Using Team Leadership to Get an Organization Back on Track

Imagine the common scenario in which an organization continues to suffer from lack of production. As a team leader, it is your responsibility to respond and remedy the situation. But, upon meeting with the various employees and departments, you discover everyone is blaming everyone. The situation requires leadership, organization and quick action.

In a scenario like this, the leader has many responsibilities aimed at promoting more successful teamwork. One of the broadest but most important responsibilities is to create a culture focused on quality. This can be achieved through bottom line results and a mindset geared towards continuous improvement. Supplying direction and purpose are also important responsibilities. The leader of this group must not only make these goals clear, but also make the employees want to attain them. A leader must often specifically define processes and standards so there is little confusion on objectives. Leaders establish policies that meet the needs of the customer. Leaders must be able to adapt technique, providing guidance, direction and delegation where needed. Understanding the members of the group and how to maximize response will help meet the set objectives. The leader of this group must be prepared to do all of these things to become successful.

In most cases, the ideal scenario is to lead and guide without the need to set rules and limit flexibility. In this case, it is possible to practice this philosophy after some "managing by rule" has been initiated. This is because the immediate concerns of disorganization and participation are of primary concern. The current state of affairs demands certain swift action and specific rules to be set. For example, defining exactly who must show up to a meeting and holding them to that responsibility would be a good rule. Additionally, making it clear deadlines are to be met and requested tasks completed will help get things back on track. These are examples of rules that must be assigned without flexibility. After the leader has created a more organized atmosphere, a change in philosophy can occur. The leader can begin defining culture and providing direction. The leader can than shift from a more directing philosophy to one of consultation, participation and delegation. While managing by rule may be needed to right he ship, this organization should eventually be able to function under less directive leadership.

The first leadership skill the group needs is direction. The immediate situation is relatively severe; there are many fingers being pointed and little to no direction to get things headed down the right path. A leader with strong directive skills can step in and make some immediate decisions. This would help facilitate positive movement. Another necessary skill in this situation is strong communication. Setting the right objectives is meaningless if they cannot be communicated effectively. This means making sure each employee full understands the objective. This also means the leader must be able to identify and evaluate employees. This makes the assignment of tasks and responsibilities easier. Finally, organization is a must for this scenario. Time seems to be a limiting factor and objectives need to be organized for efficiency. This means managing time, money, and employees. These skills will set this group in the right direction.

Most of the steps to start leading this group would involve a series of team meetings and periodic evaluations. As mentioned previously, some immediate concerns require attention. The first step would be to issue a clear and mandatory meeting for all group members. This introductory meeting would serve to set some initial rules and practices that have little flexibility. This would help solve the lack of participation and blame issues. This time would also be used to learn about the team members and their responsibilities. The next step would be to outline clearly the vision and objectives. This ranges from the view of the whole organization down to the various departments and individuals. Once objectives are outlined we can begin discussing new ways to improve processes. This includes both improvements and limitations. With processes and objectives established, the leader can now focus on guidance and evaluation. As employees adhere to their responsibilities periodic meetings can be used to seek guidance and report results. From here the leader can evaluate performance and make adjustments to further improve processes. This begins a cycle that will eventually lead to strong teamwork and efficient production.