful in the training
process.
Dependencies: The achievement of the objectives of the team is dependent on the support of
the top management of Woolworths regarding providing the adequate resources and materials
which will aid in achieving the objectives.
b.
Team Member Determined
Outcomes
Agreed
responsibilities
Standard to
be achieved
How the task
will be measured
1. Name Increased
customer
satisfaction.
Answering queries of
the customers.
High
Standard
Customer
satisfaction rate
2. Name Lesser negative
feedbacks
regarding staff
interaction.
Focusing on increasing
interaction with
customers.
High
Standard
Feedback reports
of the company
3. Name Increased sales of
the products of the
company
Proper analysis of
customer demands and
expectations
High
Standard
Sales report of the
company.
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LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
Task 4
a. Coaching can be used in as a tool for career development to support the staffs of the team
which will help in the development of the inter-personal skills and capabilities of the members of
the team and will also help in the development of the self-confidence of the various members of
the team. According to Lehmann-Willenbrock, Beck and Kauffeld (2015) the benefits which will
be associated with providing coaching to the members of the team are enormous such as
empowerment of the team members and encouraging them to take responsibilities of their
actions, increase the engagement of the team members to their tasks, improvement of the
performances of the team members, increases motivation of the team members.
b. The mentoring program which is followed at Intel is different from other companies as the
mentoring program of the company does not follow hierarchy model which connects junior
employees of the company with the senior employees. As stated by Manning and Robertson
(2016) Intel focuses on specific knowledge transfer domain skills which are currently in demand
in the market place. The main effectiveness of the mentoring program of Intel is that it does not
follow the general way of mentoring only the junior employees but their mentoring programs
also focuses on providing mentoring to the senior employees of the company as they believe that
everyone has something new to learn and everyone has something new to teach. Further their
mentoring program is more embedded in the culture of the company and results in more organic
connection. According to Ruch, Gander, Platt and Hofmann (2018) the recommendation to Intel
in order to improve the program of the company is to develop separate mentoring programs for
the junior and senior employees otherwise it may lead to creation of ego or grievances within the
senior employees as a result of learning in the same platform as the junior employees.
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LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
Task 5
a. The strategies to improve the participation of the team members in planning and decision
making process are as follows:
 As opined by Houghton (2014) setting up suggestion boxes in order to help the team
members share their suggestion anonymously which they could not suggest in various
meetings or brainstorming sessions with the fear of being ridiculed or being laughed at.
 Initiating surveys on the team members in order to get the feedback of the team members
regarding a particular task.
 As stated by Dumitrescu, Lie and Dobrescu (2014) allowing members to choose their
training will improve participation as it will help in better engagement of the teams
members in the decision making process.
b.
Purpose: The main purpose of this task is to bring the specialists team of the company back on track which
will help in addressing the current situation of the company.
Scope: The scope of the project is to identify the cause and the reason of misbalance between the team
members of the specialist team and to identify the factors resulting in misbalance so as to help in solving
the problem of the team.
Policy: The policy which can be implemented to resolve the dispute among the team is listening to the
viewpoints of all the members of the team and accordingly settling the dispute.
Procedure: The procedure to be followed in the current case involves organizing a meeting with every
member of the team which is to be supervised by the human resource manager of Timat and gather
information regarding the various issues which are being experienced in the team. According to Greenwood
and Rasmussen (2013) after analysing all the issues which are put forward by the team members the human
resource manager needs to provide solutions to the various issues and also clearly define the roles and
responsibilities which are expected from each member of the team. The human resource manager also
needs to clarify to the team members that the success of team will be evaluated on the basis of team work
and not based on the individual performances of the team members which will help in developing co-
ordination among the team.
Responsibility for implementation: The responsibility of implementation of the policy and procedure is on
the leader of the specialized team.
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LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM
Related Legislation: The Fair Work Act (2009)
Approved by: The policy and process should be approved by the Human Resource Manager of Timat
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References
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Gander, F, Ruch, W, Platt, T, Hofmann, J, Elmer, T, Kenkel, M. and Sheldon, K. (2018). Current
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Manning, T. and Robertson, B. (2016). A three factor model of followership, part 2: research on
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