Teamwork and Leadership: Assessing Team Performance and Development

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Added on 2024/07/29

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This report provides a comprehensive analysis of teamwork and leadership, beginning with a discussion of the features of an effective team based on Belbin's team role theory. It evaluates individual team roles and skills within a specific HR context, comparing and contrasting team development theories by Tuckman, Maslow, and Herzberg. The report then examines leadership attributes and skills needed in different contexts, followed by a self-evaluation of leadership skills. Finally, it assesses team effectiveness using methods like appraisal and team dynamics assessment, highlighting the importance of these evaluations in tracking employee productivity and motivation. The analysis emphasizes the necessity of clear objectives, effective communication, and supportive team environments for achieving organizational goals.

Teamwork and Leadership
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
1. Understand the features of an effective team..............................................................................4
1.1 Discuss the features of an effective working team, according to Belbin’s team role theory:4
1.2 Evaluate their own team role and skills as a team member in a specific context..................6
1.3 Compare and contrast theories of team development according to Tuckman and two work
related motivation theorists..........................................................................................................8
2. Understand leadership attributes and skills.................................................................................9
2.1 Compare the attributes and skills needed by a leader in two specific contexts.....................9
2.2 Evaluate their own skills as a team leader in a specific context..........................................10
3. Understand team effectiveness..................................................................................................11
3.1 Assess the effectiveness of specific team performances, using two of the following:........11
a) appraisal.................................................................................................................................11
b) external observation.............................................................................................................. 11
c) keeping a diary/log................................................................................................................ 11
d) assessing team dynamics....................................................................................................... 11
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................... 12
Reference List................................................................................................................................ 13
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Introduction
Teams are group of people that is usually dedicated to solve a particular issue or fulfil a
particular goal. Teams are able to achieve higher performance as well if suitable leadership is
style is adopted. In this assignment, the features of an effective team will be described and
attributes and skills of leadership will be explained will discussed as well. Lastly, the assignment
will focus on the effectiveness of the team.
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1. Understand the features of an effective team
1.1 Discuss the features of an effective working team, according to Belbin’s team role
theory:
In the year 1970, Belbin and his team had identified 9 behaviours that were displayed in a team
and this is called the Belbin’s team role. These nine team roles are necessary in order to make a
effective team (Senaratne and Gunawardane, 2015). The nine-team roles are
The co-coordinator- They preside over the team and keep the team disciplined.
The shaper- this team role is required for taking appropriate action.
The Monitor- Monitor or evaluator has to be analytical in nature. They monitor the team and
critical in nature.
The implementer- They are organiser and they organise or schedules tasks. Their team role is
action oriented.
The team worker: The team maintenance is the responsibility. They have to be diplomatic in
nature and supportive as well.
The finisher- The finisher is required to oversee the detail of the tasks and they also helps in
meeting the deadlines.
The specialist- The team member, who is independent and is an expert in their field are the
specialists.
The plant- They are highly creative and expert at solving problems.
The resource investigator- They find resources for the benefit of the team. They are very
inquisitive in nature as well.
Features of an effective team according to the Belbin’s theory Every team member has a role to play in their team and when each member of a team is
selected properly, the team is bound to achieve its goals and objectives.
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 The purpose of the team have to be clear and that is when the team roles like coordinator
and shaper will be able to take appropriate action that will lead to success.
 Team members have to do their fair share of work and that is the only way to make an
team efficient and effective.
 Communication is another important Feature that is necessary for an effective working
team. All the team members have to communication and coordinate with their team
members (Eubanks et al., 2016).
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1.2 Evaluate their own team role and skills as a team member in a specific context.
Figure 1: Evaluation of team role and skills of members
(Sources: Created by the learner)
A team member has a lot of responsibility. Following are the roles and responsibility of a team
member. The chosen team for this assignment is a small Human resources team of an
organisation.
Setting clear objectives and purpose: Understanding the purpose and the objective is very
important. The main purpose of the HR team is hiring skilled employees for the organisation.
The clear objective will help the members work toward their professional goals easily.
Understanding of the job roles: every team member has a n assigned job role, which needs to be
understood by the member in order to deliver desired result. For instance in the team, every
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member has a specific job role that contributes in resourcing employees for the organisation
(Dong et al., 2017).
Delegating work: The work delegation is very important and the team leaders have to delegate
suitably as well.
Utilisation of the skills available: The team members have to utilise the resources available to
them properly. They have to cooperate with the other team members.
Learning from setbacks: The team have to learn from their own setbacks. The goals of HR team
if not met they have to analyse their mistakes and take proactive action as well.
Motivation and Supportive: The team members have to be supportive and motivate each other in
order to be efficiently reaching their goals. Coordination is very important as well.
Following are the skills that are required to achieve the goals and objective in a team:
 Organising and planning skills very important for this team in order to provide the
company with right employees.
 Problem solving skill is also necessary for the members of this team. It there is an issue
regarding the employee management it will help them resolve it properly.
 Decision making skill is also required for the member of this team because they have to
sort the right talent for the company and they have to take effective decision (Alshmemri
et al., 2017).
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1.3 Compare and contrast theories of team development according to Tuckman and two
work related motivation theorists.
Tuckman’s theory: Bruce Tuckman first developed this theory. There are six steps that he has
described that is important for developing a team.. the stages of team development are Forming,
