Team Leadership

Teams are not right for every situation, but much work in organizations is interdependent, where we rely on other individuals and departments for information or resources in order to accomplish their work. When tasks are highly interdependent, a team can be the best approach for ensuring the level of coordination, information sharing, and exchange of materials necessary for successful task accomplishment.

A team is a unit of two or more people who interact and coordinate their work to accomplish a shared goal or purpose to which they are committed and hold themselves mutually accountable.

The concept of teamwork implies that people put aside their individual needs, desires, and egos and synthesize their knowledge, skills, and efforts toward accomplishing a common goal. There are three primary types of teams used in organizations - functional, cross-departmental, and self-directed.

Smoothly functioning teams don’t just happen. They are created and shaped by leaders.