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Running Head: Leadership Teaming and Collaboration 1
Running Head: Leadership Teaming and Collaboration 1
9-26-2017
LEADERSHIP TEAMING AND COLLABORATION 2
Team Leadership
utilized to increase productivity and work quality, can be viewed in terms of Aesops adage in
union there is strength. Teams are described as interconnected work groups with common or
defined goals, which foster effective decision making quickly and efficiently (Rogers, 2011).
The organizations of today are comprised of several layers of leadership who are responsible for
maintaining company vision, and attaining efficient and effective organizational performance.
Senior leaders, Rogers, (2011) fashion the vision of the organization to establish the direction by
developing strategic goals and initiatives to further the companys objectives. Through proper
leadership implementation and direction, team building, can lay stable foundations through
learning and understanding. Therefore, fostering affability and compliance which can be utilized
Collaboration
Communication and trust pave the way in building collaborative partnerships, coming
together productively to achieve like goals. Organizational and employee relationships have been
the focus of much research and the relationship between opportunity and satisfaction rely on the
state of the individuals current situation; as such there is variance in situations dependent on
relation to the aspect of teaming is about taking ownership as a team, the team objectives,
commitment to achievement of these objectives, and feeling personally responsible for the
contributions as a whole. It is the Leaders who are looked to for taking the lead, setting the
example, and play an imperative role in the team dynamics. When team members are filled with
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a sense of accountability there is less turmoil within the team. A cohesive team which has a
strong sense of accountability has much more clarity. The ability to collaborate efficiently to
accomplish much more begins with skilled leadership. One can also conclude that a strong
about gaining in understanding, and understanding is about gaining knowledge and not placing
importance on being right or wrong. Learning is about understanding and when we can learn
through the utilization of teams we can help to broaden perspectives. Teaming opens
opportunities to bounce ideas off of one another as well as discuss projects entirely and is about
building a sense of camaraderie amongst coworkers. According to Griffith and Sawyer (2010)
team performance involves complex interactions among individuals and integration of their
unique skills (p. 1008). Collaboration through teaming is an important component in achieving
exceptional results.
Modern organizations establish team work groups with a strategy of generating synergy
from within which expands to without, therefore, positively effecting the company as a whole.
Such work groups with the proper leadership have the ability to produce team output which is
much greater than the output of the independent worker (Walker, 2006). Moreover, teams are
typically a highly focused set of employees who have roles geared towards achieving specific
goals for the organization. When there is cohesiveness in a team, any problems encountered and
the solutions are as a group, not the individual which helps bring their projects into fruition in a
Learning with teams is a creative process in which an ability to view perspectives through
another set of eyes which leads to seeing things from a different angle. Additionally, change of
perspective helps build a sense of comradery (Marks, et al, 2005). Such learning applies to the
whole and whether this is responding to customers faster, initiating new features smoothly, or
changing up internal processes for better communication, learning is the catalyst. The effect of
learning creates strong foundations which touches every aspect of the organization (Griffeth &
Sawyer, 2010).
common or shared goals. Therefore, accountability in a collaborative alliance is the result of the
effort put forth from teammates who have an understanding gained through learning of being
responsible, being committed to shared goals and in finding solutions together in order to
Kayser, (2011) describes six ingredients for collaborative partnerships which he has
broken down into two natural and simple groups, which are behavioral and structural ingredients.
partnerships as all ingredients combined support one another thus realizing a collaborative
aptitude. A great example of collaboration in action is the City and Township Municipalities of
Watervliet Michigan.
Watervliet Michigan
History. Watervliet Michigan, which is nestled on the Paw Paw River and Paw Paw Lake
was established in 1833 upon the building of a sawmill. This sawmill eventually expanded to a
paper mill in 1892, and would serve as the towns main industry for the next one hundred years.
LEADERSHIP TEAMING AND COLLABORATION 5
As the timber industry began to decline, farming became the next big industry, shipping
thousands of barrels of apples and peaches to the markets in Chicago from the downtown
Watervliet train depot. As the Watervliet economy grew it also became a popular hot spot for
tourists. The citys downtown was filled with visitors on their way to hotels, camps and cottages
on the revered Paw Paw Lake. The community thrived as its close proximity to the Lake
Michigan shoreline, and accessibility to railroads gave it the perfect opportunity to grow into a
resort destination.
