Team Dynamics and Leading the Team

Team Dynamics and Leading the Team

Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and will power, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through an ever-constant process of self study, education, training, and experience. This comes in very handy when dealing with teams due to the fact that the leadership hat is going to change according to each member's region of proficiency. The leader isn't necessarily going to issue instructions, procedures, goals, or monitor achievement levels, but to insure that the team has the assets it needs and to remove or limit any barriers that may appear. (Thompson, et al. 8)

Leadership is crucial when it comes to forming teams. You can not expect a team to function just because you put some individuals in a group. The team has to build a working relationship, a trust in one another's skills, and the confidence that when it comes their turn to lead, they can succeed. A team's success is going to come from its members having trust in the leader, the team mission, and the significance of the team itself. (Dept. of the Army 3-2)

A key point is whether or not the team members will follow the team leader. A confidence will have to be built within the team in order to establish any member as an effective leader of the team. This team confidence will only be formed from a mutual respect of each other and of the abilities that each member brings to the team. It will not be formed because one member is a stronger leader than another. In fact, just because the leader of the team is strong, doesn't mean the team will be a success. It also goes to say that if the team leader is weak that the team will be a failure. It all depends on the structure of the team and how the team operates as a whole. If you have a strong leader who has alienated the rest of the team members, more than likely the team members are not going to be supportive and the team is going to fail. If a team leader is somewhat weak, but well liked, his teammates might rally and reinforce his weaknesses with their own strengths to ensure the team succeeds.

The success of the leader will also be based on other factors. One factor that is very important is whether the leader out to help him or is he there to help the team. The leader also has to believe in what the team is doing. How can you lead if you don't believe in path of your team? The leader also has to provide a forum for the other members of the team to participate. Full team participation is a critical key for the overall team's success.

Leadership is a complex process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the team in a way that makes it more unified and coherent. A leader carries out this process by applying his or her leadership attributes (beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills). Although your position as a leader gives you the ability to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the team, this power does not make you a leader; it simply makes you the boss. Leadership makes people want to attain high goals and objectives, while, on the other hand, bosses tell people to accomplish a task or objective

To help you be, know, and do, follow these eleven principles of leadership: (Dept. of the Army 1-6)

1. Know yourself and seek self-improvement. In order to know yourself, you have to understand your be, know, and do, attributes. Seeking self-improvement means continually strengthening your attributes. This can be accomplished through reading, self-study, classes, etc.