The successful work of a team directly depends on the effective leadership because the efficient regulation and control are necessary to achieve the set goals and complete definite projects. The strong leadership is the important aspect to influence the work not only of a team but also of the whole organization (Antonakis & House, 2002, p. 5). That is why, to perform as a successful leader, it is necessary to determine the leadership style, the preferred type of power, the used conflict-handling style, and the approach to building a team with the help of a self-assessment in order to receive the opportunity to analyze the strong and weak features and styles and improve the techniques used to work in a team.
The type of power is important to be determined in order to conclude about the relations within the working team. Having analyzed types of power, it is possible to state that I am oriented to the referent type of power when the power depends on charisma and personal relations or attitudes. This power is effective to create the positive and collaborative atmosphere in the team to contribute to its effectiveness. Moreover, the scores in relation to legitimate and expert powers are also high.
The focus on all these three types guarantees choosing an effective approach to work in a team because of concentrating on the charisma, hierarchy, and knowledge as the basic aspects to determine the power. These features are also associated with the complex image of an effective leader. The lack of scores in relation to the coercive type supports the persons’ focus on leadership though the fair means.
To work with a team in order to accomplish the goals and follow the definite vision strictly, it is necessary to balance between orienting to people and tasks. The effective leader should achieve the balance in order to lead the team to the success. The high scores in relation to the categories of the concern for people (the score is 8) and concern for tasks (the score is 12) support the fact that a person is inclined to find and follow the balance in order to promote the effective work of a team because people’s efforts and achievements should be valued and the tasks should be completed according to the goals.
It is important to note that the demonstration of the above-mentioned qualities means that a person is a leader without references to the concrete position in the organization because these actions and features are closely associated with the person’s developed quality such as responsibility. Gardner states that “there are in any vital organization or society a great many individuals who share leadership tasks unofficially, by behaving responsibly with respect to the purposes of the group” (Gardner, 1995, p. 6). From this point, the focus on people, responsible actions, and concentration on the team’s goals and purposes are important for a good leader.
However, the practical abilities to build and lead an effective team are also important with references to the used leadership style. The score of 86 demonstrates the high level of ability to work with a team since its forming to completing the concrete task and accomplishing the goals. The assessment of these qualities is important to discuss the ability to guarantee the team’s cohesiveness and its concentration on achieving the set short-term and long-term goals. To lead a team means to create the necessary conditions for cooperation, to evoke the people’s interest in relation to performing the tasks, to appeal to the persons’ intrinsic motives as the important forces to lead the team to the success.
The team members’ feeling of belonging to the definite cooperative team also depends on the person’s ability to negotiate and overcome conflict situations. From this point, it is necessary to refer to the conflict-handling style used by a leader to speak about its effectiveness. The high scores in relation to accommodating and compromising styles used while coping with conflicts support the idea that a person focuses on cooperation in working with a team. This approach can be discussed as more effective in comparison with competing and avoiding because the conflict can be resolved positively for all the participating parties with the help of a compromise or proposed alternative decision.
The focus on cooperation can also be compared with the leader’s self-sacrifice because of trying to find the most effective means to handle conflict situations. Thus, it is important to note that the team members’ perceptions of effectiveness “are positively affected when a leader is regarded by followers as being self-sacrificing” (Ruggieri & Abbate, 2013, p. 1173).
Similar results can be achieved with references to the collaborating style because of intentions to create the strong and effective team depending on the principles of collaboration and cooperation. The focus on leadership styles is important to conclude about the effectiveness of the leader and his or her team in achieving the set goals.
References
Antonakis, J., & House, R. (2002). The full-range leadership theory: The way forward. In B. J. Avolio & F. J. Yammarino (Eds.), Transformational and charismatic leadership: The road ahead (pp. 3-35). San Diego, CA: Emerald.
Gardner, J. (1995). The cry for leadership. In J. T. Wren (Ed.), The leader’s companion: Insights on leadership through the ages (pp. 3-8). New York, NY: The Free Press.
Ruggieri, S., & Abbate, C. (2013). Leadership style, self-sacrifice, and team identification. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 41(7), 1171-1178.