Selection & Development Of A Team

As a team leader, it is important to pick members that will be assets to the team. The best way to do this is through diversity.(Diversity isn't a method but an outcome or a goal) A diverse team or workforce gives companies a competitive advantage by enabling them to better meet the needs of their customers, successfully compete in the global marketplace, and hire from an expanded labor pool. Managing diversity involves the creation of an open, supportive, and responsive company in which diversity is acknowledged and valued by employees and customers (Sweeney & McFarlin, 2002).

So, what would the perfect team consist of? The perfect team would be chosen from the four-quadrant model. The four-quadrant model looks like this (Rohlander, date):

Direct:

Ð'* Directive behavior

Ð'* Impatient

Ð'* Action-oriented Steady:

Ð'* Dependable

Ð'* Agreeable

Ð'* Calm

Influencer:

Ð'* Talkative

Ð'* Optimistic

Ð'* Persuasive Cautious:

Ð'* Task-oriented

Ð'* Perfectionistic

Ð'* Sensitive

Each team member will bring something different to the team. For example, the direct person gets meetings going, the influencer looks at how members are interacting with one another, the steady person is consistent in the way that tasks are performed, and the cautious individual looks at each decision carefully (Rohlander). Even though, everyone has these traits(which traits? You haven't discussed traits, you've presented a diagram), some people's traits are more visible than others. I don't see how this 4-quadrant model works. How do you know which quadrant to place someone in? Does a team have to have 4 members? From which quadrant should a 5th or 6th team member come? What if the team has 3 members?

2. For my team in the simulation, I chose the following people: Daniel Nichols to build case files, Lisa Stafford to moderate self-help groups, Michelle Levy to perform follow-ups, and John Conner to supervise confrontation sessions. First, Daniel was chosen because of his aggressiveness, which was needed to be investigative of the D.A.R.E. program's participants. Second, Lisa demonstrated that she was a people's person. She was comfortable with people, on good terms with her colleagues, and a member of several awareness groups, which I took into consideration of her being able to handle group meetings. Third, Michelle, a quiet person, was logical and dependable. I needed someone that could validate recommendations, as well as had experience in accounting, in order to assure that follow-ups would be completed on time. Finally, John rounded out my team because of his values in teamwork. I felt that he could supervise sessions because of his ability to plan activities and work with people under stress (which can be seen in his involvement with the kid's baseball league and contributions to social causes).Where do these folks fit on the quadrant model? Does this team meet the diversity criterion?

3. In order to manage a team successfully, a team leader must communicate, be encouraging, and have team standards. Effective communication is a tool that most people do not know how to use. As a team leader and player, one must be willing to listen and respond. Listening enables a person to come to an understanding of the purpose of why the team was formed and what goals are going to be reached while being a part of this team. As a good listener, a team leader is able to come to agreements that are both beneficial to the team and to the company.

Team leaders should be encouraging. Encouragement helps a team to provide the ultimate results by cashing in on individual members talents and strengths. By encouraging and providing feedback, a team leader is able to build a sense of trust and pride within the team. When people are encouraged to express their ideas and opinions, then the element of "groupthink" will not occur. As on the other hand, if a team leader is a dictator, then his or her team will lack enthusiasm causing conflicts to occur.

A team leader has to have standards that the team abides by. Without standards, respect conflicts will arise. For example, if you return late from lunch everyday, then your team members will pick up on this type of behavior. People watch what goes on in a daily work routine. That is why it is so important for team leaders to establish standards in advance and reward members who help to keep these standards evident. What are your sources for this section? Do personality factors affect team management?

4. Personality, which distinguishes one person from another, plays a major part in the success of a team. As a team leader, one must understand that everyone is different. For instance, if a team member has low self-esteem, he or she may not be confident in his or her ability to achieve, whereas a team member with high self-esteem is more confident in his or her ability to achieve higher goals. The lower self-esteem person could affect team members because of his or her lack of confidence. This individual could hinder the team's success because he or she will not be open to new ideas that the team may project, thus causing team morale to decrease. OK as far as it goes, but self-esteem is not the only relevant factor of personality.

5. The Myers-Briggs Type indicator measures four scales: extroversion vs. introversion (how a person is energized), intuition vs. sensing (what a person pays attention to), thinking vs. feeling (how a person decides), and perception vs. judgment (the lifestyle that a person adopts). Here is a breakdown of each personality preference and how each affects the way an employee performs (Bringhurst, date):

Ð'* Extroversion Introversion

Express emotions Bottle up emotions

Change world Understand world

Relaxed/confident Reserved/questioning

People/breadth Alone/depth

May be seen as shallow/pushy May be seen as passive/egocentric

Ð'* Intuition Sensing

Sixth senses (possibilities) Five senses (experience)

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