Foundations of Teams and Teamwork - Assignment Example

Leadership and Teamwork Leadership and Teamwork How to design a team consistent with the organizations mission, vision, value, content, and strategyOrganizations, mission, vision, values and strategies are crucial for the well being of any given organization. In the recent past, teamwork has become a vital element of a business strategy in any given organization (Parker, 2008).Lencioni (2002) argues that in today’s world organizations are no longer competing in terms of the technologies they have and strategies they have laid in place but rather the teams they have in play (Yukl 2010).

This is the reason why today managers hire employees who are even more competent than themselves (Thomson 2008). To manage such talents in an organization will therefore call for a manager being a leader not just a manager. This is because the success of a manager heavily relies on the teams that a manager has been able to build in an organization. Team building in an organization is a continuous process and involves the manager being able to deal with the internal dynamics of a team; issues of tasks and selection of the team members and also the management of the external dynamics; proper evaluation of organization’s environment both internal and external in relation to the team development and proper management of relationship amongst the team members.

If a manager is able to fully deliver on internal and external dynamics of team building, he or she designs not just a team but an effective team (Thomson, 2008). This way, the effective team is able to properly function and achieve organization’s goals and objectives as stipulated by the mission and the vision statements.Factors guiding leaders on creating or not creating teamsThere are many factors leaders and in this case managers evaluate to determine if there is need for a team or not.

Such factors include organization’s goals and objectives, the nature of the organizational tasks and also the organizational resources; financial and human resources. Organizational goals and objectives are directed by the mission and vision statements (Thomson, 2008). A leader who is focused towards effectively meeting the goals and objectives of a company and at the same time achieving the mission and the vision of the company would need quite effective and functioning teams. The nature of organizational tasks is also vital in deciding whether to have teams or not.

Literally, simple tasks do not need teams to undertake them but complex tasks do. Organizational tasks such as market design and market analysis needs effort of more than one individual to adequately cover the entire market population and to adequately deliver. An organization that has no financial and human resources is not in a position to sustain any form of teamwork. Therefore, the leaders in such a scenario do not have a choice than to just promote individual work or limit the number of team members (Thomson, 2008).Ch. 4 of the Boynton and Fischer textThomas Edison’s team of knowledge professionals assembled in the 1800’s still remain an example of one of the most effective teams of all centuries (Boynton & Fisher, 2005).

Edison believed that great invention could only come from the great minds of the world brought to work together. His idea of forming a teamwork laboratory is the basic idea behind development of research centers in today’s world. Edison managed to bring together more than twenty inventors who had struggled with the lighting problem for years. These inventors came together and concentrated on the single lighting problem as a team. He made sure that he offered the team the necessary energy, time and space to perform their experiments.

They all systematically coordinated with each another in arriving at an adequate solution. This is a characteristic of an effective team. Work Cited Boynton, A., & Fisher, B. (2005). Virtuoso teams: Lessons from teams that changed their worlds. Harlow, England: Financial Times Prentice Hall.Lencioni, P. (2002). The five dysfunctions of a team: A leadership fable. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Parker, G. (2008). Team players and teamwork: New strategies for developing successful collaboration. (2nd ed.).

San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Thompson, L. L. (2008). Making the team (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in organizations (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.