Beyond Team Building

6COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP: THE ROLE OF THE TEAM LEADER

The fifth C in our model is collaborative leadership. The reason we use the term collaborative is because successful team leaders typically need to collaborate with those within the team as well as persons outside the team in order to help the team function effectively. For example, to change the team's performance appraisal systems often requires the team leader to get approval from senior managers and help from human resources. A company's human resource managers typically play an important role in recruiting and training team members as well as helping the team develop competencies to succeed as a team. So the team leader may need to solicit their support. Team leaders may also want advice from outside consultants to help the team manage change effectively. Thus, the team leader needs to be willing to collaborate with a variety of stakeholders who can help the team improve its performance.

In addition to this “collaborator” role, we have found that effective team leaders do the following:¹

• Articulate a clear vision of the team's goals and the metrics that will accurately measure team performance.
• Set clear direction for the team with regard to how to achieve team goals.
• Motivate and inspire team members as they pursue team goals.
• Teach and coach team members in developing the skills necessary to complete team tasks.
• Help each team member feel that she or he is valued and an important contributor to the team.
• Hold team ...