Reflection Paper on Management

Introduction

In a team scenario I would probably want to be in a position where most of the decisions I propose are considered in team. For this reason, I believe choosing the right type of team to participate in goes a long way to ensuring that one gains a position of importance to the team. Belonging in a team with shared goals and the ability to work with significant authority would be an ideal team setting.

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The preferences I hold for a team would impact the team significantly in terms of the design and cohesion procedures. The first preference of having a position where ideas make significant contribution would allow each team member to express the views they believe would be important to the team. Further, the assurance that you are heard in a team increases motivation as well as overall self-esteem in the team. Secondly, the preference on having shared goals ensures that the team works as efficiently as possible. That is, having common goals to work toward ensures that the team is cohesive and collaborative. The best way to work toward a common goal would be divide the work into portions that express the best tools for each to do the best portion of their designated work. Lastly, the preference to have the ability to work with significant authority emphasizes the need to do designated work as independently as possible with minimal supervision. The ability to work independently promotes both innovation and creativity in the tools provided.

The important things to watch out for when participating in a team include: diversity-is the team as diverse as possible in gender, race and ability? Another thing to watch out for in a team is the communication chain-is the chain of communication as efficient as possible to allow easy flow of information and significant collaboration? Finally, another thing to consider in a team is the measure of productivity-can the team's productivity be measured and accounted for? Leadership entails the ability to design a team that is diverse in all aspects. An examination of gender, race and ability to work should show balance in all the aspects. Secondly, the communication channels set up ought to be efficient enough to allow the team to work as efficiently as possible. Lastly, a team's productivity should be measurable in order to maintain the working principles and change the ones that reduce team effectiveness.

A significant way I think I can collaborate in a team is to design the schedule for the team. I believe playing to one's strengths is important in ensuring the most productivity to the team. I believe my strengths lie in the innovative and organizational parts of the team. The ability to organize a team into as many functional units as possible increases the effectiveness of the team. I would therefore contribute to the organizational strengths in the team. Secondly, creativity requires abstract and 'on the feet' type of thinking. For this reason, I also believe I would be a strong unit in the innovative part of the team. Essentially the most collaborative roles for me in a team would be organization and innovation.

The most important things I have learned about teams are that there are more than five aspects to a team. Understanding the types of team one wants to form is just as important as the team is going to be. In the same way, designing a team to fit different functional roles is as important as understanding the types of teams available. Essentially, knowing how to design a team aids in understanding the types of teams to form. Another important thing is team cohesion and trust and its relation to leadership. Consequently, I have learned that leadership in a team is not about being a point of authority on others, but about the ability to enable a team to bring the best of its potential to complete tasks. The point shows why leadership is closely tied to team cohesion and trust. Effective leadership leads to efficient work performance. Communication and collective intelligence are also closely tied to performance and productivity. Team communication strategies dictate the levels of performance observed in each part of the team.

Conclusion

One thing I would do differently going forward is emphasizing on the leadership role as more of a position of effectiveness rather than a position of authority. In this sense, the positions of leadership taken will be geared toward ensuring that the team brings the best of their potentials to the table and in turn harnessing the potential to produce the best performance and productivity possible. The notion about leadership being a position of authority leads to the leader wanting more respect from the subordinates rather than allowing the team to be independent in producing the best results. Leading from a place of effectiveness ensures that a team is given the best tools to perform. Leading on effectiveness also ensures that the leader's respect is earned from performance and not by force.