storming, norming, performing, adjourning and transforming (Kiweewa et al., 2018).
Maslow’s theory: Maslow’s theory is a motivational theory. This theory is called the hierarchy of
needs. Maslow’s states needs are hierarchical and the basic needs are the most important. In
addition, everyone has different needs and motivations for people are different as well.
Herzberg’s theory: According to this theory, there are hygiene factors and motivator factors that
are important for the motivation of the employees. The hygiene factors are basic needs and
motivator factors are very higher order needs.
Contrast and comparison
Basis of the Tuckman’s theory is developing an effective team, whereas Herzberg and Maslow’s
theory are motivational theory for increasing the employee’s productivity. The effective team is
very important but in order to keep the team members motivated the team mentor have to utilise
the Herzberg and Maslow’s theory. The Maslow’s theory is descriptive and the Herzberg’s
theory is descriptive. Tuckman’s theory is also descriptive in nature. the tucks theory is
applicable until the team is properly formed where as other work related theory is always
applicable in order to keep the employees motivated always. The purpose of the team
development theory is to create a team where as other two theories cannot be applied to all the
employees due to the fact, every employee has different needs and motivation (Sanjeev and
Surya, 2016).
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2. Understand leadership attributes and skills
2.1 Compare the attributes and skills needed by a leader in two specific contexts
Leaders need to have various skills in order to successfully manage a team. The different skills
that a successful leader should possess are as follows:
 Leaders should have excellent communication skills
 Problem solving attribute should be present in an leader
 Leaders should be self-motivated and should also motivate the employees working under
his or her guidance
 Leaders should be able to give quick and accurate decisions to the team member.
 Honesty is the quality that should be present in a leader (Antonakis and Day, 2017).
Leaders have to go through various situations in an organization. Evaluating the situation and
conveying accurate solutions should be the attribute of the leaders. Employees working the same
team may have grievances against each other and this is a very common scenario in very
business organization and in every team. Grievances may occur at any moment due to reasons
such as miscommunication and unhealthy working environment. In such a scenario, two of the
skills of the leaders need to play vital role in order to solve the problem ( Antonakis and Day,
2017). A leader in such a situation should possess extraordinary listening skills. The employees
who come up with the grievances should be minutely heard by the leaders. After listening to the
grievances, the leaders should critically analyse it before coming to any final decision. The next
skill that needs to be applied here by the leaders is accurate decision making skills. The leaders
should come up with such a solution that it does not hurt the sentiments of the employees. When
sentiments of employees are hurt it puts a direct impact on their productivity. Therefore, in the
situation that has been provided above, listening skills and decision making skills should be
possessed by a leader.
Leaders should possess great communication skills and the communication skills of the leaders
are tested on a daily basis. The leaders have the responsibility of communicating the instructions
to the employees that comes from the management level of the organization (Jacobs, 2015). It is
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very important for the leaders to explain the instructions to the employees in an easy format
because these instructions in the later days will the employees to curve out the path of their
working procedures. The leaders should make sure that every employee understands the
instructions very well and this responsibility lies on the leaders and their communication skills
(Jacobs, 2015).
2.2 Evaluate their own skills as a team leader in a specific context.
Leaders in a marketing team need to look after various activities. There are various activities that
go on in a management team. The marketing team is responsible for drafting all the strategies
that are required to successfully reach the product to the potential customers. Before launching a
product in the market, the marketing team needs to know the demand of the product in the
market and this can be done by conducting a survey among the consumers. Conducting a survey
is a tedious process and employees need to work hard to gather accurate information. In such a
scenario, the leaders have to motivate the employees in order to get the job done on time. The
leader of the team should teach the employees how to communicate with the consumers in order
to get appropriate replies from them (Crossan et al., 2017). The communication skill of the
leaders will make the employees understand the intricacies of conducting a survey. It is very
important to motivate the employees to conduct a successful survey as it is a tedious job. When
leaders are self-motivated it helps him or her to motivate the employees in a better way. Accurate
decision making skills are an attribute that a leader should possess. The leader should be able to
inculcate this skill within the employees as well. This will help the employees to overcome
difficult situations with greater ease.
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3. Understand team effectiveness
3.1 Assess the effectiveness of specific team performances, using two of the following:
a) appraisal
b) external observation
c) keeping a diary/log
d) assessing team dynamics
It is very important to assess the performance of the team and the team members. This
assessment helps organizations to keep a track of the productivity of the employees working in
the organization. Appraisals and maintaining a log book or a diary helps in the assessment of the
performance of specific teams (LePine et al., 2016). When employees are given appraisals it
motivates them and helps them to work in a better way. When employees are given appraisals it
makes them think that they are getting the worth of their activities in the organization. The
accountability of the employees towards the organization increases and this directly has a
positive impact on the productivity of the employees.
Keeping a diary of a log book also helps in assessing the performance of specific teams that
works in an organization. In the diary or the log book daily performance of the employees and
the teams in total should be recorded. At the end of the month evaluation of the recordings in the
log book should be done. This will help the leaders of the team to assess the productivity of the
employees. The employees who are working effectively and efficiently should be rewarded and
praised and further suggestions should be provided that will help them to increase their
productivity (Katzenbach and Smith, 2015). The employees who show below average
performance should be subjected to further training sessions. Keeping a log book will help the
leaders to analyse the performance of the team in a better way
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Conclusion
In this assignment, teamwork and leadership have been discussed in detail. Both team work and
leadership is required to enhance the productivity of the employees. The project has shed light on
the Belbin’s team role theory and the ways in which this theory enhances the features of a team.
Various roles of successful leaders have been discussed in this assignment which provides the
leaders with the knowledge of the various attributes of the leaders in different situations that
arise in an organization. Tuckman’s theory has been mentioned in this assignment and in
addition to this two other work motivational theories have been discussed in this assignment.
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