There is no doubt change can cause weariness throughout
any organization; however, someone is still responsible for seeing that
the team stays focused on its task or goal and that everyone is moving
toward accomplishing that task. The leader must decide whether it is a
conflict arising out of issues, personality conflicts, misunderstanding
about a member's role on the team, or a lack of understanding of the expectations
of each team member. The leader determines the underlying issue and then
begins to coach team members to move beyond the problem. The leader is
responsible for seeing that the problem is accurately diagnosed and leading
members to solve the problem.
The leader is crucial in setting the tone of trust among
individuals. To help achieve this, the leader may
lead them to experience some team-building activities. It is difficult
for the team to learn to trust without opportunities to build that trust.
Team members need to function together enough to learn to depend on each
other to get the job done. The leader who is functioning in the coaching
role provides these kinds of experiences for the team. When the leader
sees that the team is bogged down in non-essentials or non-issues, it's
time to go into the coaching mode and begin moving the team to achieve
its task.
Respect is another requirement for high performance. The
leader must have respect for each team member, and the members must respect
the leader as well as each other. This respect is reflected in the ground
rules the team establishes when the team is structuring. It is also reflected
in the way team meetings are conducted and team members respond to each
other. Each person is given the opportunity to participate, share ideas
and suggestions, and each idea or solution is given equal time. Team members
are encouraged to use their strengths to help the team accomplish the
tasks it has been given.
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