Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

FOSTER TEAM EFFECTIVENESS BY FULFILLING KEY LEADERSHIP FUNCTIONS
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Many leadership functions are best addressed before a team first convenes. Is a team
an appropriate device for accomplishing the work to be performed, or is there a better
way to get it done? What type of team should be created – a “ surgical ” team, a
coacting group, a traditional face - to - face team, a distributed or virtual team, or even
a fl uid “ sand dune ” team? How can those structural and organizational conditions
that are most critical to team effectiveness be created and sustained? And then, once
the team does get under way, how should it be coached – what should be done to
launch it well, what should be addressed when it nears the midpoint of the work,
and what should be done when a signifi cant piece of work has been completed?
Finally, we have emphasized that there is no one best personality or style for getting key
leadership functions fulfilled. Those who lead well do so by exploiting their preferred
styles and their special capabilities rather than by following some textbook prescriptions
or by mimicking how other successful leaders act. And, when a given leadership
function requires knowledge or skill that is beyond one ’s own capabilities, the best team
leaders do not hesitate to call on others to lend a hand in helping the team move forward.
Team leadership is not a solo act. At its best, it too is a team activity.
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