Team leader

Definition
Team member who may not have any authority over other members but is appointed on permanent or rotating basis to (1) represent the team to the next higher reporting level, (2) make decisions in the absence of a consensus, (3) resolve conflict between team members, and (4) coordinate team efforts.

TEAM LEADER RESPONSIBILITIES

NPD Body of Knowledge Building Effective Product Teams Team Building Workshop Team Launch Workshop Team Leader Workshop PDT/IPT Training DRM Associates

Provide team leadership and coaching

y

Create an environment oriented to trust, open communication, creative thinking, and cohesive team effort Provide the team with a vision of the project objectives Motivate and inspire team members Lead by setting a good example (role model) - behavior consistent with words Coach and help develop team members; help resolve dysfunctional behavior Facilitate problem solving and collaboration Strive for team consensus and win-win agreements Ensure discussions and decisions lead toward closure Maintain healthy group dynamics Intervene when necessary to aid the group in resolving issues Assure that the team members have the necessary education and training to effectively participate on the team Encourage creativity, risk-taking, and constant improvement Recognize and celebrate team and team member accomplishments and exceptional performance

y y y y y y y y y y

y y

Focus the team on the tasks at hand or the internal and external customer requirements
y y

Coordinate with internal and external customers as necessary Familiarize the team with the customer needs, specifications, design targets, the development process, design standards, techniques and tools to support task performance Assure that the team addresses all relevant issues within the specifications and various standards Provide necessary business information Serve as meeting manager or chairman Initiate sub-groups or sub-teams as appropriate to resolve issues and perform tasks in parallel Ensure deliverables are prepared to satisfy the project requirements, cost and schedule

y y y y

Help keep the team focused and on track

Coordinate team logistics

y

Work with functional managers and the team sponsor to obtain necessary resources to support the team's requirements Obtain and coordinate space, furniture, equipment, and communication lines for team members Establish meeting times, places and agendas Coordinate the review, presentation and release of design layouts, drawings, analysis and other documentation Coordinates meetings with the product committee, project manager and functional management to discuss project impediments, needed resources or issues/delays in completing the task

y y y

Communicate team status, task accomplishment, and direction

y y

Provide status reporting of team activities against the program plan or schedule Keep the project manager and product committee informed of task accomplishment, issues and status Serve as a focal point to communicate and resolve interface and integration issues with other teams Escalate issues which cannot be resolved by the team Provide guidance to the team based on management direction

y y

Coach, Don't Demonstrate When you're under a time crunch, it's tempting to demonstrate a task rather than to provide

supportive directions. When you say "Let me show you how" your motivation is probably just to get the work done rather than help the team member learn. This can be devastating to that team member's skill development and makes him dependent on you. In the long run, the individual to whom you've demonstrated skills will require guidance for just about everything. Since you've done everything for him, he may be hesitant to make decisions or take action without checking with you first. Provide Constructive Criticism If you're providing feedback, be sure to communicate the bad and the good. It's always hard to hear criticism, but if you highlight the good things too it makes taking the bad a little easier. Also, provide clear suggestions on how your team members can improve. You don't have to give them all of the solutions, instead guide the group by sharing your knowledge and experience. Back Off Perhaps you've assigned a project to a team member that's of particular interest to you. Initially, you should provide some guidance and communicate that it's an open door policy for additional questions that may come up along the way. Now, it's important to back off! It may be tempting to get overly involved, but try and bite your tongue unless the individual comes to you for input or guidance. As a team leader, you must prove to your group members that you believe in their abilities and talents. By staying out of the picture, this shows team members they'll get a fair chance to demonstrate what they can do without interference. Try To Be Positive Enthusiasm is contagious if you're excited about your group's project, it's likely they'll feel a reason to be also. As a leader, your team members look to you for direction. If you notice that the group's motivation and output levels are in a slump, this is your wake-up call! Have a meeting to discuss what needs to be changed, and really listen to what your team has to say. If you think they may have a difficult time admitting this, get them to write their comments on paper instead. It's important to stay in tune with your group. You may be surprised by what they have to say it could be a dramatically different perspective from your own. Value Your Group's Ideas Don't discount your group's ideas. Avoid phrases like "Yeah, but" or "We've already tried that". If a suggested idea was attempted in the past but failed, consider that it may not have been executed properly or that it simply wasn't the best time. Consider each and every idea that your group members generate and encourage them to communicate their insights on a regular basis. If you're overly critical of ideas or immediately discount the ideas of others, your group will hesitate sharing anything. After all, for every twenty mediocre suggestions, there's bound to be at least one stellar idea.

