Organizational behavior concepts and applications

Organizational Behavior

Micro-Organizational Behavior

The basis of all effective leadership is found in how leaders define the expectations, goals, vision, mission and values of an organization. The more effectively any leader can move from being only focused on an authoritarian or transactional role to a transformational one, the greater the agility and flexibility their teams have in attaining objectives (Ivancevich, Konopaske, Matteson, 2010). The intent of this analysis is to evaluate how the process of decision making and cooperation across small groups can be augmented and strengthened through the use of team leadership. Implicit in this study is the use of delegation and responsibility, and how these factors determine overall team effectiveness and accomplishment.

Micro-Organizational Behavior and the Management of Small Groups

Greater time pressures, more costly development cycles, and the overall compression of time are together making small groups the most effective organizational unit in the 21st century (Ivancevich, Konopaske, Matteson, 2010). This is seen throughout the accelerated software development lifecycles that pervade social networking, e-commerce, and most recently, mobile application development (Zhang, Tremaine, Milewski, Fjermestad, Osullivan, 2012). The small team is the catalyst of many innovative new processes, product development and customer-driven initiatives within many of the Fortune 1,000 corporations of today as well (Ivancevich, Konopaske, Matteson, 2010). With so many valuable aspects of innovation and development aligned to the role of small teams, the decision-making and cooperating enabled by leaders within them is critical. In evaluating their best practices, it is useful to see how transformational leaders generate exceptional results using small teams to do what larger teams often can't (Muczyk, Reimann, 1987).

Best practices in decision making and cooperation begin with leaders being able to clearly communicate a compelling vision and mission for their group, followed by an exceptional level of commitment on their part (Johnson, 1993). Of the many studies evaluated in this project, the one compelling and most significant trait is that of a team or group leader being "all in," completely committed to the success of their teams and regularly shows the willingness to make personal sacrifices for the overall team to move forward (Johnson, 1993) (Ivancevich, Konopaske, Matteson, 2010). Recent studies indicate that team members are especially vary and skeptical of leaders who rely more on their hierarchical or organizational power than their expert power, especially in highly competitive, intelligent-centric businesses like software development (Zhang, Tremaine, Milewski, Fjermestad, Osullivan, 2012). The bottom line is that a leader must earn respect by showing they are willing to readily sacrifice for the attainment of complex objectives, even willing to give up their own time and talent for the team to achieve its shared goals (Vroom, 2003). In studying the many aspects of effective leadership in small teams, the one compelling point that emerges is that those leaders who completely commit themselves to the shared objectives and show a willingness to sacrifice for them earn trust and credibility (Ivancevich, Konopaske, Matteson, 2010). Anything less is skeptical at best and considered ample reason to not to trust a leader at worst in these uncertain times (Ivancevich, Konopaske, Matteson, 2010). If a leader wants to be trusted, they must embrace the vision, mission and values of their team and show they are ready to sacrifice quickly and thoroughly for them.

A leader's influence and credibility will have dramatic positive effects on the decision making and cooperation of the team, providing it is anchored in the core foundational elements of transformational leadership. Decision making within smaller teams and from a micro-organizational standpoint will reflect the tendencies towards autocratic, democratic, participative, transactional or transformational in large part based on the leader's own strengths and weaknesses (Ivancevich, Konopaske, Matteson, 2010). This is why leaders who excel in micro-organizational structures have a very clear sense of how their behavior and decisions impact the rest of the group. In many studies included in this analysis, that is measured as the extent of Emotional Intelligence (EI) a leader has (Johnson, 1993) (Klein, Ziegert, Knight, Xiao, 2006) (Muczyk, Reimann, 1987).

Another best practice that leaders of small teams are using to get high levels of performance is providing subordinates with the opportunity to take ownership of one aspect of the team's role or direction. This creates a very high level of autonomy on the part of team members, fueling a continual increase in long-term motivation and continued commitment to results. Managers of small teams who regularly rely on this technique are focused on the long-term effects of this strategy, looking to unify autonomy, mastery and purpose into a solid foundation for long-term motivation and long-term learning (Klein, Ziegert, Knight, Xiao, 2006). This triad of factors is crucial for team members to have a strong sense of purpose and stay motivated over the long-term, while also seeing value in staying committed to the team's long-term goals. All of these factors must also be orchestrated on an ongoing basis between a teams' managers and subordinates with a very clear sense of purpose and accountability for results.

Another best practice with regard to delegation and responsibility is the need for creating clarity and consistency of ongoing team results as well. The most effective team leaders provide a high degree of transparency and visibility into overall team performance on an ongoing basis (Ivancevich, Konopaske, Matteson, 2010). This visibility into team performance is critical for ensuring a high degree of trust is created, setting the foundation for decentralized leadership as well (Klein, Ziegert, Knight, Xiao, 2006). The greater the time pressure and urgency to meet deadlines the greater the need for transparency and the trust it creates in small teams (Zhang, Tremaine, Milewski, Fjermestad, Osullivan, 2012).

Studies of team-based effectiveness also indicate that the greater the level of communication that occurs within and between team members, the higher the overall performance as well. Great small team leaders have the ability to nurture and foster a high level of interdepartmental and intradepartmental trust over time. This is accomplished through the use of leadership techniques that concentrate on bringing everyone into the role of team contributor (Vroom, 2003).