Everyday Leadership

Abbie Feller
Hailey Farr
Douglas Knuth
Katelyn Paulson
Macey Dally
COMM 350
BYU-Idaho

Abstract
A great leader achieves group success by recognizing and highlighting individual skills
and abilities, focusing on common goals rather than personal goals, and accrediting
accomplishments to the team as a unit. An effective leader encourages and utilizes the
strengths and skills of individuals within the team. He or she uses interpersonal linkage to
get to know team members, assess where their skills can be applied, and allow
individuals the freedom to use their strengths. Additionally, establishing understanding of
the common goal at the onset of the project is necessary for team members to be equally
able to act toward that goal. Finally, when all team members have been empowered to use
their strengths toward a common goal, a leader understands that crediting the team for
group accomplishments is more important than showcasing his or her own abilities.
Although the importance of these qualities has been proven many times in business
settings, they can be valuable to any situation or organization lacking leadership. Viewing
leadership as a role, not a position, and applying these leadership qualities regardless of
position will strengthen the dynamic and increase effectiveness of any group.

A great leader achieves group success by recognizing and highlighting individual

skills and abilities, focusing on common goals rather than personal goals, and accrediting
accomplishments to the team as a unit. An effective leader encourages and utilizes the
strengths and skills of individuals within the team. He or she uses interpersonal linkage to
get to know team members, assess where their skills can be applied, and allow
individuals the freedom to use their strengths. Additionally, establishing understanding of
the common goal at the onset of the project is necessary for team members to be equally
able to act toward that goal. Finally, when all team members have been empowered to use
their strengths toward a common goal, a leader understands that crediting the team for
group accomplishments is more important than showcasing his or her own abilities. The
skills applied by the leader have the power to set the tone for the dynamic of the team and
have a great impact on the success or failure of a group effort.
The most significant resource a leader has is the collective strength of their team.
A good leader allows others to utilize their skills and talents by first being aware of what
those skills are. A leader can form relationships with group members and gain an
understanding of the strengths of each individual by promoting an atmosphere that allows
relationships and understanding to grow. Good managers may be able to confine
evaluation to formal occasions, to avoid all trace of judgmental style in other settings,
even to communicate criticism in a positive, constructive way (Bartolome, 1989).
Communicating positively allows an environment of safety wherein individuals can be
open about the work for which they are best suited or the areas in which they will be the
most valuable. It is the job of the leader to set the tone that allows this atmosphere of
openness to exist. Support means showing concern for subordinates as people. It means

being available and approachable (Bartolome, 1989). Establishing the kind of

environment where individuals feel valued and empowered to act is essential for optimal
performance.
Leaders have the responsibility of assessing problems and identifying solutions by
applying the skills brought to the team by the individual team members. The first step,
assessing the needs of the team, is explained in Vineet Nayars Harvard Business Review
article How I Did It: A Maverick CEO Explains How He Persuaded His Team to Leap
into the Future. Nayar explains the process that it takes to lead a team to success. The
four points he makes are to be open, to be transparent, to invert the organizational
pyramid, and to recast the role of the CEO(Nayar, 2010). This helps to redefine
leadership and give more trust to team members. In The Four Disciplines of Execution,
the authors describe WIGs, or Wildly Important Goals, which must be independent
of and separated from the whirlwind goals, or the everyday goals and stress of life or
the job. WIGs provide a clear structure of organization within a system. By first knowing
and then assessing the skills of those on the team, a leader can expedite the process of
goal-making and can balance the needs of a project to the skills of the team. If a clear,
measurable goal is set, a team knows how to succeed. An understanding of this process
can be the difference between the success and failure of a system.
Individuals are better prepared to work and more engaged when they can set their
own goals and measure them (Covey, Huling, McChesney, 2012). Competitive nature can
only be brought out in an effective manner when individuals are presented with positive
opportunities to achieve something that they want collectively. Goals should be made
with members of the team present. It is important to make goals with the team, not for the

