Follow the leader?
I'm in the middle of doing an online training for work about teamwork. Yes, I've been doing all my training online (not by choice) about how to work with people.
Anyhow, I began to think about different teams I've worked with, either as a member, or as the "leader". I wondered if the leader really had a large effect (well, proportionately larger.) Does the leader really affect the team?
What I'm really asking is: When you see a really good team, how much of that is the leader's doing?
If you took a leader from a great team and gave him to a different team, what would the result be? What if a leader with previously poor results starting leading a good team; would he/she look like a great leader?
I ask this because I think the person at the head gets a disproportionate amount of the credit. Every team I've been on that's good I think is good because of the people on it, not because I'm leading it.
Anyhow, I began to think about different teams I've worked with, either as a member, or as the "leader". I wondered if the leader really had a large effect (well, proportionately larger.) Does the leader really affect the team?
What I'm really asking is: When you see a really good team, how much of that is the leader's doing?
If you took a leader from a great team and gave him to a different team, what would the result be? What if a leader with previously poor results starting leading a good team; would he/she look like a great leader?
I ask this because I think the person at the head gets a disproportionate amount of the credit. Every team I've been on that's good I think is good because of the people on it, not because I'm leading it.
posted by Kevin at 10:00 PM
6 Comments:
isn't it in part the role of a leader to take disparate parts and fuse them into a team which can achieve more together than individually?
look at team sports - great coaches can help mediocre players work together and win championships w/o super stars.
it can obviously go both ways, and there are plenty of examples of both situations.
there are a lot of examples in the business world of great companies lead into bankruptcy by poor or mediocre leaders. unfortunately, how many of them recieved big golden parachutes?
Maybe the problem in business is that leadership is over rewarded when the 'team' is large, anonymous, and largely powerless in the reward process?
Which is easier to do as a reporter... interview just the CEO who proselytizes the corporation, or talk to the thousands of employees driving value?
12:46 AM
Maybe another question is, who is the leader of a team? Is the head of a team necessarily the leader? I have been on teams where the person I would consider the leader isn't the person in charge, but even so they are the ones getting stuff done.
12:47 AM
the best leaders know that their biggest assets are their people: so they choose their teams and they are choose the right people. If they get the right people, their job is easy!
of course, if a leader is not able to choose the people in their team, then leading the team is incredibly hard.
1:10 AM
well, that now is a good dilemma.
I have always thought that a good team is not only a responsibility of the leader, but to a very big extent to the members of the team. Of course a very good leader can do a lot with mediocre people, yet if they are really unwilling to open up, to invest themselves - the leader can do nothing. I had these experiences of leaders, burning out (loosing completely their motivation) because of the lack of ownership on the side of their teams.
It is something that I do not want to experience any more!
3:13 PM
A good team is only as good as teh weakest link on the team.
I think BG has it right when he says that a leader has the responsibility to fuse together individuals to build a team.
Without a good team, the leadership is useless, try beating a team of donkeys to race like horses... Cannpt be done.
Get the right people in the right positions and then let the success flow from there.
The leader gets most recognition because he has most responsibility.
A poor leader will not lead even the very best of teams to results.
It is all about interdependence.
I thinkthough, that all members of the team need to gain the credit for successful results.
3:41 AM
One of the essential role of a leader is to take a bullet for her members and watch their back.
10:45 AM
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