Roles of a Team Leader

y Provide purpose. Everything starts with vision. You cannot have a real team without one because people will not find the desire to achieve the common goal. Winning Team: 7 Elements
The team members will work together and sacrifice only if they can see what they're working toward. Capturing and communicating vision is your role as a team leader. Only you can do it. Create an inspiring vision. Provide the big picture and keep the vision of the big picture before yourself and your people. Every team member "has a role to play, and every role has its part in contributing to the bigger picture. Without that perspective the team cannot accomplish its goal, whether the team's "game" is sports, business, family, ministry, or government," says John C. Maxwell, the author of The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork.

y Build a star team, not a team of stars. Your team will not reach its potential if players are unwilling to
subordinate their personal goals to the good of the team. As Ervin "Magic" Johnson put it, "Everybody on a championship team doesn't get publicity, but everyone can say he's a champion." Be personally a team player. Teach people to cooperate to make a team a winning team, and thus all of them winners. Involve everyone. Establish shared values and an environment oriented to trust, joint creativity, open communication, and cohesive team effort. Help resolve dysfunctional behavior. Facilitate joint problem solving and collaboration. Fully utilize diversity of team members.

y Establish shared ownership for the results. Start with yourself share your own individual results with the group. Shared responsibility is better achieved if the pay and reward system has a significant element that is dependent on the overall outcome. Keep the team informed how individual members are performing it is important if Individuals' rewards depended on the performance of the group as a whole. y Develop team members to fullest potential. Bring out the best in your people. Help team members to develop so that all of them could effectively participate on the team. Lead by setting a good example. Train, coach and provide effective feedback. y Make the work interesting and engaging. Create enjoyable work environment. Encourage entrepreneurial
creativity, risk-taking, and constant improvement. This includes also freedom to fail and fun in the workplace. Maintain healthy group dynamics. Facilitate problem solving and collaboration.

y Develop a self-managing team. Be a superleader. Develop team members so that they can lead themselves. Don't give direct commands or instructions, use questions (such as "What do you think should be done?") and coaching instead. Empower people, delegate authority, and be open to ideas. Trust your team, rely on their judgment. Give your people authority to decide as much as possible. Encourage your team to engage in self-leadership behaviors such as self-observation, role-playing exercises, and self-problem-solving. Encourage your team or groups within your team to evaluate themselves and to give both positive and negative feedback. Share with the team members certain areas of your responsibility. Ask for their input when you need to make a decision regarding recruitment, firing, discipline, training, and promotion. y Motivate and inspire team members. Be enthusiastic, inspire and energize people. Set stretch goals. Recognize and celebrate team and team member accomplishments and exceptional performance y Lead and facilitate constructive communication. Lead the rich array of types of communication exchanged
between team members that include goal setting, task assignments, work scheduling, announcements, problem solving, performance evaluation, corrective feedback, praise, discussions, etc. Communicate in a way that is truthful and believable to team members. Provide constructive feedback to the team on where and how it might improve. Encourage open communication among team members and communicate team views to and from other teams. Encourage self-criticism and rehearsal. Strive for team consensus and win-win agreements. Provide guidance to the team based on upper management direction. Escalate issues which cannot be resolved by the team and communicate team views to upper management. Serve as a focal point to communicate and resolve interface and integration issues with other teams.

y Monitor, but don't micromanage. Avoid close supervision; do not overboss; do not dictate. Help keep the team focused and on track. Communicate team status, task accomplishment, and direction. Intervene when necessary to aid the group in resolving issues.