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Organizational Behavior The theories in this course can help to inform about how to create effective work teams. For example the theory of constraints specifically relates to teamwork, where the team is only as strong as its weakest link. This highlights the need for the team to support one another, to raise up the weakest link, as this will make everybody better on the team.

Team members need to be supportive of one another, because teamwork depends on people putting their skills together to make something that is better than the sum of its parts. In this course, we also looked at workplace environment and culture. Teamwork benefits from having a positive workplace environment, where everybody is motivated to work towards a common vision and set of objectives. For the manager, fostering an organizational culture that is built on principles of teamwork and communication is important to success.

Such an environment will encourage people to be their best, and to help each other out when need be. A strong team orientation is something that can raise a company's level because it makes the weakest links stronger over time. It is also important to build strong relationships within the workplace. When people are working together, they are more likely to be engaged in the work and the company's mission. Teamwork helps with this engagement, but so does the process of relationship building.

With stronger links, people help each other more, and the stronger members of the team can play a mentoring role with the others, so that everybody is better equipped to perform at a higher level. When I think about how I will apply these concepts in a leadership role, I can see the value that these concepts have. I want to build the best team possible, where everybody excels at their roles. That means a few things.

First you have to define the roles, and ensure that everybody understands clearly what is expected. This comes down to effective communication, and whenever new information arises this needs to be communicated, too, so that everybody has a clear understanding of what is going on. Then, you need to ensure that there is a high level of team commitment. Knowledge sharing in an organization has been linked to high levels of team commitment, and a positive communication climate (van den Hoof & de Ridder, 2004).

This is something that I would want to build. That does not mean sending out emails all day long about useless things, but ensuring that the team members are always aware of the goals and the steps that we are undertaking to reach those goals. Important information needs to be conveyed and there should be a high degree of transparency with respect to communication. The trickier aspect to applying the class material is with respect to building individual relationships.

I feel that this is more discrete in terms of each person being different, and the role relationship between leader and follower is different in each situation. There is little doubt that building strong, positive relationships throughout the organization is something that will help to make for a more effective team, but ultimately it is also important to remember that these can be quite simple in the workplace. People simply need to know that they have the support of leadership, and that leadership understands their needs.

The leader needs to know.