Abstract
Teamwork is a dynamic and complex process that enables the exchange of diverse opinions and perspectives. This study focuses on exploring the issue of team performance in connection to leadership approaches, team dynamics, and motivation, as well as diversity. It was found that the most productive and effective teams are the ones that can foster an inclusive and welcoming environment in which diverse opinions are celebrated while decision-making is shared. Moreover, the concept of shared leadership is explored in detail as an emerging framework to capture many workplaces due to the changing demands of leadership and the extension of leaders’ roles and responsibilities. The current analysis contributes to the body of research on team performance and effectiveness by drawing from practical experiences and evidence from scholarly literature.
Introduction
Teamwork has been a cornerstone of human accomplishment through centuries, which is why it was the subject of vast psychological inquiry for many scholars. However, as teams worldwide are forced to reorganize their work due to changing environments and market expectations, the nature of teamwork is shifting, thus offering new avenues for research. It is essential to explore what makes teams productive as well as factors that may hinder their goal accomplishment. For most of the twentieth century, teamwork was focused on individual jobs and the distribution of responsibilities among members (Reeves, Xyrichis, and Zwarenstein, 2017). This meant that the emphasis was placed on the personal characteristics of workers and discovering what makes them good team players. Nevertheless, with the restructuring of teamwork, individuals had to become more adaptive and interconnected with others.
This study will explore teamwork within the modern organizational context as responsibilities are getting blurred and leadership does not always entail one specific person (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2017). The goal of the current research is to determine factors that contribute to team effectiveness and productivity using both a systematic literature review and the assessment of team dynamics using a real-life example from personal practice. The study aims to answer the following questions:
- What is team effectiveness and how is it achieved in the organizational context?
- What is the connection between leadership styles and team effectiveness? Are there leadership approaches that are more suitable for making teams productive than others?
- What qualities do modern teams exhibit? How do members work collaboratively toward goal achievement?
- Based on personal experience working in a team, what strengths and weaknesses can be identified?
Due to the changing organizational environments and shifting team dynamics, it is expected that team members will have new expectations regarding their work and will value honesty and transparency from their leaders.
Literature Review
Research on Groups and Teams
Teams are complicated and dynamic entities that are continuously subjected to changes to their structure and responsibilities, which means that their members are expected to meet due to the varying situational demands. They are defined as “two or more individuals acting dynamically, interdependently, and adaptively toward a common goal, with each member having a specific role to fill within the boundary of the team” (Shuffler et al., 2018, p. 688). Following the logic of the definition, it can be inferred that team members have various attitudes and behaviors that are continuously shaped and influenced by others and vice versa. Besides, teams often change as a result of other factors, such as market dynamics or individual personalities.
Thus, as a result of the pressures of competition, the modern workforce requires to have fast response times, increased expertise levels, as well as shared knowledge pools that only productive teams can bring forth (Delice, Rousseau and Feitosa, 2019). This suggests that teams usually go through different stages as they grow and work to find solutions to problems and deliver results to meet the demands of the ever-changing market (Reeves et al., 2017). Therefore, teams tend to reach new levels of productivity and effectiveness after they fulfill their previous accomplishments and expectations (Delice et al., 2019). The positive behaviors, cognitions, and attitudes are instrumental in making teamwork a dynamic and adaptive process that is conducive to goal achievement.
Studies on Team Effectiveness
Team effectiveness refers to the capacity of a group of people, who usually have complementary and interconnected skills, to work together to reach the goals set by leaders, members, or other higher-standing third parties (Greenfield Pace, 2016). Various models of team effectiveness have been used to understand the most appropriate techniques of management to ensure that teams show the best levels of performance. For example, the GRPI Model introduced by Rubin, Plovnik, and Fry, posits that there are four contributors to team effectiveness, such as goals, roles, procedures, and interpersonal relationships (Greenfield Pace, 2016). The goals are necessary to establish to ensure that team members have clearly defined objectives and expectations. The distribution of roles and responsibilities should be well-defined for team members to show the highest levels of effectiveness (Kozlowski, 2017). Processes and procedures represent the manner in which they work within a team is done, ranging from decision-making methods to the definition of roles and responsibilities within the team (Gadirajurrett et al., 2018). Finally, effective teams are the ones that have a high quality of interpersonal relationships and a level of communication when establishing ground rules and negotiating processes (Morrison-Smith and Ruiz, 2020).
