Team Leadership    

Team Leadership

As a team leader, I will always be required to make decisions that will help the organization achieve its goals. Sometimes a leader is forced to do so under significant pressure from various stakeholders. Regardless of the degree of pressure, a leader is expected to act in ways that will lead to the best outcomes possible. For that reason, leaders are expected to develop strategies for making the best possible decisions based on the fact that they can significantly impact the organization’s future. The role of team leaders is of significant importance in businesses and other types of organizations. Businesses that make better and faster decisions are in a better position to exploit business opportunities. They are also less likely to have pitfalls.

• Intentional and unintentional approaches

As a leader, I will develop a decision making strategy to improve the outcomes and to facilitate the attainment of organizational goals. Before making important decisions, I would first reframe the problem. According to Shepherd and Rudd (2014), sometimes the best way to move forward is by taking some steps back (Shepherd & Rudd, 2014). When problems occur, one should take a step back and critically think about its causes and its possible impacts (Shepherd & Rudd, 2014). Stepping back, in this case, refers to taking time to look at the challenge from as many perspectives as possible. By doing so, I will be trying to ensure that I do not neglect particular aspects while overemphasizing others. I will start by creating different ways of looking at the issue.

As a leader, I would try to ensure that all the important decisions are based on evidence. Evidence-based decision making involves taking actions based on scientific evidence (Shepherd & Rudd, 2014). It opposes the traditional systems of following one’s instincts when making decisions that affect many people. Many people make the mistake of using their judgment and making decisions based on things they have seen or heard about. Sometimes that strategy but it may fail in some. According to Smith (2014), sometimes the experience a person gets in various life activities or different circumstances may not be appropriate for specific areas of management (Smith, 2014). One needs to use scientific evidence to solve most managerial challenges. Sometimes incorporating evidence in decision mak8ng may be relatively difficult, but one can employ various approaches for that purpose. As a manager, I will use performance data to support my decisions. I will try to get data that is current and comprehensive enough (Shepherd & Rudd, 2014). I will always try to challenge my guts by asking myself whether there is any significant evidence to support every important decision. When a team member suggests a particular course of action, I will first find out whether it is based on evidence. I will particularly focus on the data that supports every suggestion. I will investigate the outcomes of the commonly used strategies in situations like mine. If they had positive outcomes, I will critically think about whether they will apply to my particular case. I will ensure that the organizational data I come across are up to date and objective enough.

As a team leader, I will always try to find an external perspective but trusting on my own as well. I will develop the habit of asking reliable sources for opinions and information. according to Kudyba (2014), the best way to get external perspectives is by always being open-minded (Kudyba, 2014). Kudyba recommends getting a wide range of opinions so one can see a problem from as many perspectives as possible. As a leader, I will also ask for opinions from team members (Kudyba, 2014). I will employ various approaches that encourage the sharing of information within the entire organization. I will try to encourage plain talk. That will encourage team members to directly discuss various issues even when the content of the discussion seems to be uncomfortable for many. I will use performance evaluations as a way to promote the same (Kudyba, 2014). When I want to consult other people about specific problems, I will ensure I consider them carefully from as many perspectives as possible before asking for opinions. That approach will help me avoid being limited by the interpretations of other people. I will try to frame the issue in as many ways as possible. I will then look for other people’s perceptions of the same problem and see whether they can add to my understanding of the issue.

I will develop an eye for risk. I believe that a team leader can train themself to look for all forms of threats. Before making important decisions, I will always try to look for ways of knowing when I make the wrong decision. For example, when an organization wants to change its suppliers to reduce the cost of production, they should also think of how they would determine that they have made the right decision or not (Azadnia, Saman, & Wong, 2015). Some of the indicators for a wrong decision, in that case, would include an increase in customer complaints about delays in order delivery. The administration staff would report issues of poor services from the new suppliers, the new supplier could go out of business, leaving the organization with the challenge of looking for another one (Azadnia, Saman, & Wong, 2015). The organization would also stop seeing cost savings at the end of a specific financial period. According to Azadnia, Saman, and Wong (2015), sometimes even relatively good plans have negative outcomes (Azadnia, Saman, & Wong, 2015). As a leader, I would avoid that problem by researching adequately on the various ways in which particular plans could go wrong and make appropriate changes where necessary. I will try not to underestimate the efforts and costs of implementing the plans.

As a leader, I will always try to let go of past mistakes. I will avoid the behavior of trying to justify past decisions when the past experiences were unpleasant. I believe that the stated approach will help the organization save significant amounts of money and time by acknowledging the mistakes and moving on (Azadnia, Saman, & Wong, 2015). The best way to make sound decisions is by basing them on the available evidence at a particular time. Sometimes the validity of specific decisions changes with context (Kudyba, 2014). As a leader, I will always try to make the best decision possible under particular circumstances. I will review situations to see whether a different approach is needed in different situations. I will take enough time to identify members who make good evidence-based decisions. I will not concentrate exclusively on the results. That approach discourages members from trying to fix past mistakes, a factor that can perpetuate mistakes.

• A planned decision-making process

My decision-making process as a leader will involve several steps. The first one is the identification of the decision appropriate for a particular problem. I will think about the possible impacts of particular decisions on the organization and all team members (Azadnia, Saman, & Wong, 2015). The second step will be gathering scientific evidence for the decisions. I will collect facts and data related to the issue. I will then identify alternative decisions. I will come up with a range of options for that purpose. That way, I will identify the option that is most appropriate for a problem. For all the alternatives, I will collect data and facts related to each and then weigh the evidence (Kudyba, 2014). I will look at the pros and cons of every alternative and choose the decision with more pros and less cons. When choosing among alternatives, I will look for the one that is more likely to yield the expected outcomes. After choosing a decision, I will take action. The action, in that case, involves creating a plan for implementation (Kudyba, 2014). I will look for all the resources required for that purpose. The last step is reviewing the decision, where I will evaluate the decision for effectiveness. I will look at the weaknesses and the appropriate ways of making positive changes in future plans.

• Practice that will assist you in achieving goals for the organization

Challenging the status quo is one of the significant approaches to achieve positive change. I will try as much as possible to avoid staying in the comfort zone for long. Being comfortable with a particular strategy may not be enough to prove its appropriateness in solving various organizational problems (Kudyba, 2014). As a team leader, I will always question whether I would choose a particular approach if I was not already following it. I will examine my options as realistically as possible for the same purpose. I will try to avoid overstating the effort or cost incurred when making positive changes (Kudyba, 2014). For example, a team leader should ask themselves whether they would use the same marketing strategies to attract customers or attending the same business seminars when starting over. However, the leader should always remember to use scientific data to review choices.

References

Azadnia, A. H., Saman, M. Z. M., & Wong, K. Y. (2015). Sustainable supplier selection and order lot-sizing: an integrated multi-objective decision-making process. International Journal of Production Research, 53(2), 383-408.

Kudyba, S. (2014). Big data, mining, and analytics: components of strategic decision making. CRC Press.

Shepherd, N. G., & Rudd, J. M. (2014). The influence of context on the strategic decision‐making process: A review of the literature. International Journal of Management Reviews, 16(3), 340-364.

Smith, W. K. (2014). Dynamic decision making: A model of senior leaders managing strategic paradoxes. Academy of Management Journal, 57(6), 1592-1623.