In Chapter 11, the topics virtual teams and self-managed teams are briefly discussed. The modern and technologically advanced age we live in has prompted virtual teams to emerge both nationally and globally. This new mindset in a more modern age may have also prompted new approaches toward self-managed teams.
The article, "Emergent Leadership in Self-Managed Virtual Teams," Carte et. al. discuss a study conducted to prove whether or not self-managed virtual teams are effective in coordinating and executing activities. Their results showed: "that high performing self-managed virtual teams displayed significantly more leadership behaviors over time compared to their low performing counterparts. Specifically, these teams displayed significantly more concentrated leadership behavior focused on performance" (Carte et. al.). Despite the evenly distributed roles among the team, hints of leadership still emerged within the most successful teams.
So what does this mean? Although teams may have roles in which they are held accountable for, a team cannot steer towards the direction they want to go in without some sort of leadership and guidance. When you think about it, leadership, itself, is also a team role to consider.
Source: Carte, Traci, Laku Chidambaram, and Aaron Becker. "Emergent Leadership in Self-Managed Virtual Teams." Group Decision & Negotiation 15.4 (2006): 323-343. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Mar. 2010.
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I agree that those teams with good leadership bahavior definitely do have a higher performance when working as teams. Through the research I conducted, I also found that the leadership attribute was present in those successful and efficient teams.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your last statement "A team cannot steer towards the direction they want to go in without some sort of leadership and guidance." The first attribute one has to consider or develop when working in teams is leadership. Leadership is the foundation for good team work, and one of the main elements a team has to have in order to accomplish what it wants. It is the first step to building a high performance team!