Introduction
Healthcare facilities and business organizations should be managed by individuals who possess adequate leadership skills. Such managers should liaise with their subordinates, influence their behaviors, offer timely updates, and communicate with them effectively. Competent leaders will engage their followers, identify and tackle their problems, and empower them to deliver meaningful results. Several issues might arise when leaders are engaging others. One of these concerns is the inability to achieve the outlined goals.
This issue arises when the leader is incompetent and incapable of addressing his or her followers’ needs. On the other hand, one potential outcome when there is appropriate engagement is positive team performance. This paper describes the major aspects associated with team leadership. The first part discusses the importance of leadership in influencing followers. The second section analyzes the challenges that might arise when leading members of a given team. The third section addresses the ability of such a team to achieve its goals. The final part gives a detailed summary of the paper.
Leadership in Engaging Others
Leaders should be aware of their followers’ differences, obligations, goals, and demands in order to form successful teams. This approach makes it easier for them to engage others, support their needs, and improve organizational performance. The first aspect of resourceful leadership is the ability to create the best working environment for every employee (Egener et al., 2017). The practice ensures that the right vision is communicated efficiently. The strategy also empowers leaders to engage and guide their followers.
Leadership promotes powerful practices such as critical thinking, teamwork, communication, and collaboration. Individuals tasked with leadership roles should implement powerful action plans. They must also attract the right people and encourage them to focus on the best outcomes. There are specific attributes of leadership that empower managers to engage others successfully. Emerging hurdles or challenges are usually addressed immediately. Communication procedures are improved to meet every person’s needs (Michalec, Veloski, Hojat, & Tykocinski, 2014). Such measures encourage employees to be involved in their respective working environments.
However, leaders face numerous obstacles whenever engaging others. For example, some people will be against new decisions or change processes. This challenge will affect the leader’s objectives. Some members of a team might be opposed to the outlined aims. Additionally, the leader might be unable to encourage such individuals to be part of the process (Makikangas, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2017). Disagreements will also make it impossible for a leader to engage others. Despite the nature of these obstacles, competent managers should identify and address the major issues affecting their teams. They should also use their competencies to implement appropriate change models (Reed, 2017). The move will maximize the level of engagement.
Practitioners and physicians should utilize their leadership proficiencies to establish new teams and empower their followers (Arroliga, Huber, Myers, Dieckert, & Wesson, 2014). Members of every team should be engaged using powerful strategies. For instance, leaders of such teams must address emerging conflicts, provide adequate resources, promote collaboration, and communicate with their followers effectively (Marchuk, 2014). The targeted followers will be willing to make desirable decisions and solve their differences amicably. Consequently, every participant will exhibit powerful leadership qualities and ensure quality services are available to more patients. Health departments and hospitals managed by competent leaders will ensure their workers are engaged.
Team Evaluation
Handling Differences
The team presented in the YouTube video “Engaging Others” does not realize its aims. It is notable that the members of the team exhibit inappropriate behaviors. The individuals are unable to handle their differences. For example, some members do not care about the expressions and views of their teammates (Whitemouse Productions, 2016). The team leader fails to portray the required level of assertiveness. Issues such as ineffective communication and lack of respect affect the team’s ability to deal with emerging differences.
Team Order
The video reveals that the members of the team are unable to maintain the required order. The leader does not portray exemplary skills. Malpractice encourages individuals to display detestable behaviors (Whitemouse Productions, 2016). The members are unable to agree on issues such as dressing. Since the teammates come from different generations, it becomes impossible for them to agree. The absence of a team order explains why meaningful results are not realized.
Communication
Ineffective communication is evident in the video since the members do not listen to one another. Teammates lack adequate listening skills (Whitemouse Productions, 2016). Every individual presents his or her opinions without taking those of the other members seriously. Consequently, this kind of communication affects the team’s goals.
Team Cohesiveness
This element is critical because it ensures that members of a given team focus on similar aims. Successful groups realize their objectives within the specified period (Stoller, 2014). The teammates do not respect one another. They are unable to address one issue before moving to the next. They also appear to disrespect their leader. Such issues disorient the team’s cohesiveness, effectiveness, and performance.
