Respond to…

A group is two or more people gathered or classified together for a common purpose. As well as a team being two or more people with a common purpose with roles that depend on each other and members complement each other.“Consider a group as a broader term that encompasses a wide range of activities and a team as a specific kind of formal group of individuals with not only a common purpose but also interdependent roles and complementary skills.” (Warrick, 2016, 7.1) A team may be a two or more people that have to rely on each other to get a project done. On the other hand, a group is a two or more people that have to work together to get the project done.  A few things that may influence a group or a team may be internal or external, for example, history of the team, the mission, goals, the culture, the purpose and task, the team members characteristics, and the status of the team.  There are a lot of things that a lead  may need to consider when trying to influence a group or a team. Being able to consider all of the above reasons when trying to motivate their team and to drive them to a successful project is important. If a leader is unable to motivate his or her team, it shows that they may not be cut out to be a leader. The leader has to be extremely vigilant in learning every team member in order to be able to relate to them and be able to make it personal. This way not only does the leader understand the follower, but the follower understands the leader. When the leader may ask for something, the follower will understand and will go above and beyond for the leader in order to help the leader get where they want to be. 

Warrick, D.D. (2016). 

Leadership: A high impact approach

[Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Respond to…

People often confuse groups and teams. Teams are different from groups in that team members depend on each other and share the work load. Groups on the other hand, consist of two or more individuals who interact to accomplish one goal (Warrick, 2016). Group communication can be more difficult because it involves more opinions and everyone’s ideas and opinions matter. Responses and feedback must be reviewed by everyone in the group. This could prolong coming to an agreement. Differing personalities or people that don’t care to be in group discussions could exhibit difficult behaviors and attitudes. In order to have effective outcomes, all group members have to be equally involved.

Teams consist of highly qualified members whose skills complement each other (Warrick, 2016). Team members are hand-picked by management and can work separately to accomplish the goal. Each team member is assigned a specific task that when combined with other members’ tasks, complete the project. Team members hold themselves accountable for their specific roles. It is interesting to note that teams are groups as well, just smaller (Zeff & Higby, 2002). Managers often lead group initiatives, while team members share leadership roles within the team. Teams are usually self-directed and perform at a higher level than groups (para. 4).

In order for a leader to influence a group, he must be able to deal with different personalities, deal with issues that might hinder the group’s progress, but must also encourage and motivate the members to come to an agreement. Group members do not normally have synergy. It is up to the leader to bring the group together. He can do this by clearly defining the goal and encouraging each member’s participation.

Because teams consist of such high quality talent, they do not need as much motivation or encouragement. Additionally, they are self-driven and self-directed. A leader can motivate but must create a strategy, then, that is efficient to maximize each member’s role. He must also clearly define the goal and then allow the team members to be creative in accomplishing those goals. By so-doing, he will influence the team members to maximize their performance for optimal results.   

References

Warrick, D. D. (2016). Leadership: A high impact approach. [Electronic version]. Retrieved from

http://content.ashford.edu/

Zeff, L. E., & Higby, M. A. (2002). Teaching more than you know. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 6(3). Retrieved from

http://www.rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/6jan2118j2.htm