I would also allow team members to take on leadership roles at appropriate times. For example, if a certain task of the team is linked to a team member's primary skill, I would allow them to lead the team during that task. This will help build team chemistry by allowing all members to see the value of the other members. It will also help build leadership within the team and will help the team members leading to see that they have value to the team. This strategy will also help with motivation, since employees are likely to be motivated by the opportunity to utilize their key skills and be recognized for them.
For techniques of persuasion, I would focus on the objectives of the team and the team members' roles in achieving the objectives. The objective would be not on forcing team members to take certain actions, but instead helping them to want to take certain actions. This would also involve encouraging team members to see beyond just their own needs and to recognize the needs of the team overall. This includes that team members may need to compromise for the good of the team. This approach is linked with the empowering of employees and the interactive leadership style. Overall, the focus will be on cooperating as part of the team, while being committed to the team.
The main mental skills I would incorporate would be conflict management skills, decision making skills, and communication skills. Conflict management skills are necessary since any group of people working together will encounter conflicts. Rather than consider conflict as negative, I would educate team members and increase their conflict management skills. With this approach, conflicts that occur can either be managed well so they are minimized, or managed well so that a source of conflict actually becomes a source of improvement. The most important point is that team members have the skills to understand and manage conflict so that it does not disrupt the effective functioning of the team. The second mental skill I would incorporate would be decision making skills. This is especially important because...
In other cases, team members will have to make decisions as a team. For the effective functioning of the team, it will be important that team members can make decisions effectively both individually and on a group basis. This will allow for the team to operate effectively. Giving employees these key skills will also empower them to make decisions and be confident in those decisions. The final mental skill I would incorporate would be communication skills. Since a team involves people working together, communication skills are crucial. I would especially focus on listening skills to ensure that all employees are able to contribute effectively to the team.
Finally, it is important for the effectiveness of the team to be measured. This measurement would be based on the key objectives of the team, with success of the team measured by its ability to meet these objectives. The other important consideration for assessment of the team is to not expect immediate results. It is recognized that a team will take some time to become an established and effective unit. Therefore, I would not measure the success of the team immediately, but would wait until it has had enough time to develop into an effective unit.
Overall, it is expected that these considerations will help me to build a successful and cohesive team. While it is not expected that this will happen immediately, with this general approach and based on these considerations, the team will develop effectively and form into a functioning team. It is expected that this will then lead to long-term team success, where both team members and the team as a whole are achieving their objectives.
Works Cited
Daft, R.L. Management. Fort Worth, TX: The Dryden Press, 1997.
Goleman, D. The New Leaders: Transforming the Art of Leadership Into the Science of Results. London: Time Warner Books, 2002.
Schermerhorn, J.R. Management for Productivity. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1989.
