7-2 Journal: Leading Effective Groups And Teams

While thinking back on the time when I had a positive experience working with a team I realized that it had not happened too many times. It can actually be very frustrating when some people are unable to work well as a team. The time that I had a positive experience was before my manager left my current job at Lindt & Sprungli. It seemed as though the whole team was on the same level and held similar goals as each other. The team was more productive when we all had similar goals and were on the same level. Another principle that my team had going for us was that we all knew the expectations. Usually, the expectations were high so it forced us all to work harder and to be better at everything we did. As of right now, we have a different manager and we are all on different levels. When people are on all different levels there is no way to work as a team. It is amazing what being a team on the same level does.

Most places where I have worked have had very weak teamwork and leadership skills. So far, it is a dysfunctional experience. I used to host a very busy restaurant in a tourist area. Normally within about 30 minutes of being open, we would be on a 45-minute wait at least. While hosting during really busy times the manager would stand with us and help us take down names, walk around the restaurant and see when customers were going to finish and bring customers to tables. It was such a negative experience because things were just out of order the whole time. Instead of working as a unit, it was their way or no way. They did not allow us to work as a unit and they did not trust us. Having trust in your employees is an important thing when working as a team. There was one manager who trusted his employees and he worked with us as a unit we were more successful than when working with others that did the opposite. Everything about leadership within this restaurant made working as a team a terrible experience.

If I were the manager of the team at the restaurant I would have team meetings before opening to bring everyone together. Doing this would allow time for everyone to be on the same level and hold similar goals. As I learned on Inc., “An effective team has common goals” (Musselwhite, 2007). I would make sure throughout the day that everyone was still set on that goal and if they were struggling I would help guide them, instead of just letting them deal with things on their own. I would also make sure that my employees knew that I trusted them and that they could do anything they set their minds to. This not only allows freedom between them and management but also shows that I believe in them. Usually, when the person above you shows how much they believe in you, you actually end up trying harder and holding yourself to higher expectations. Holding yourself to higher expectations makes you a better person because it pushes you out of your comfort zone. Me, these are things that I would like in a manager because I feel that they would make me a better employee and person.

References:

Conant, D. R. (2014, July 23). Building Effective Teams Isn’t Rocket Science, But It’s Just as Hard. Retrieved June 2018, from https://hbr.org/2012/04/consistently-building-highly-e

Musselwhite, C. (2007, January 01). Building and Leading High-Performance Teams – Teambuilding. Retrieved June 2018, from https://www.inc.com/resources/leadership/articles/20070101/musselwhite.html –/resource

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OL 215 Journal Guidelines and Rubric

The journal assignments are a private conversation between you and the instructor and thus you are encouraged to deeply explore the concepts of organizational structure and of the organizational leadership and management principles presented.

7-2 Journal: Leading Effective Groups And Teams

Guidelines for Submission: Submit the assignment as a Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins and APA formatting.

Read the following articles about building and leading effective teams:

• Building and Leading High-Performance Teams link: https://www.inc.com/resources/leadership/articles/20070101/musselwhite.html#/resources/leadership/articles/20070101/musselwhite.html

• Building Effective Teams Isn’t Rocket Science, but It’s Just as Hard(Note: This article can only be accessed a limited number of times.) link: https://hbr.org/2012/04/consistently-building-highly-e

Managing groups and teams is an essential element of the leading facet of the P-O-L-C framework. As you read these articles, reflect on your experience working in groups and teams, and then address the following prompts:

1. Think about a positive experience when you worked in a group or team and identify the principles that were presented in the articles that were exhibited by your group or team. Explain how these principles helped the group or team succeed.
2. Think about a negative experience when you worked in a group or team and identify which principles from the articles were lacking. Explain how the lack of these principles led to poor performance of the group or team.

If you were the manager of that group or team, how would you correct the issues that caused the poor performance? Consider the material from this module and in the articles.