What knowledge, skills, and personal qualities are likely needed to provide leadership in a team-based organization? A training needs assessment survey used by one of my clients was included in chapter 1 (see exercise 3). It represents the client's determination of what skills should be considered for team leaders at their facility. A more thorough list is provided below. What knowledge, skills, and personal qualities do you have that might be useful in your efforts to help teams in your organization? In this chapter we will examine this question from many perspectives: those of the last one hundred or so teams I have worked with; those provided by models of leadership developed by leading researchers; and those of data-based leadership assessment instruments from leading companies in the field. Use the sections in this chapter, as well as the following list, to help identify your particular talents and the areas where you are going to need some help.
Knowledge needed for success as a leader:
Knowledge of the organization's plan for a team concept (goals, roles and responsibilities, procedures, etc.)
Knowledge of company rules and/or the union contract
Technical knowledge associated with the work being produced by the team
Knowledge of the culture and the politics of the organization
Knowledge of who to go to for what kind of information
Understanding of people and individual personalities
Skills needed for success as a leader:
Communication, especially listening skills
Problem solving
Facilitation of meetings, discussions, and decision making
Motivation
Planning and organizing
Presentation/speaking in front of groups
Time management
Report writing
Conflict resolution
Diplomacy
Networking
Keeping people accountable
Personal qualities needed for success as a leader:
Honest
Trustworthy
Compassionate
Inspirational
Direct
Committed
Open to new ideas
Nonprejudicial
Respectful
Responsive
Resourceful
Patient
Creative
Sincere
Persistent
Fun loving/ humorous
Approachable/unintimidating
Risk taking
Are you responsible for managing a team? For decades textbooks have identified the four main functions of the manager of a team or organization as
Planning (i.e., goal setting and identifying the steps, procedures, and time frames in which to accomplish the goals)
Organizing (i.e., assigning people to tasks and procuring resources)
Leading (i.e., motivating people)
Controlling (i.e., monitoring progress and making corrective actions accordingly )
Noted scholars such as Warren Bennis have emphasized that companies in the U.S. suffer from being overmanaged and underled. We need good management to deal with the complexities of organizational life. Good managers bring order and consistency, while leadership allows us to cope with the realities brought about by our rapidly changing, competitive world. John Kotter (1999) of Harvard University points out the three key differences between leading and managing: (1) leaders set a direction more than engage in planning and budgeting; (2) leaders align people, whereas managers organize systems and staff them with people; and, perhaps most important, (3) leaders motivate people, whereas managers engage in controlling and problem solving. You need to be a leader even if your job title is manager if your organization is to benefit from having a team concept.