Thus, while the theories of team effectiveness vary, researchers find that the high levels of performance within groups depend on the nature and the quality of relationships as well s dedication to the assignments presented before them. Thus, to enhance effectiveness, it is necessary to control the inputs and processes, which inevitably will shape team outputs (Sommer, Howell and Hadley, 2016). According to Kozlowski (2017), team inputs represent the makeup of the team in terms of the individual differences of its members, such as their experiences, personality, cognitive abilities, and more. Processes are actions that are relevant to team members as they combine the resources for addressing task goals and demands (Hagemann and Kluge, 2017). Outputs usually refer to performance, the satisfaction of group members, and team effectiveness. While such a framework is important, it is also necessary to consider perspectives emphasizing the dynamic and adaptive aspects of interactions between team members. Specifically, studying the impact of leadership on teams’ performance can reveal whether different styles of leadership yield varied outputs.
The Impact of Leadership on Team Effectiveness
A significant bulk of scholarly research has been dedicated to studying the impact of leadership on team effectiveness as the development of high-functioning teams within organizations does not occur quickly. As teams form, their members intertwine personalities, motivations, and proficiencies, with leadership being expected to establish and define team goals and outline structures (Gadirajurrett et al., 2018). Leadership denotes the process of facilitating both individual and collective efforts to accomplish the common objective (Greenfield Pace, 2016). Therefore, whatever leaders do and say, their behaviors and ideas will affect team structure, work processes, and effectiveness.
Previous studies revealed that there were two styles of leadership that impact team performance. The first style is vertical leadership, which implies the appointment of a leader based on their seniority and experience, and the individual selected usually holds the authority for critical decision-making within their teams (Greenfield Pace, 2016). Transformational leadership is an example of the vertical approach, which has shown to be effective in promoting organizational performance (Wheelan, 2016). Horizontal leadership is the second style in which the members of a team support their leader and thus can contribute to maximizing the utility of their teamwork. Such an approach, represented by shared leadership, for example, has shown to provide a competitive advantage to organizations (Greenfield Pace, 2016). Compared with vertical leadership, the horizontal approach enables team members to successfully share their responsibilities for achieving the set goals.
Transformational leadership (TL) refers to the style of a leader’s behavior in which they help followers to exceed their initial expectations of performance by facilitating changes to their personal interests, values, and norms (Steinmann, Klug and Maier, 2018). A transformational leader is expected to share their knowledge and expertise with team members to enhance their effectiveness. TLs share their personal ethical and organizational morals with their followers and, as a result of that, the intrinsic motivation of team members becomes stronger, alongside with their organizational commitment (Metwally, Ruiz-Palomino, Metwally and Garzia, 2019). Intrinsic motivation underlines the long-term vision that unites team members and promotes innovative problem-solving by means of increased team effectiveness (Choi, Kim and Kang, 2017). This suggests that team members that have high intrinsic motivation perceive themselves as a unit and have an idea about their roles and responsibilities as well as the best ways of completing them.
Besides strengthening team members’ intrinsic motivation, TLs help their subordinates to think outside the box, causing them to visualize the big picture of their shared goals and objectives while also ensuring the commitment to accomplishing the vision (Metwally et al., 2019). As a result of that, team members can develop and strengthen their skills for enhancing problem-solving capabilities (Steinmann et al., 2018). Besides, taking on the role model position, TLs enable the sharing of innovative and creative ideas and knowledge between team members as they work cooperatively and efficiently (Steinmann et al., 2018). Team members who view their leaders as role models are more likely to be proactive in sharing their ideas, ultimately increasing team effectiveness (Metwally et al., 2019). Therefore, transformational leadership has been shown to improve team effectiveness through promoting an innovative organizational culture in which employees feel challenged to think of new ideas at every step of performance.
