Leadership and Teamwork

Leaders are found everywhere; they exist at all levels and certain people are so-called natural leaders. Being a leader is a position of high responsibility. A leader must honor this responsibility by producing appropriate results, both technically and socially. Contrary to popular belief, excellent leaders do more than lead; they serve a cause and other people.

Leadership

Having a good leader/boss is something all employees hope for. There are various ways to characterize this: A good leader is a person who has vision, is organized and enthusiastic, has a strong professional will and is able to take risks, although not too many or too large risks. A good leader can assess the future, has good vertical and horizontal communication skills and is willing to listen, respect, mentor and supervise the individual employees.

It is also important that the leader is able to manage, inspire, motivate and create results. Familiarity and comprehension of technical aspects is necessary. In addition, a leader must have the courage to hire, fire and assign the right people to a particular task. Finally a good leader displays personal humility and knows and cares about his/her own traits and how they impact others. Leadership can be described as a function of all these capabilities. These capabilities constitute a good foundation, but do not guarantee optimal leadership.

Teamwork Most people must work with others. Good teamwork is essential to a company’s success. The parameters for good teamwork are many and resemble those of good leadership. In functional teams, team members show respect for authority figures by willingly following instructions given to them and providing deliverables on time.

Guidelines for Team Leaders

  1. Understand the strengths and weaknesses of the individual team members
  2. Meet with team members regularly and get to know and honor individual team member goals
  3. Understand how people and personalities may match or mismatch in the team
  4. Obtain training in listening skills and conflict resolution and, if possible, allow team members to get similar training
  5. When conflict occurs, find ways to resolve it quickly and assertively
  6. Have frequent team meetings to ensure a high level of effective communication
  7. Have a positive outlook and share it generously

    8. Guidelines for Team Members

    1. Understand own work style and capabilities
    2. Trust others’ capabilities
    3. Understand that working with others is an opportunity to learn, teach and share
    4. Be willing to teach each other new techniques
    5. Share data and ideas with each other
    6. Help each other troubleshoot and identify root causes of problems
    7. When conflict occurs, find ways to resolve it quickly and assertively
    8. Do not be afraid to share the credit for work with others
    9. Have a positive outlook and share it generously
    10. Enjoy working with other people
    11. Enjoy working towards a common goal
    12. Take responsibility for the team environment

      13. Managing Projects and People

      Planning and executing projects is of the essence. This includes knowing what materials, tasks and deliverables are needed and at which time. Teams may perform pilot experiments and, after a successful trial, teach members to take over the function with supervision and oversight. When deviations from the plan occur, they must be reported and revisions must be made quickly. Often this involves time-consuming troubleshooting in order to identify the root cause of the deviation. Team leaders must be able to motivate and help team members through times of troubleshooting.

      Being a good mentor requires being able to show interest in the mentored employee in a way that recognizes the needs of the employee. Being a good example to the employee and guiding the mentored employee to a deeperunderstanding is part of this work. Supervisors who take time teaching, listening and communicating can create a positive learning environment. Colleague and peer interactions A team is often a collection of people with varying amounts of education, experience and responsibilities. Team dynamics, therefore, spans many levels and requires good communication skills both vertically and horizontally.The interaction between colleagues and peers is different from that within such teams because here the communication is horizontal only. Some guidelines to becoming a good colleague and peer include the following action items:

      1. Show interest and respect for colleagues and their project(s)
      2. Interact with colleagues
      3. Ask for help if it is needed
      4. Offer help if requested
      5. Avoid possessive or jealous behavior
      6. Synergize.

        7. Identifying with the Company Culture

        No matter which level of responsibility an employee has (CEO, boss, mentor, peer, etc.) he or she needs to align with the company goals and identity. Working occupies a majority of a person’s waking hours and being able to Satisfied employees are likely to want to do well and perform their very best. When all identify with the company culture and goals, fewer obstacles to reaching those goals are created.

        The first step towards identifying with the company goals is to obtain knowledge about them and one’s deliverables. The second step is to commit to reaching the goals and producing the deliverables. So while reaching one’s own deliverables, part of the company deliverables are met simultaneously. Perceiving oneself as being part of the company success rather than an individual success is a measure of how well one identifies with the company. identify with what that work accomplishes helps lead to satisfaction.