leadership and team management

1.
Part A: Describe the factors that influence you to choose a Leadership Style. (minimum of 6 paragraphs)
The factors that influenced my leadership style came from observing leaders behaviors and how they affected me and other employees positively and negatively. For example, I have observed employee reactions and behaviors based on the leader’s style. I got engaged and enjoyed working with leaders, especially when they based the relationship with employees on trust. The trust they gave us helped to hold us personally accountable. We found we were intrinsically motivated and wanted to achieve. We also aimed high so that we did not lose the trust given to us by the managers.
I believe that a leader would influence other members of the team by showing them that they rely on them and believe that the person is capable of achieving the agreed target. Furthermore, I enjoyed working with leaders that use the Involving leadership style, referring to the four effective leadership styles model, which focuses on Direct Delegate, Involve, and Empower. The relationship we had in this situation was not like one that typically evolves between a manager and a subordinate relationship. The relationship was more about involving, requesting opinions, and even getting allowing me to become involved in decision making. These features impacted my relationship with my team. My team members are my partners at work, and I have seen that how this relationship and leadership style has improved their performance and involvement at work.
Another factor that influences my leadership style is giving time to other team members to create a learning environment. Employees need to be engaged and motivated to learn on their own volition. They also want to understand the big picture and know why we are doing things rather than to be told how to complete small tasks.
One scenario that affected my leadership was when I requested that a consultant, one who works daily with me, to observe me. I wanted the consultant to provide me with feedback on my communication style and my presence during meetings. We have agreed that after attending a meeting together, the consultant would give immediate feedback on my communication style. The goal was to improve my leadership style, and it worked, which is why I use the same approach with my team. This approach its helping them in improving their interpersonal skills.
Part B: Describe the factors that influence you in choosing leadership behaviours. (minimum of 6 paragraphs)
Generally I am influenced by situational variables. The situation is what influences my behavior. However, I do have a certain pattern that I prefer to follow. Being a natural mediator, I choose leadership behaviors based on my style and build a diverse team. Learning about situational leadership theory, I have based my behaviors on situational awareness and not based my preferred way or any sort of set of rules.
For example, I have two employees in my team are highly engaged and committed, but they are also totally different on the level of technical competencies. They also differ in terms of understanding the work task at hand. I react to each of them differently, especially when it comes to the “Rage of effective Styles.” I learned during the leadership class about the importance of "Empowering,” which i do with one of these employees. I just provide him with clear goals and let him work. Empowering behaviors have really helped me as leader as well as the employee. Together we were able to achieve the project goal and I helped him to learn. The employee also enjoyed the space and trust I gave him to do the work. On the other hand, I worked differently with the other employee, the one with low technical skills. For him, I sit with him and show him how to work and give him specific directions related to the task. This works for him, but it would not work as well for the other person.
Another factor that influenced my leadership style is working and observing employees who are result focused. In other words, they do not give attention to the tasks that not are related to the main objectives. They also avoid gossip or do not get emotionally involved in workplace drama or negativity. All they care about is their circle of influence. These people focus, and spend time working toward the work objectives, which is admirable. As result, these people have a sort of leadership style that has impacted my leadership behavior.
Whenever I lead any project with my team and we face obstacles that are out of our circle of influence, I immediately lead the team by shifting their conversations. I move from the negative to the positive, from concerns and resentment to shifting perspective towards what we accomplished. We become more focused on the results, goals, and solutions. One tool that helped me to achieve the goal of focusing on the bright side is writing the objectives in a poster. We use the poster to discuss how achieving the objectives going to make us feel, and what rewards we are going to have.
2. AC 1.2
Part A: Explain the positive effects of the leadership styles. (minimum of 3 paragraphs)
There are 4 different leadership styles that may have positive effects, according to the Four Effective Leadership Style Model. I am going to explore these styles and their positive effects in the workplace. First, there is the direct style. Using the Direct Style, the manager to will make decisions without getting the team involved. Later, the manager will communicate these decisions to the team. This style is highly effective and needed when there are immediate actions. Not everything should be a democratic consultation. When the goals and tasks are specific and crystal clear, this Direct Style is effective. By using this approach, I as manager can achieve the required objectives through the team without any delays. Creativity is not needed in these kinds of situations.