Team Development
The policy review committee presented in the video has been established to improve the nature of corporate governance. The team leader has selected several persons to be part of the amendment process. However, the managers are unable to support the intended goals. The session is unsuccessful since the members lack decorum (Whitemouse Productions, 2016). The individuals also fail to respect each other. The leader is unable to empower and engage his followers.
Cynthia is observed to demonstrate a commendable action. She affirms that members of the team should not use their mobile phones. The malpractice, according to her, is inappropriate. The video also exposes several non-productive behaviors. The first one occurs when the members interrupt one another. The misbehavior disheartens the individuals from expressing their opinions. The second one is that individuals such as Michael use their mobile phones instead of focusing on targeted issues (Whitemouse Productions, 2016). Malpractice affects the team’s cohesiveness. The third malpractice is observed when the members fail to respect one another.
The dysfunction of the presented team must have been catalyzed by various factors. The main cause is the leader’s incapability to engage others efficiently. She is unassertive and incapable of facilitating efficient communication (Whitemouse Productions, 2016). She also fails to implement a powerful protocol to guide the members’ behaviors.
The presented team is affected negatively by the members’ generational differences. Appropriate action plans can, therefore, be used to ensure the individuals work as a productive group. The first approach is the implementation of a positive culture. This strategy can encourage individuals to collaborate and liaise with each other. The individuals will be encouraged to support one another (Egener et al., 2017). The second action plan is efficient leadership. The leader can identify and appreciate the unique needs of every member. This understanding will ensure appropriate leadership styles are applied to support the team.
The team is composed of professionals from different disciplines. The group can be supported using powerful approaches to improve the level of collaboration. The first strategy is known as coordination. The move will encourage the teammates to appreciate their professional differences. The second one is role modeling (Stoller, 2014). The leader will act as a role model and implement the best group practices.
Powerful action plans can be implemented to ensure the individuals work as a team. The first one is the power of leadership. The group leader can encourage the members to work together and focus on the outlined guidelines. The second strategy entails the use of a code of conduct (Michalec et al., 2014). This code will dictate every individual’s behaviors and decisions. The third action plan is the use of a powerful change model. For example, Kurt Lewin’s (refreeze-change-freeze) theory can be used to transform every individual’s mindset (Egener et al., 2017). The fourth strategy is that of role modeling. The leader will guide, educate, and sensitize the followers about the best actions.
Concluding Summary
The described team has been unsuccessful due to ineffective leadership practices. The leader lacks adequate competencies that could have been used to engage others. The analyzed team can be supported using appropriate action plans such as role modeling, code of conduct, adequate leadership, and change implementation. The lesson gained from the exercise is that proficient leaders should use their skills to empower others, address conflicts, and improve communication. With effective leadership, the members of a given team can act responsibly and focus on every targeted goal. The approach can address most of the malpractices identified in the above team and promote desirable behaviors.
References
Arroliga, A. C., Huber, C., Myers, J. D., Dieckert, J. P., & Wesson, D. (2014). Leadership in health care for the 21st century: Challenges and opportunities. The American Journal of Medicine, 127(3), 246-249. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2013.11.004
Egener, B. E., Mason, D. J., McDonald, W. J., Okun, S., Gaines, M. E., Fleming, D. A., … Andresen, M. (2017). The charter on professionalism for health care organizations. Academic Medicine, 92(8), 1091-1099. Web.
Makikangas, A., Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2017). Antecedents of daily team job crafting. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 1(1), 1-13. Web.
Marchuk, A. (2014). A personal nursing philosophy in practice. Journal of Neonatal Nursing, 20(6), 266-273. Web.
Michalec, B., Veloski, J. J., Hojat, M., & Tykocinski, M. L. (2014). Identifying potential engaging leaders within medical education: The role of positive influence on peers. Medical Teacher, 37(7), 677-683. Web.
Reed, P. (2017). Translating nursing philosophy for practice and healthcare policy. Nursing Science Quarterly, 30(3), 1-12. Web.
Stoller, J. K. (2014). Help wanted: Developing clinical leaders. Perspectives on Medical Education, 3(3), 233-237. Web.
Whitemouse Productions. (2016). Engaging others [Video file]. Web.