Besides the positive impact of vertical leadership, in the form of the transformational approach, it is also essential to explore the effect of the horizontal approach, shared leadership (SL). SL is defined as the process of having an influence on others “to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how it can be done effectively, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives” (Choi et al., 2017, p. 380). When the responsibilities of leaders are shared, it is expected that specific characteristics are present between team members, ranging from mutual ideals to collaborative decision-making, will influence good leader-follower relationships (Steinmann et al., 2018). These findings suggest that shared leadership positively influences team effectiveness as it promotes teamwork and shared mentality among members.
Research consistently shows that SL improves effective team decision-making among members by allowing them to share diverse knowledge related to their careers. It can also facilitate the development of strong connections between employees and managers, which develops a consistent and welcoming work environment (Choi et al., 2017). SLS can share their ideas and vision with workers and motivate them to participate in establishing and implementing the plan of action (Choi et al., 2017). By doing this, the shared perception of leadership increases the motivation of employees to improve teamwork and output (Hanaysha, 2016). SL is closely associated with the process of knowledge-sharing, and leaders that use the approach can motivate organizational learning at the group level, causing an improvement in team effectiveness. Nevertheless, even though leadership is crucial for shaping the desired levels of performance among personnel to ensure that they can meet the expected goals, a particular combination of skills, behaviors, and competencies creates an environment in which performance is continuously on the rise.
Skills and Behaviors Leading to High Performance
Besides establishing a positive environment through good leadership and supporting workers throughout goal accomplishment, researchers have found that specific workplace skills and behaviors that can lead to high performance. Specifically, effective communication between team members allows for enacting relevant roles, shared knowledge, mutual respect and problem-solving, as well as increased transparency and consistency in the fulfillment of roles and responsibilities (Kim et al., 2018). Both in-person and remote communication count as contributors to either positive or negative performance among team members (Pilkienė et al., 2018). When individuals interact in person, team members usually find it easier to persuade one another and share their perspectives on issues at hand (Kim et al., 2018).
This results in building stronger connections by means of facilitating a sense of community and dynamic interactions (Xiao, Martin, Buchel and Huang, 2014). This suggests problem-solving can be better achieved with the help of face-to-face communication because there is a sense of urgency as everyone involved is physically present and expect to find instant solutions (Choi et al., 2017). Moreover, in-person communication among team members enables increased participation through engagement and collaboration (Xiao et al., 2014). Thus, when team members are engaged in the process of finding solutions in person, they tend to show higher performance, which suggests that face-to-face communication is among the behaviors that can strengthen team performance in the long run.
The steps taken to ensure transparency within teams are among the foundations of high-performance teams. For team members to be more motivated and engaged in collaboration and problem-solving, it is essential that they know the reasons behind their actions and the expectations set for them (Pilkienė et al., 2018). This finding suggests that establishing the context is instrumental in the engagement of those involved in the accomplishment of the set goals. The culture of transparency cultivated within teams also entails gauging the strengths and weaknesses of workers within an organization (Wei and Yazdanifard, 2014). By doing so, it becomes possible to set a clear understanding of the set goals and how to accomplish them within the context of the existing team dynamics (Kim et al., 2018). It is essential that organizations work thoroughly on this issue and set clear and explicit goals and opportunities as well as boundaries to guide the diverse teams toward common goals. Finally, transparency helps create a favorable environment in which team members can acknowledge each other’s work, which, in turn, will help morale. The overall appreciation and positive feedback of the work being done can contribute to improved performance if practiced on a consistent basis.
When team members show good behaviors and exhibit skills that benefit their productivity, it is possible to implement positive reinforcements as a strategy of boosting performance and effectiveness. As suggested by Wei and Yazdanifard (2014), positive reinforcements in the workplace setting represent techniques for eliciting and strengthening new behaviors through presenting rewards and incentives. Thus, managers may use chances of promotion, increased payments, verbal praise and positive feedback, or fringe benefits in order to reward high-performing team members. It is also possible to differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. For workers, intrinsic rewards represent intangible phenomena such as acknowledgment and praise, while extrinsic rewards represent tangibles ranging from a flexible schedule to a salary increase.