The Delegate style is next. Delegation is important to me as a manager, and to my team as well. I consider delegation as a type of win-win strategy. Using Delegation style will allow me to focus more on strategic work and prevent me from getting involved in details that are not critical to management. Moreover, it gives my team space to learn and practice without feeling that I am micromanaging. They feel safe, too, as I am following up with them. The project remains my accountability, but they feel trusted and as result they achieve more and they feel fulfilled.
The Involve style of leadership is unique. Using this approach with the team gives them more energy to achieve. They feel that they are valuable to the organization and that their option matters. I use this approach with high performing employees as it keeps them going and motivates them to achieve more.
The Empower style of leadership also gives my team members the authority to make decisions and to be accountable for the end results. The positive effect of using this approach is preparing my team for bigger responsibilities and getting them accountable for the work they do. I use this approach mainly with my successor. Empowerment is helping him to improve and also to test his own leadership style.
Part B: Explain the effects of these different positive leadership behaviours. (minimum of 3 paragraphs)
Using positive leadership behavior will lead to a positive effect on me as leader and most importantly, to the team I am leading. Being a performance manager has a positive effect in the workplace, in terms of improving the quality of the work. The performance manager can give the leader a chance to observe his/her team, monitor their performance, and learn about their areas of strength or areas that need improvement. As a result he or she can support the team and improve the team’s performance.
Delegation also has a positive impact on the employees. As its an opportunity for the team to learn and practice important tasks, delegation improves the employees’ confidence. Delegation can also positively impact the team’s motivation level. Moreover, the manager also benefits from delegating work to the employees. Delegation supports the team, improves competencies, and saves the manager time than can be used to conduct strategic work. Finally, delegation increases the effectiveness of the organization overall.
Another factor that has a positive affect on employees is applying and using personal authority. Employees will follow and work with manager, not because of formal authority, but because the type of person she is: personal authority. Strong leaders care about the success of the organization most of all, and they also know the importance of the team in achieving organizational goals. A strong leader will also take the responsibility for the mistakes the team members make. Finally, the kind of leader who uses personal authority is one that will make a mark and leave a legacy.
Part C: Explain the negative effects of the leadership styles. (minimum of 3 paragraphs)
According to the Four Effective Leadership Styles model, there are four main styles of leadership: Direct, Delegate, Involve, and Empower. While these four all have positive impacts, they also have some negative effects when they are not applied properly to the right situation or role. Below are the different style and the negative impacts that might accrue.
The Direct style requires that the manager will make decisions without getting the team involved. While this style works in many situations and can be efficient, it can also disempower employees. We like to share our ideas and to have our own input into the work. When we do not have enough freedom to participate, we may become disengaged or dissatisfied. In other words, the Direct style controls the employees to much with micromanagement. This style can adversely affect the employees’ motivation, engagement, and their innovative thinking. Eventually this can lead to employees leaving the organization, which can also backfire on the manager. Working in Human Resources and measuring the employee turnover rates, I notice that the main reason people leave is that they have problems with Direct managers.
Delegating is a powerful leadership style. However if it is not used at the right time with the right employees, delegation can have negative effects on the entire team, including the manager. For example, using delegation without explaining what is expected from the employee can lead to disastrous outcomes. Similarly, the manager needs to explain the required outcome; otherwise it could lead to poor quality or undesirable results. As result, the employee may feel that he or she were not trustworthy. It may affect the employee’s future motivation to learn and accepting delegated tasks in the future.
The Involve style of leadership is generally great for empowerment and engagement, but it could have negative effect in different situations. For example, the manager who too often or too deeply involves the team could appear weak and indecisive, which would in turn affect credibility. Also, some decisions might need immediate action. Involving everyone on the team is unnecessary, time consuming, and even inappropriate in some cases. Some employees also might not yet be ready to get involved. Some may need more experience or practice until they can be involved in making important decisions. Moreover, some employees do not like to be part of the decision making at all.
