1. Carson.
Describe the role of leadership within teams. What is the primary reason why teams fail?
Chapter 9 is all about authentic leadership and the text correctly points to skepticism in upper management following scandal after scandal in the corporate space. Northouse (2018) describes authentic leadership as many things, with complex definitions, starting with intrapersonal which focuses on self-knowledge, self-regulation, and self-concept, and this is followed by an interpersonal process which incorporates the followers perspective and contributions to the relationship, and finally authentic leadership also looks to a developmental perspective which looks at growth from life experience. All of these viewpoints, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and developmental, contribute to building an authentic leader that can bring a team with them to achieve results. A team is susceptible to failure when authenticity is lacking and one of these components is under-developed and acts as a blind spot for the leader. If a team is led by someone that is not interested in bettering their leadership, they are most likely causing a huge wake behind them leading to frustration and decreased productivity. Learning to be an authentic leader is critical and if a leader is not open to feedback, never solicits it, or does not change their behaviors then a team will most likely break down and fail at some point.
What can be done to ensure team success? Give a personal scenario from your own experience for team success.
Like I have mentioned in previous posts, a leader and their teams’ success is interconnected. If a leader really is interested in achieving awesome success, they must be authentic. This can be done by managing their perception and ensuring they find ways to stay on the pulse of their team. I have learned the hard way about how important this is. When I first started working in the corporate world coming from a combat deployment in Iraq the last thing I cared was people’s feelings and what they thought of me. My understanding of the workplace was that we had a job to do and it was as simple as that. I learned through an annual survey (which was a terrible, gut-punch, surprise and career limiting way to find out) that my team thought I was too tough on them and did not spend enough time getting to know them personally. I was young and eager and wanted to do better then and still want to do better now so I began incorporating ways to do pulse checks. I spent more time checking in with my followers, ensuring I truly put their well being ahead of the business and in a short time I was actually having much more fun at work, the team was happier, and we were overall more productive. Over the following 15 years I worked hard to find the right balance in all of this but I still always ask for feedback almost daily after delivering a tough message or presenting a new work goal, things like- is that fair? How do you feel about this? Is this realistic? What are your concerns? How can I support you through this? Being authentic and truly getting to know my team, as well as being open to them getting to know me has absolutely made me more effective! I only wish I had this class 15 years ago so I could have avoided some debacles!
References:
Northouse, P. Leadership: Theory and Practice (8th ed., p. 528). SAGE Publications, 2018.
2. Jennifer.
The importance of the role of leadership on a team is irrefutable. Strong leadership is one of the key factors to organizational success and is a necessity in order to execute an organization’s vision and goals (Palmer, Dunford, & Buchanan, 2017). Leaders are also an integral part of creating a positive team environment and culture (Warrick, 2016). Effective leaders will create a space for their followers to grow and thrive through a myriad of innovative and creative opportunities (Northouse, 2018). This can be done through effective communication, providing guidance, encouraging both personal and professional growth, and providing recognition for a job well done. By engaging in these effective leadership actions, team morale can be increased and individual followers’ confidence levels can grow, which can again aid in organizational success.
Conversely, even with the possibility for all teams to become highly successful, they also have the potential to fail. This can occur for a variety of reasons, especially considering that teams can be highly dynamic and complex in nature (Palmer, Dunford, & Buchanan, 2017). Teams that fail often tend to lack the cohesive element of identified goals and purposes (Warrick, 2016). When one does not know what the end goal or purpose is to their task, this leaves endless room to flounder. Teams that find themselves lacking effective communication are also prone to failure. Leaders who are unable to effectively communicate information regarding goals, purpose, needs, procedures, and so on to their followers are creating an environment of ambiguity, which can make it difficult for followers to follow through on almost any request or expectation (Palmer, Dunford, & Buchanan, 2017). The inability to work together as a cohesive unit also contributes to team failure (Warrick, 2016). If every person on a team works only on their own tasks in their own way, a lack of consistency and lack of trust can quickly develop. Having a sense of kinship, teamwork, and shared responsibility can go a long way in helping to recover a failing team.
Leaders can help to ensure team success by addressing the concepts listed above. Creating and advertising goals that are clearly defined, measurable, and explanative of their involvement in the organization’s mission and vision can help create a compass for the followers’ actions. Providing concise and clear communications can quickly disseminate necessary information and will leave little room for misinterpretation. Finally, creating a team environment that focused on working together as a whole entity as opposed to separate cogs can build trust between leaders and followers, will lend itself to consistent work performance, and fosters a sense of being able to conquer goals as a cohesive unit.
I have been quite fortunate during my time at Cigna to experience many instances of team success. Most recently, I have been witness to my current team overcoming very large hurdles in terms of significantly updated workflows, sudden and substantial changes to state requirements regarding authorizations, and general ambiguity in the light of COVID-19. My team lead (manager) has been very swift with providing us updates on required information for us to complete our daily tasks in accordance with state and federal mandates, as well as always being available to be a sounding board to consult if we are having difficulties with any of our cases. Our lead clinician (assistant manager) has been exceptionally supportive with our questions, both about procedural changes as well as how to approach others on the team who may appear to be struggling during this time of excessive flux. Even the followers on the team have taken it upon themselves to be highly vocal in our team Skype chatroom via helping each other find answers to in-the-moment questions and offering general upbeat comments to each other to help the team remain motivated; this shows them embracing leadership skills in their own way. Cigna is the first company I have worked for that so many effective leadership skills are utilized concurrently and it has undoubtedly lent to the high levels of success we are facing in the midst of medical and health care uncertainties.
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership theory and practice (8th ed.). SAGE.
Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Buchanan, D. (2017). Managing organizational change: A multiple perspectives approach (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Warrick, D. D. (2016). Leadership: A high impact approach. Lachina Publishing Services.
Team Leadership Scenario [WLO: 3] [CLOs: 2, 3]
Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, read Chapter 9 in the Leadership: Theory and Practice course textbook.
Describe the role of leadership within teams. What is the primary reason why teams fail? What can be done to ensure team success? Give a personal scenario from your own experience for team success.
Guided Response: Respond to at least two other peers’ posts regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. Remember to include active scholarship in these two replies to substantiate your points and to properly cite your sources. Please refer to APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) by Ashford University’s Writing Center for information on citing sources. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon in your classroom for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
————
Could you please respond to 2 classmates’s discussions. 1. Carson and 2. Jennifer .
You may start : “ Hi Carson, I agree with you because ….”. ( for example). 1 page should be enough for 2 replies:
Related order #491749
What Students Are Saying About Us
.......... Customer ID: 12*** | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"Honestly, I was afraid to send my paper to you, but splendidwritings.com proved they are a trustworthy service. My essay was done in less than a day, and I received a brilliant piece. I didn’t even believe it was my essay at first 🙂 Great job, thank you!"
.......... Customer ID: 14***| Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"The company has some nice prices and good content. I ordered a term paper here and got a very good one. I'll keep ordering from this website."