Researchers have found that both intrinsic and extrinsic positive reinforcements have been linked to workers’ improved performance because they are instrumental in strengthening and increasing the prevalence of expected behaviors. When they know that salaries, fringe benefits, and performance-based incentives are offered in return for their effectiveness, team members are more effective because the prospects seem attractive (Wei and Yazdanifard, 2014). Nevertheless, even though monetary rewards result in the increased effectiveness of employees, it is also vital for managers and leaders to consider non-monetary encouragement to sustain morale and establish a favorable environment within the given setting.
Team Assessment
Team X illustrates the example of a horizontal approach to leadership as its leader was selected from the pool of the members with the individual not having any authority, either professional or personal, over others. In the current organizational climate in which individuals are forced to change and adapt continuously, horizontal leadership has been becoming more relevant than ever (Pilkienė, 2018). The model of communication between individuals within the horizontal leadership approach entails mutual support and the mutual monitoring of team members. Researchers define mutual support as the process of team members supporting one another to reach their occupational goals and strengthening their capacity to be effective both individually and in group contexts (Wang et al., 2020). Mutual monitoring entails being sensitive to the quality of work, performance, status, and errors that they may make in their work. In horizontal leadership, team members tend to pay closer attention to what others are doing and negotiate to find solutions to emerging issues.
Besides the application of the horizontal approach in the form of shared leadership, Team X has also shown the characteristics of the vertical approach as illustrated in transformational leadership. Transformational leadership has been among the contributing factors to the effectiveness of the team as it allowed to create a positive environment in which individuals stayed supported and engaged. As Steinmann et al. (2018) suggested, TLs can motivate their teams by “heightening their awareness and value of designated goals, encouraging them to transcend self-interest for the good of the organization or team, and activating their higher-order needs” (p. 2338). The transformational leader in Team X made such steps as they consistently used their charisma to identify with the team members and get them “on the same page.”
The combination of vertical and horizontal approaches to leadership created a team environment in which both team members and the leader can take advantage of their positions. It was determined that because the leader did not have more experience than their team members, it was necessary to share some responsibilities while also finding the strength to take the leading role and inspire others. On the one hand, the leader exhibited the traits of a transformational leader who inspires and motivates their followers to achieve common goals. Specifically, the leader was effective at instilling the team spirit and uniting everyone around the shared vision and goals, which is an essential transformational leadership trait. In such a scenario, the leader is instrumental in creating a vision of future plans for their team and expressing confidence in the fact that they will achieve high-order objectives.
On the other hand, shared leadership was illustrated by the leader’s continuous communication that they are willing to delegate some of the power and influence within the team without the need to step down from their role. Shared leadership was established with the help of ongoing communication, transparency, facilitating autonomy, as well as openness to the suggestions of others. Such a dynamic was interesting to observe within Team X because there is a stereotype that most teams must be organized on the premise that the most competent and most powerful individuals rule them. However, with the changing workplace dynamics and the increased reliance on digital communication, which especially became relevant for organizations due to the pandemic, new leadership models emerge. Thus, the smartest and most effective teams are the ones that can have quick access to instant collective knowledge offered by each member.
The combination of transformational and shared leadership styles created a positive approach conducive to team member participation, continuous collaboration, as well as mutual support among team members. The generally positive attitude that the leader of the team established was critical for facilitating improved performance and team effectiveness. Within such an environment, Team X members felt comfortable with their positions and were willing to share their ideas and perspectives on the issues that emerged throughout their workdays. Interestingly, great ideas on problem-solving emerged during everyday work as team members were engaged in performance and came up with small hacks and suggestions on how to be more effective. This occurred because the autonomy and responsibility given to team members allowed them to notice that something was not working the way it should have been.
For example, the team members agreed that every person would have a spreadsheet to track their everyday tasks and ensure that they meet deadlines. However, some team members found it difficult to design a system that would work for them, while others overcompensated and included too many details in the spreadsheets. One day, team member J got visibly frustrated with the spreadsheet and said out loud, “why on Earth did we not make a common spreadsheet, so we follow the same formula?” This was a brilliant idea that no one had considered previously. As the team started discussing the issue, they agreed that, indeed, it would have been just easier to make the team’s progress visible in the same place so that everyone would be on the same page. The same day, Team X’s leader created a spreadsheet combining the templates of several employees and held a short meeting explaining how to fill it in. From then on, the team was pleased with the structure and did not have any issues tracking progress.