The Empower style of leadership does give the team the authority to make decisions and to be accountable for the end results. The main negative effect of the empowering style is when leaders use it with employees who are not ready to be fully accountable for their actions. When the team member does not live up to expectations, the leader loses credibility due to lack of results. In fact, it can be demoralizing for the employees, as they were not ready to handle the role.
Part D: Explain the effects of these different negative leadership behaviours. (minimum of 3 paragraphs)
Using a micromanaging approach, such as giving attention to small or meaningless details, can have a negative impact on employees. Too much micromanagement affects the employee’s motivation and, as result, affects performance. Many employees leave their jobs due to micromanagement styles. Some even leave their positions for ones with lower salaries, if they are given more freedom and authority over their workflow.
Another leadership behavior that could have a negative effect on the employees is taking credit as leader without giving the team accolades. The leader needs to compliment or give credit instead. By the same token, a negative leadership behavior is to blame the team when things go bad instead of taking responsibility. This is referred to as the “Mirror and Window” approach. As result of this negative behavior, employees feel that their work is stolen. They believe no one recognizes their efforts, which in turn impacts the employee morale and motivation.
Delegating is a powerful leadership style. However, it needs to be done right, with the right employees. Otherwise, delegation will have a negative affect on the manager and the employee who accepted the delegation. Using delegation without explaining what is expected from the employee or to say what the outcome should be will lead to poor work results or poor quality. As result, the employee may feel that he or she was the problem, when in fact it was the leader. Wrongful delegation may also have a detrimental effect on employee motivation or willingness to take on new tasks in the future.
1. AC 1.1
Part A: Why is it important to have a shared purpose in the team? Give and explain some reasons. (mimimum of 4 paragraphs)
Having a shared purpose helps the team and the organization to improve performance outcomes. As a result, having a shared purpose on each team leads to a more productive company. Sharing the purpose with the team motivates them to achieve more, to solve problems collaboratively, and accept change.
Employees are more motivated to do the work when they know that they are part of something big. Employees want to know every task they are doing is impactful, and they want to feel valued. Motivated employees are happy employees and happy employees are more productive.
When teams have one purpose they can solve problems together, and encounter new challenges more effectively. A team with a shared purpose will face a new challenge and automatically think of the big picture issues: the shared purpose. They ask themselves the big questions such as, “Why we are doing this?” Then, the team goes about solving the problem with a shared vision. Aligned with a shared purpose, the team will solve problems more quickly, because they have clarity. All the conversations they will have are related to the shared purpose . Team members speak the same language: the language of one purpose.
Moreover, teams that are sharing one purpose will develop their core competency collectively. Teamwork is ultimately about having one group working together to achieve a shared goal. To achieve that goal, teams need to be more cooperative, supportive, and foster positive relationships. In other words, there is a relationship between having one shared purpose and a having team with strong team building competency.
Finally, leaders are responsible for providing the team with the motivation factors. Motivation factors include achievement, recognition, participation, and growth. Having one shared purpose is a motivation factor, because it gives team members the chance to do their job and inspire them to achieve more.
Part B: Give examples of shared purpose from your and your team. (minimum of 4 paragraphs)
Our main purpose in the team is succession planning. We need to have ready a successor that will handle the organization’s critical position if and when someone leaves the position through retirement, promotion, or to leave to another company.
A second purpose is to ensure that all of the vacant positions are filled with the best possible employees, based on actual performance, and potential assessment.
A third purpose that my team and I have agreed on is improving the quality of our work. We have a weekly meeting where we only discuss work quality and what do we need to do to improve our work in the overall realm of talent management. Our purpose is be recognized as quality based HR work, not process driven work.
Finally, our purpose is to achieve through teamwork. As the leader, my mission is to embrace a teamwork mindset. I do that by assigning tasks, and provide meaningful work challenges to the team. We work on it all together. I would never accept work from a team member without knowing that the whole team would have participated in solving and completing the task. It is vital to ensure that the all members have participated and are involved. Furthermore, when I assign work or a project to the team, I assign each task based on the strength of every member. If I know that one member is not ready to handle a task alone, I assign another team member as a partner who can transfer knowledge. Furthermore, teamwork is considered the framework of our talent management succession: “we walk the talk of teamwork.”