The Importance of Leadership
A project team can work well and achieve high results or work poorly. Of course, the personal competence of each participant plays a significant role in the discussion of team productivity. However, the importance of leadership remains a determining factor. Even when everyone inside a team is a professional, a project will not succeed if there is no team cohesion. During the learning process, we have repeatedly encountered the formation of new groups in which participants may not know each other well (Aldag & Kuzuhara, 2015). An essential role of the leader, in this case, is to create an atmosphere in which the team is most effective.
The training materials have demonstrated how relevant the trends in team building and training of participants are. The modern world is becoming more unified, so in large companies, it is often possible to meet representatives of different cultures, ages, and values. As a result, teamwork can be challenging to implement, which can lead to constant working conflicts. To neutralize such problems, leaders need to educate participants and create informal relationships that are useful to the company. As a project leader, I often had the opportunity to observe a lack of cohesion within groups. Unity arises when a group comes together for a common cause: its members are attached, supported, encouraged, and protected. This happens because they are aware of the need for each other to succeed. In addition, training will help to achieve an understanding of each other’s personalities and build trust between participants.
Before, I had not thought about how important the leadership role for teams is. This may remind of working in organizations where there is no structural corporate culture – employees do not consult with their supervisors and remain isolated. However, the course helped to understand that the leader shapes the vision of the project, sets long-term and immediate goals, and develops strategies for the project using the team’s intellectual potential (Aldag & Kuzuhara, 2015). In other words, the leader’s spontaneous thoughts, ideas, and suggestions should form a single picture. This image can be corrected and revised, but it is the leading manager and motivating factor in team interaction. In college, I was always trying on the role of a leader during project activities, so I can say that I understand the full extent of responsibility. In my future work, I would like to go into more detail about leadership styles and consider how they may differ and what the consequences may be.
Motivational Project Team
All team projects, regardless of their purpose and direction, use human resources. In other words, almost all the work is usually done by people involved in the project, on whom the final success depends 99 percent. With this in mind, it is crucial to find the right approach to each team member and motivate them to be productive (Kanfer et al., 2017). The uninspired, tired, or even irritated person not only does not contribute to the result but also will create an oppressive atmosphere. In order to avoid negative consequences, each member must be in the right mood (Aldag & Kuzuhara, 2015). Simple administration and control are not suitable for effective team motivation.
During my studies at Kogod School of Business, my understanding of the phenomenon of teamwork and the importance of motivation has changed somewhat. In general, course readings have shown a familiar pattern that underlies all motivational programs, from which a consequence follows an incentive. There was no doubt that encouragement plays an essential role in achieving effectiveness, but I had no idea how much the motivational system can be diverse. The textbook showed the eight fundamental rules that a leader must follow in order to reward team members. Before, I had never encountered such principles, so I tried to put them into practice during the training with particular interest. In addition, I had the opposite change of heart about the importance of setting goals for the team. As a leader, I realize that a group without a clear purpose has no chance to win (Kanfer et al., 2017). However, I have learned that the participants should have the most challenging tasks in order to achieve results. This was not consistent with my previous views, as I was convinced that the most effective way to set mini-goals and meet them on the way to the final one.
Conclusion
The training materials on the team motivation program helped me organize my thoughts. However, the critical issue that remained after the training course has yet to be resolved. The topic that excites me more is whether or not each team member should be singled out, and a differentiated bonus system introduced. In college, during group projects, I mainly took the leadership initiative, hence the increased interest in motivating colleagues. On the one hand, the training materials say that this practice can increase the productivity of the project team (Aldag & Kuzuhara, 2015). However, a policy of separate encouragement, it seems, can create an unhealthy atmosphere in the group when, due to peculiarities of psychology and physiology, some participants show results that are not as productive as more productive ones. Of course, the answer to this question can only be found in personal practice, so I plan to devote future research to this phenomenon.
References
- Aldag, R., & Kuzuhara, L. (2015). Creating high performance teams: Applied strategies and tools for managers and team members. Routledge.
- Kanfer, R., Frese, M., & Johnson, R. E. (2017). Motivation related to work: A century of progress. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), 338-351.