Team leadership at the 100-foot level

摘要

Since teams continue to be an important part of an organization's design, understanding how to enhance their success should be a primary objective. Research consistently shows that team leaders exert a disproportionate effect on the success or failure of organizational work teams, making leadership an area that managers cannot ignore. While creating an organizational vision or inspiring others to follow are important leadership traits when viewing leadership at a very high level, the reality is that most team leaders work at a demanding operational level, which requires specific knowledge and skills. This article presents the topic of team leadership by discussing why team leadership should be of interest to organizational managers, presenting various knowledge and skill areas where leaders should demonstrate proficiency, and providing an assessment tool that helps organizations evaluate leader effectiveness.