Explain how that team functions and how the leader does (or does not) lead the team
Use concepts from Chapter 7 and 8 to write a minimum 2-page paper on the team you chose. Explain how that team functions and how the leader does (or does not) lead the team.
Discussion: For this activity I would like to consider an example based on fiction. I would like to discuss a team work situation in a hotel where the hotel owner acts as a team leader. He/she leads four teams i.e. team of receptionists, team of cleaners, team of kitchen and restaurant staff and a team of room service staff. The owner leads the receptionist while the other three teams are managed by supervisors who are reporting to the owner/leader.
The relationship between the team leader and the followers is based on High-Quality LMX Relationships where there is mutual trust, support and loyalty (Lussier, and Achua 283). This is one of the dynamic approach towards team management. The team leader in the hotel enjoys a strong social bond with the supervisors and other staff members. The team leader is cooperative and is able to understand the circumstances where a staff member has an emergency. Team leader helps the staff in any way possible. This behavior encourages the staff from all the departments to feel recognized for their duties. The staff has acquired the capacity of critical thinking as they trust their leader that he/she would listen to them. They are proactive in solving the problems they face at their job. This provides us with an example of effective followers (Lussier, and Achua 254).
The leader is an energetic person who leads by example and is open to criticism and suggestions. He/she has the capacity to engage in open dialogue with his staff members. Based on the level of energy and openness, the leader in this case is a person who can be described to be a person with an extrovert personality trait according to the big five personality trait (Hautala, T. (2005). The mission and vision statement was set in collaboration with all the staff members. And the special thing about these statements is that they keep on changing with the changing circumstances and if there is a brilliant idea by any staff member which is approved by the leader in collaboration with other staff member. In this hotel, the team owner or the supervisors of different departments do not need to force the staff members to perform their duties. Instead each and every one is aware of their duties and they, most of the times go beyond of what their duties are to gain the trust of their customers.
Given the above conditions, I would like to shed some light on the experience of the customers of the hotel. The customers are always happy and feel being treated as special. The staff members do not just guide the customers to get the services they want. They actually lead them to the specific part of the hotel where they need to go. For example if a customer comes and asks to go to the restaurant and he/she gets to ask a cleaner, the cleaner would not hand over the customers to a receptionist or a room service staff member. The cleaner would accompany the customer to the restaurant and ask the restaurant supervisor to help the customer as he or she had difficulty finding the restaurant. This is why the customers feel special treatment. All the staff at the hotel have developed high communication skills and they incorporate these skills to their communications with the customers. Such level of high communication skills could be a result of the interpersonal communication skills that is a product of the motivational environment at the hotel. This level of interpersonal communication skills also helps in enhancing the commitment of the staff towards their organization (Bambacas and Patrickson, 2008).
The above discussion is an example of the high level of organizational practices where both the leader and the followers reach a level of confidence as a result of mutual trust and capacity to think critically. This results in the overall development of the organization. The organization would have a low turnover rate which would help the efficient completion of the organizational tasks as the employees stay for long enough to learn to perform their duties efficiently and be creative in their performance. This type of organizational culture is only possible if the leader has the capacity to lead efficiently and effectively.
