Team Leadership: What team leaders need to know

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Team Leadership: What team leaders need to know I .Topic of Inquiry The topic of inquiry for this report is the team leadership. Today, when leadership is increasingly taking place within a team context and more organizations are using work teams, the role of the leader in guiding team members has become increasingly important. Traditional leader role considerably differs from team leader role and does not fit new requirements. I am seeking to determine which functions team leaders are expected to perform, when leading a team, and to learn what it means to be an effective team leader. My interest in this lies in the fact that I myself will be looking leadership positions in my career after graduation and probably will perform team leader role. In order to succeed in this role, it is important to understand how team leader role is different from a traditional leader role, and how to successfully lead employee teams. After completing this report I expect to have a better understanding of a team leader role, and how an individual should perform in order to succeed in this role. II. Summary of Findings More and more organizations are using work teams today, and, therefore, role of the leader guiding employee teams become very important. But what is involved in being a team leader? I think definition of a team should be given first. Usually, it is a small group with complementary skills committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and working approach for which they hold themselves mutually responsible. In a team, members share decision-making and often build consensus, with two-way communication between manager and members. There are joint work assignments and accountability on both the individual and team levels. Teams should not be confused with work groups. This is one of mistakes which managers usually make when trying to become team leaders.
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