From Team Member to Team Leader (Essay Sample)

FROM TEAM MEMBER TO TEAM LEADER
Name
Professor
Course
Institution
Date
Both big and small organizations and institutions need a number of staff to run operations. Such staff have to be organized in such a way as to maximize throughput to meet organizational goals. It takes a skilled and exposed mind to organize and manage the staff to ensure maximum utilization of resources and achievement of goals set out by the institution. Deciding on who does what, communication channels to be used and the motivation people should be conducted by individuals who possess the right qualities and exposure for success.
This paper examines the concepts and theories of leadership and management and how it can be applied in a practical environment to achieve the best results. The Best Manager is born out of experience. The manager should be aware of the activities conducted by each and every member of the team. The paper therefore also examines the process of transition of a seasoned team manager from just a team member
To quote Warren G Bennis, "leaders are people who do right things, managers are people who do things right”. Leaders design a clear plan for the future, communicating that plan to the people, making them understand and commit to it. Managers ensure that this plan is executed and implemented successfully. These two roles overlap and it is important that, to succeed, managers should possess specific skills and handle specific responsibilities using tools availed to them. They then should use this to manage the plans set out successfully. Managers should also be aware of which individuals do what best.
Concepts and theories of leadership are examined and how it can be applied to ensure the right direction for the institution is followed by the management.
Concepts and techniques of leadership
Besides an endearing and suitable character, some traits that can be quite influential in helping the regular group and team member achieve pre-set goals. Constancy and consistency is an attribute with which a good manager should be able to exercise. Clear and consistent boundaries should be maintained and so should response to particular behavior elicited among team members. The kind and setting of the group should also determine the kind of dressing to be used by the group. Some predictability in the dress code is desirable. The team manager therefore should maintain a level of consistency. Active listening should also be practiced by the manager. When managing and handling the team, the leader should use effective listening techniques to grasp the various views aired by each and every team member. It is important to pay attention to the context from which meanings come. Careful use of words should be ensured to avoid misunderstandings and taking of offence among team members.
Good managers and leaders have to model the consistency that emanates from self-knowledge and clarity of intent. They should remain attentive to each client's experience and the random nature of the different sessions of work. This is to avoid reliance on formulae or provision of easy solutions to complex problems. Secure grounding of problem solving policies and techniques helps the manager model group stability. Also, rather than try to maintain an image of perfection, good managers and leaders should know when and how to accept mistakes. They should be creative and flexible. They should set a good example to the team members that border on the concept that everyone makes mistakes but should try retain positive relationships with other team members. The nature of material and content shared in various processes among team members raise the issue of integrity. It is important that the team manager is fully aware of institutional laws, policies and regulations. Clear standards of conduct should be used to maintain the ethical parameters of their work. Team managers should also make it possible for group members to trust one another.
Best practices in leadership
A number of approaches to leadership that work well in modern business and institutional environments have been produced and researched. It is important to no one style works best alone in every scenario. Good leaders and managers should be aware of the approaches and practices available. They should also be aware of which business models are best suited for which approaches and which situations require which measures. In an environment where team work is important in ensuring success, the manager should exercise the best decision model that would ensure that the right procedures have been executed and at the same time maintaining a good relationship with team members. Collective or participative decision making can be used alongside consensus, democratic and autocratic approaches. Each approach should be applied when and where appropriate.
Besides verbal communication, a good team leader should also be well versed with other channels of communication so as to ensure that the right message is portrayed through the other channels. Facial expressions, body posture and eye movements, hand motions are some of the channels through which team leaders should ensure that the intended message is passed. To be more believable and trustworthy, there must be a match and connection between the verbal and non-verbal cues to words. Humility, empathy and pints of humor can also go a long way in helping motivate the team members in executing their duties and responsibilities. The manager should motivate the employees by providing them with an environment that allows them to conduct their business, within the stated constraints but without strict directives. His also cools the employees and helps them work in their natural parameters.
Since teams comprise ordinary human beings, susceptibility to disagreements and conflicts is usually high for teams. Constant interaction between team members always exposes them to high probability of conflicting ideas. Such conflicts can disrupt the flow of activities being performed by the team. This is far more expounded in scenarios where choices exist and individuals in the team have several courses of action which they can opt for in various scenarios. Leaders and team managers should be able to anticipate this and formulate plans to settle such agreements. A team leader should know each and every team member's behavior, besides other details. He should also be impartial when resolving conflicts between members. The team leader s