The example with the spreadsheets showed that the combination of transformational and shared leadership within Team X encouraged transparency, supported autonomy, and provided a positive environment in which members felt safe to share either their frustration or happiness. Thus, in the context of a relatively small team, smart leadership means considering the opinions and perspectives of each individual to enable processes that will be instrumental in solving problems and making the work more productive. This became possible as the team leader was always open to suggestions and explored options together with team members instead of dictating rules and assigning tasks without clarifying them.
Team X’s combination of shared and transformational leadership allowed to have less conflict in the workplace, enabled team members to reach consensus quicker and established more cohesion. It is notable that the leadership strategy implemented within the team called for functional diversity, which denotes a team consisting of individuals with various educational and training backgrounds working toward the same goal (Hofhuis et al., 2018). The impact of diversity on team performance has been widely studied in recent literature, and the results have varied. Researchers found a positive, negative, or absent relationship between diversity and performance (Hofhuis et al., 2018). Nevertheless, the diversity of Team X showed to have a positive influence on performance due to several reasons.
The members of Team X were highly diverse and came from various backgrounds, which facilitated the exchange of diverse perspectives based on their experience. The team’s diversity was reflected in the varied ages of its team members, their ethnicity and race, gender, and their previous professional experiences. The diversity of opinions that resulted from having a varied team allowed to boost performance (Raithel, Knippenberg, and Stam, 2021). The expression of divergent ideas and thoughts as a result of the diversity of the team made the workers more alert and critical of the implemented problem-solving strategies. In turn, this enabled the reduction in groupthink risks, more effective decision-making, and improved team performance (Hofhuis et al., 2018). This shows that the extended pool of available knowledge and experiences of team members enabled the elaboration of task-relevant information, which played a crucial role in decision-making.
It is notable that not all teams gain value from diversity due to the risks associated with social categorization and the emergence of stereotypes based on the characteristics of specific groups. However, Team X stood out for its positive approach to diversity and welcoming it from the very start. It is essential that when a team is being formed and developed, the need for diversity is identified and communicated. Once the team members are on the same page in terms of accepting diversity and celebrating it, the leader was tasked with addressing all aspects of diversity that could be relevant to the accomplishment of goals. The leader took the role of the advocate and moderator, who enabled productive conversations between team members who are likely to get into conflict with one another. Specifically, it was important to ensure that older team members do not assume that they are higher in position than their younger colleagues as age differences could play a role in disrupting the performance.
The leader created a specific diversity vision for the team by outlining inclusive ground rules which everyone must follow. Several examples of the ground rules were as follows:
- “Everyone is welcomed to say what they think freely.”
- “Opinions should be expressed without criticism and attacks; constructive feedback for problem-solving is welcomed.”
- “We do not discriminate due to age, gender, race, religion, and other characteristics.”
- “Take responsibility for your opinions and perspectives without putting the blame on others.”
- “Be empathetic toward others and sensitive to different communication styles.”
The ground rules that Team X’s leader established were instrumental for establishing an environment in which the value of diversity was agreed upon and understood. While there were some instances in which some team members were disrespectful toward others, usually due to generational differences, the leader consistently reiterated the ground rules and encouraged conflicting parties to take responsibility for their actions. Over time, team members learned that there are respectful and responsible ways to express their disagreement with one another. They adhered to the communication model of “I have a different view on this issue, and this is why” instead of saying “It does not matter what others think, but this is my opinion.” While it took some time to reach this model of communication among some team members, it was imperative for bringing Team X on a new level of understanding of support, making it stronger and more productive.
Even though dealing with diverse perspectives and experiences in the team setting was challenging in the beginning, diversity brought immense success in the long run. Both inclusion and diversity allowed the team leader and others involved in shared leadership to gain access to a significant pool of talent for enabling a high-performing team. The establishment of a culture that celebrates diversity creates a sense of belonging for team members who, in turn, give back through their engagement and dedication to goal accomplishment. As Team X worked together for some time within the overall positive environment, its members got the feeling of psychological safety, which led to mutual respect among workers. Trust and respect showed to be especially important as teams had to shift to new hybrid models of work due to the pandemic. Trust in the team environment enabled a sense of security and increased engagement.
