What is a team?
The team is at the heart of organising committed individuals, self interest, collective goals are the secret of team productivity as leadership, roles and tasks are the key constituents of a team.“Unity of purpose is the main distinguishing characteristic of a team.”

Why teams and what is the necessary to work in teams?
It’s necessary to create teams because it creates inter-dependency, by empowering, freeing up and serving others. Working in teams creates a learning atmosphere as it brings shared responsibility, participatory leadership, aligned on purpose, highly focused on communication focus on future tasks, defines role clarity and shared values, and significantly it creates talents, skills and resources.Team leaders have a very important role in ensuring and managing this stability and cohesion within the team. An effective team leader can be a binding force that keeps the team together in times of stress or conflict.

What are the traits of successful team leader?
A successful team leader has the ability to win the confidence of his team members.

1. Has a clear plan for achieving team goals.

2. Treats team members fairly, using the same standards of conduct.
3. Has decisive, responsive and stands by his team and supports them in times of crisis.
4. Acts as friend, mentor, guide and role model to his team members.
5. A true leader is genuinely committed to the improvement of the individuals in his team and the team as a whole.
6. Always puts the interests of the team and the team players forward.
7. Invests time and spares no effort in building the team and then reinforces team relationships continually.
8. Builds enthusiasm, energy, inspiration and leadership abilities to keep his team motivated.
9. A good team leader is at the heart of the team rather than leading them from the front or pushing them from behind.

10. Walks alongside bringing the team to gather as a whole that is much more than the sum of its parts.

What team members perceive?
1. Team members perceive the team leader to be supportive when the leader communicates regularly provides timely feedback, backs team members actions and decisions and is appreciative and willing to accept new ideas and opinions, there by recognizes and rewards their contributions.
2. Team members have willingly let go of good contributing members from their team to another team department / company, because it was good for the individual’s career growth despite the fact that it would be their own loss.

What is a good team?
Managing teams is a much more complicated affair when compared to managing individuals because it not only involves overseeing individual performance but also managing communication, conflict and achieving an excellent degree of cohesion within the team cohesion simply put is the ability of the team to work well together. A really good team leader with star players can quickly fall apart with issues of trust, ego, internal competition and accountability. The ability to manage these issues and to force a harmonious working relationship within groups of individuals carrying o ut different functions within a framework of inter-dependence is a fundamental ingredient in effectively functioning teams.

How should be the teams and their relationships?
Teams that have strong leaders often forge longlasting relationships that continue to be strong even after members have left the team and moved on. It is but natural that team members are caught up primarily with team relationship and how much the team is valuing them and if they perceive that the team leader does not care about their own growth and development they may not be as committed to the team’s objectives either.

Who is a poor leader?
A team leader who tends to micromanage who fails to clarify role and objectives and avoids addressing problems is perceived as a poor leader.“Success does not depend on making important decisions quickly. It depends on your quick action on important decisions! Think on it”.

(The author is Asst Professor – MBA, VBIT)