Effective Team Leadership and Motivation
Most, if not all, organizations are founded with objectives and visions. The main aim of organizations is to accomplish the vision and goals initially set. Successful accomplishment of set visions is achieved through engaging in productive mission. Organizations are composed of different workforces according to professionalism and specialization. Hence, each member specializes in tasks which he or she best fits in. However, the goals and visions of each organization are generally set to be fulfilled by all members through teamwork. Therefore, teamwork plays a significant role in the achievement of the goals set in the mission statement. The strategy involves the coordination of both employees and employers to create good interpersonal relationships which contribute to successful organizations. Teamwork can be enhanced by compelling motivation and good leadership skills. For a strong and successful team, there is a need to employ motivation opportunities, effective communication skills, and team and individual development, which consequently lead to the success of the organization’s vision and mission statements.
Mission and vision statements help in motivating and leading the workforce to work as a team. Vision statement inspires the entire organization to work hard to achieve the future ultimate position. On the other hand, the mission statement directs current achievable objectives and measures which will be implemented to accomplish the missions and visions. Motivation is one of the essential requirements which help in the formation of teamwork and effective leadership. The goals of an organization should be measurable and achievable; hence, there is need for the motivation of both leaders and workforce to stimulate them to work together and focus on the strategic plans. This may be implemented through achievement, affiliation and power motivations. Achievement motivation is the most applicable strategy in effective leadership of a team. It helps in encouraging team members to handle challenging goals aimed at achieving them. The strategy plan forms a foundation for organizing the workforce into their respective duties for a common output.
Effective leadership and motivation of a team are also achieved through the application of good communication skills. Consequently, this will lead to the achievement of organizations’ missions. Teamwork is strengthened and inspired by effective interactions among the employees as well as between them and their leaders. The strategic plan defines the objectives of the organizations and measures which need to be implemented. Based on Vroom’s expectancy theory, employees are motivated by positive expectations and directed by valence and instrumentality towards enhancing their performance for better outcomes (Parijat & Bagga, 2014). Hence, coordination is very important within an organization. Effective communication requires good listening skills, effective delivery of the message, emotion control and use of all communication strategies; verbal, written and nonverbal. Team leaders are, therefore, to deliver their message effectively by choosing the proper mode of delivery depending on the type of audience. The intended message should also be well understood and possibly accompanied by additional features such as body language during face to face communication or graphs and other illustrations in written communication. Effective communication is, therefore, vital for the coordination of a team. The goals and visions of an organization should be communicated to all members to motivate them.
Effective communication also helps in establishing and strengthening teamwork relationship, which motivates them to increase their performance. Effective leadership involves respect and accountability. Hence, the leaders are supposed to communicate well to the employees when giving directions to avoid misconceptions and confusion, which might hinder the achievement of the objectives (Timmins, 2011). Besides, effective communication creates interpersonal relationships which hold employees and leaders together for better coordination. Good listening also helps in a better understanding and sharing of ideas among team members. It is also important to consider individual and cultural differences as most of the modern organizations are composed of people from diverse backgrounds. Hence, people should consider such differences when planning their communication to avoid the negative perception of a particular message.
Individual and team development has a significant role in motivating and inspiring teamwork’s performances. The visions and goals set should be focused to benefit both individuals and the entire organization. The development of individuals involves setting individual opportunities such as promotions, material gifts and other applicable benefits. However, such strategies may make individuals more focused on meeting possible motivations rather than accomplishing the organization’s objectives. Thus, there is a need for balancing both teamwork and individual developments through better leadership and setting of objectives. Similarly, effective leadership and motivation require the provision of resources necessary for the accomplishment of goals (Osemeke & Adegboyega, 2017). Achievement motivation works better for development as it directs team members towards a common goal and encourages them to attain it. The motivation is accompanied by opportunities which can enable the individuals to prosper financially and socially. The visions of an organization should be set feature success of team members, the entire group as well as potential customers and stakeholders. This creates a common goal and unites the workforce.
To sum up, teamwork plays a significant role in supporting one another and working towards a common goal. Effective leadership and motivation of a team require individual and team development and effective communication skills to facilitate interpersonal relationships and achievement of goals. Hence, organizations should embrace such qualities when formulating visions and missions for effective strategic plans. Members of a team and their leaders should employ good communication skills to come up with better ideas and motivate them to execute duties effectively.
References
Osemeke, M., & Adegboyega, S. (2017). Critical review and comparison between Maslow, Herzberg and McClelland’s theory of needs. Business and Finance, 1(1), 161-173.
Parijat, P., & Bagga, S. (2014). Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory of motivation–An evaluation. International Research Journal of Business and Management, 7(9), 1-8.
Timmins, F. (2011). Managers’ duty to maintain good workplace communications skills. Nursing Management, 18(3).
Appendix 1
Communication Questionnaire