Finally, diversity was instrumental for Team X to reach better outcomes in the decision-making processes for resolving the issues that occur during their work. With diversity comes a variety of perspectives because team members bring up new ideas based on their opinions and lived experiences, and it is the responsibility of the leader to collect the information for share decision-making. Through ongoing collaboration and communication between team members, it became possible to make better decisions based on facts. Inclusive leadership and management of team activities also optimize productivity and increase performance.
To conclude, the main advantages of Team X were the combination of shared and transformational leadership and dedication to diversity. While there were some challenges, such as generational issues and the lack of initial work structure, the close collaboration between the leader and team members allowed to resolve issues and make way to productivity, engagement, and mutual support (Hofhuis et al., 2018). The combination of shared and transformational leadership was instrumental for allowing effective decision-making without placing too much emphasis on the leader as a figure that must know everything. Instead, Team X’s leader took a role model position and exhibited behaviors that they expected team members to show during their work. By being fair, respectful, and open to answering any questions, the leader created an environment in which team members felt safe to share their opinions and respectfully disagree with one another. Shared leadership allowed to maximize the resources available to the team by empowering its members and allowing them to take leading positions in their respective areas of expertise. Such an approach was innovative and on par with the current market climate in which the demands of leadership are increasing, and the job of the leader became too extensive for one person.
Celebrating diversity and inclusion and creating an environment in which all team members are treated equally and with respect was also instrumental for increased performance. Even though some issues emerged as diverse opinions inevitably lead to conflict, setting ground rules and mediating discussions allowed to bring team members on the same page. Thus, while giving autonomy to team members through shared leadership and decision-making, the leader took the initiative to hold everyone to the same standards of respect and acceptance when it comes to diversity. Team X was not perfect because there is no perfection when it comes to teamwork; however, it showed that workplace issues should be resolved respectfully and with the dedication to diversity and shared decision-making.
Assessment of Personal Abilities
Working in a team, a person gets the opportunity to look at oneself from the perspective of others and, through self-reflection, identify the strengths and weaknesses that either support or hinder work within the team setting. Getting feedback from teammates, I discovered that honest and open communication was the main strength for which others valued me. Open communication is a component of effective teamwork and leadership as outlined in theories of leadership, collaboration, and motivation (Hofhuis et al., 2018). For example, within the shared leadership framework, project team members are more likely to engage in mutual leadership by being involved in constructive communication (Wu and Cormican, 2020). Thus, individuals who are open and transparent in their communication can bring more information and resources to their relevant tasks while also experiencing high levels of commitment (Wu and Cormican, 2020). This means that if teams have more members who exhibit open communication, increased commitment and engagement is more likely to occur within the shared leadership environment.
The openness in communication was further strengthened by the overall positive environment in the workplace in which team members are empowered to share their thoughts without the fear of being judged or facing repercussions. Being open came naturally because the leader of the team always encouraged different opinions and facilitated discussions among like- and different-minded team members (Wu and Cormican, 2020). The cultural trait of open communication aligns with the theoretical frameworks of a diverse and inclusive workplace. As suggested by Wolfgruber, Sturmer, and Einwiller (2021), communication becomes more open and fruitful when individuals have a “sense of being a part of the organization system,” which means that environments are conducive to communication are crucial. For instance, if the team did not practice transparency and inclusion, being an open communicator would have been considered a negative rather than a positive trait. The freedom and transparency celebrated within the team allowed me to point out any inconsistencies or tensions and voice opinions about them.
Another important quality that I exhibited when working in a team was holding myself accountable. Accountability in team members entails taking responsibility for errors or mistakes and looking for appropriate solutions (Coryell, 2019). By being responsible, one understands how their actions impact the entire group, which allows a person to learn from their errors and get more respect from the team. Within the shared leadership theoretic framework, accountability represents one of the important components that allows for the distribution of responsibility and decision-making (Wu and Cormican, 2020). This means that when the majority of team members show high levels of accountability, they become more efficient in their shared leadership efforts. Shared leadership implemented through accountability has consistently been shown to improve team performance in practice and in the research literature (Wu and Cormican, 2020).