team. The lens through which management observes is different than that of the
employees that will directly be striving to achieve the goals. Effective leaders foster an
environment in which employees can create and implement attainable and measurable
goals. Employees should have the chance to track their own progress in a clear,
measurable, and agreed-upon way. Poorly monitored progress is worse than not
measuring at all, because a skewed view of what is going on will be less effective to a
team than no view. When progress is measured in a simple, easy to understand way there
will be more productivity because members of a team will be able to track their progress
(Covey, Huling, McChesney, 2012).
Focusing on common goals rather than personal goals helps a team recognize
what has been accomplished. "In jointly developing clear goals and approaches, teams
establish communications that support real-time problem solving and initiative" (Bamber,
Belohoubek, Castka, Sharp, 2001). In order to be effective, clear goals and clear lines of
communication must be developed. "A team can easily lose sight of the big picture when
it is narrowly focused on a demanding task. The task itself becomes the big picture,
crowding other considerations out of the frame" (Levy, 2001). By periodically
reexamining goals and assessing how the team is working together, the team can keep
from losing sight of the big picture goals, or WIGs, and avoid getting caught up in
individual tasks and steps. As important as it is for each team member to focus on their
own assignment, remembering what the team is doing and how individual goals affect the
group goals is essential for the WIGs to be achieved.
A great leader does not do everything for the team. Doing so prevents growth and
overwhelms the leader with completing the tasks. Delegation is skill that needs to be

learned within any leadership position. Coaches must consistently convey one crucial
message to their people: I believe in you (Souza, 2014). People can reach their
potential when the leader entrusts them with getting things done. The leader must take the
time to know each persons talents and abilities so he or she can properly delegate, and
then help team members rise the occasion (Harvard Manage Mentor, 2014). Your job as
a coach is to convince team members that they can do more, and better, than they ever
thought they could (Souza, 2014). A team has collective skills and abilities that can be
put toward tasks and the overall goal, but a leader who does not delegate takes away their
chance to succeed. By delegating tasks, the leader can know that the success truly was
due to each individual person contributing. Delegation helps the teams shine and not just
one individual or the leader. Trusting the team and delegating appropriately allows a
group effort to shine as a result of higher quality than an individual could produce.
Maximum productivity occurs when team members bring complementary skills to
the table and contribute them toward common goals. "Teamwork represents an
interdependent balance between the needs of the individual and the needs of the
organization (Kets De Vries, 1999). When each individuals skills are utilized, the
strength of one member can make up for the weakness of another, which will help the
team create unity and work more productively. "Teams bring together complementary
skills and experience that exceed those of an individual on a team. This act enables teams
to respond to multifaceted challenges like innovation, quality and customer service"
(Castka, 2001). Individuals skills not being utilized or credit not being given for
accomplishments tends to result in decreased motivation and dedication.

Leaders should be focused on spotlighting the achievements of the team, not on

their own performance. A coach can only achieve their personal potential if they help
their team to achieve theirs (Souza, 2014). Leaders can only accomplish the common
goal if they are concerned with the wellness of the team and aim to help each person
succeed. Your team members look to you for guidance. If youre too wrapped up in your
own performance, they cannot achieve their goals (Souza, 2014). The job of the leader is
to guide others, but a leader can stunt the growth of the team if he or she does not give
them the freedom to achieve goals in their own way. When the leader refrains from
micromanaging, then group accomplishments are truly team efforts. A leaders goal
should be to enable the group to be independent, use their talents and skills, and gain new
ones by learning from each other. When these correct goals are kept in mind, the team
can achieve to their highest potential.
Although the importance of these qualities has been proven many times in
business settings, they can be valuable to any situation or organization lacking leadership.
Positive communication, trust, goal-making, the monitoring of progress, focus,
delegation, and the giving of credit are essential aspects of a good leader. One does not
need to be the boss to be a leader. Viewing leadership as a role, not a position, and
applying these leadership qualities regardless of station will strengthen the dynamic and
increase effectiveness of any group. Leadership skills can be utilized in any position and
in any organization. When applied correctly, they will bring direction, motivation, and
dedication to any kind of group.

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