There were several examples of accountability exhibited within the team setting. For instance, there was an instance when I got highly irritated with my team members as they sometimes got distracted and delayed task completion. Instead of communicating with them privately and explaining that their lack of engagement was distracting, I complained to the group chat, which caused some arguments. As the entire team got more agitated and the work was still not being done, I realized I had done the wrong thing. Thus, I initiated a group meeting and said that I should not have exposed my teammates, taking accountability for my actions. Even though I was always open to sharing my opinions about various issues in the workplace, I always held myself accountable for any mistakes in communication to foster a positive team environment.
In contrast to the strength of open communication when working in a team, a weakness observed during that time was the lack of support for other team members. This is challenging because the absence of support on the part of team members can limit productivity and cause conflicts in cases when they could have been avoided. The lack of support for others may be a reflection of the absence of awareness of diverse perspectives, experiences, and concerns that other people have. This is associated with reduced cultural understanding and empathy, which is something on which each team member must work. The lack of awareness of the issues experienced by diverse can lead to poor decision-making and limited personal connections between employees.
It is notable that being culturally aware does not mean that team members should compromise their own culture or sacrifice values and identity for others. Instead, it is concerned with having a clearer understanding of how to best adapt one’s approaches, thoughts, and decisions to facilitate positive outcomes within the context of cross-cultural interactions. Working on one’s cultural competence allows individuals to understand and appreciate their own culture, empathize with the people that form a team, stop making judgment calls on others’ actions, as well as reduce unwanted errors and wasted time. Thus, it is crucial for me as a team member to practice cultural awareness and sensitivity in order to be more supportive of others when working in a team. While the lack of support that I have exhibited was not based on cultural biases because I do not discriminate against others, it was the lack of awareness of diverse experiences and their impact on behaviors.
To conclude the self-assessment, it must be mentioned that working in a team setting is not an easy task because there are multiple perspectives and opinions concentrated in one place. Even the most culturally aware and accepting individuals may struggle with teamwork. The identified strengths and weaknesses related to teamwork allow considering areas for self-improvement and reflection for becoming an improved and more productive member of a team. While open communication and honesty are imperative for improving collaboration and transparency within the shared leadership model, it is also necessary to be accountable for one’s actions and words. Becoming a more supportive and culturally competent team member is the goal for future improvement, which entails educating oneself about diverse opinions and perspectives to be a more aware and empathetic individual. Overall, even though teamwork is challenging, it brings out the desire to be more productive and effective through collaboration and the exchange of diverse ideas.
Conclusion
In concluding the analysis, it becomes clear that there is no set framework that can guarantee high levels of team effectiveness, engagement, and informed decision-making. Research shows that team members value transparency, communication, and incentivization when it comes to sustaining high levels of performance. Moreover, both vertical and horizontal leadership, such as transformational and shared approaches, can be applied to teams depending on their dynamics and expectations. As shown by the team assessment, transformational and shared leadership can be combined to create a unique and team-oriented approach that meets the needs of a specific group of people. While shared leadership allowed to distribute power and influence between several team members, transformational leadership made the leader take on the inspirational, motivational, and moderating role. Such a combination of leadership styles enabled workers’ increased effectiveness as well as improved engagement.
The analysis also revealed that team diversity could positively impact performance. The varied opinions and perspectives that individuals from diverse backgrounds offer create a pool of information that can be used for improving performance. Under the conditions in which team leaders welcome diversity and set ground rules for conduct, diversity has shown to increase team effectiveness and facilitate mutual respect and support between team members. In such a context, leaders play an essential role in not only setting expectations of inclusion and acceptance but also managing conflicts and misunderstandings. Therefore, when a team environment is conducive of support and a positive outlook on the work being done, it is more likely that it will benefit from diversity. It is necessary to pay close attention to the way in which team members interact with each other within their settings and promote activities and strategies that they can use to their advantage and become more productive.
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