Unfortunately, with changing times and the decline of the timber business, which was the
staple industry of Watervliet closed its doors in 1994 for good. The Watervliet paper mill was
finally demolished in 2002 as a collaborative partnership between the city and Township of
Watervliet, the Coloma-Watervliet Area Economic Development Corp., the Berrien County
(Stevens, 2011). Along with the downturn of the economy in 2007 Watervliet began a
progressive economic decline. Community leaders struggled with finding solutions to its lagging
economy as business after business closed their doors in the quaint little downtown.
within their own established charters, yet on a certain level must also function as a unit with the
entire communitys best interest in mind. They must be able to collaborate and unify working as
a team as well as collaborating with other teams that have been established with specific criteria
and certain goals for the enhancement of the community at large. To contend with additional
services needed for local business interests and community development, municipalities can, and
often do establish specialized committees with specific goals, such as a downtown development
Active Collaboration. In the history of the City and the Township of Watervliet there
has been, and continues to be an affable collaborative partnering which on this large a level
requires an immense amount of teaming. Such teaming brings forth the best possible solution
from all parties to benefit the community as a whole. A recent example is a unification and
collaboration on the restoration of a skateboard park in the city yet is utilized by the youth of the
entire community. Originally the establishment of the park was funded by a state grant obtained
by the city. Over the course of time and the result of shoddy construction the recreational park
fell into disrepair, thus the decision had to be made whether to repair or demolish the skateboard
park. One huge problem faced by the city was if the park were demolished all of the grant money
utilized to build the park would have to be paid back therefore it was decided that it would be
more sensible to seek a collaborative effort in gaining the funding needed to repair the park.
When it comes to large scale projects, such as this both the collaborative ingredients and
collaborative action benefit the project when put into place. The community witnessed the
positive teaming collaborative effort of the leaders, the committees and the community as a
whole which produced collaborative effort at its best in teaming and decision making. Now,
three months later the newly refurbished skateboard park is complete and being utilized by the
youth of the community. This type of teaming between parties, which do not always agree when
it comes to various external factors convey when goals are communicated properly the
interact with each other is essential to understanding in order for the effort for reforms of any
type to be made which will make a difference. The elected body and the administration must
LEADERSHIP TEAMING AND COLLABORATION 7
have a clear and high degree of understanding of their different roles, and the fact that these
operate within a chain of command system. Character of the individuals and the integrity of the
team, Kayser (2011) is important due to the relationship between council and the administration
being complex and fragile, and requires commitment from both sides to make it work. It
also requires tenacity, a and a strong will. The team of leaders must utilize listening and proper
communication skills to work through the more complex and difficult issues as well as the many
sense of collaborative leadership which inspires and brings about change through cooperation
across diverse stakeholders. The leaders of the community intentionally engage the community,
departments and businesses outside of their immediate influence. Furthermore, sharing of goals
and visions in anticipation of the same outcome to benefit the community as a whole.
The municipal governing bodies are diverse and bring with them an incredible amount of
talent. The sharing of each leaders attributes and skill set pushes forth progress in common goals
within the operations of a municipal government which also extends out into the community.
Finally, in teaming emotional intelligence is an important skill for people to have, as this is the
ability one has to relate to others. The capability to recognize ones own and other
people's emotions, in combination with the ability to discern between different feelings and label
them appropriately. A sense of self-awareness is what guides thinking and behavior which also
enables adaptation to environments, ultimately establishing a sense of trust and group identity
in teams and/or collaborations are more likely to end in success by focusing on the pertinent
initiatives at hand (Davis, & Eisenhardt, 2011). Moreover, creating a synergetic focus on the
pertinent matters at hand can also increase innovation, and can develop a symbiotic relationship
to coexist between mutually adaptive partnerships (Royden, 2016). Creating the right climate
within a team initiative can create the proper conditions for collaborative success. If
municipalities collaborate such as the township and the city of Watervliet, and continue with
efforts and progress in collaborative initiatives the positive results will resound throughout the
community. It is these types of teamwork and collaborations which operate efficiently and
synergistically that provide positive role models and elicit a brighter future for a once struggling
small town.
Conclusion
Collaborations, such as have been referenced between the municipalities described have
the ability to branch out and broaden their vison in order to reach farther. Therefore, blazing new
trails by utilizing their abilities effectively to produce positive results on a much larger scale.
Such partnering stands to increase their potential in the collaborative initiative in operating like a
well-oiled machine instead of an ineffective and out of control summer camp, which lacks proper
direction. The harnessing of effective communication skills is critical in all such efforts. Team
leaders who open up freely and allow members to contribute to the agenda, gain in that the
conditions ripen for collaborative innovation and innovative collaboration which leads to
attainment of shared goals and/or visions. Skills such as listening and the ability to wield
emotional intelligence in order to achieve goals for the betterment of the whole are critical
LEADERSHIP TEAMING AND COLLABORATION 9
aspects in the attainment of success for the community at large. Collaborative effort resulting in
satisfying a purpose, reaching higher levels of commitment and awareness to the cause, as well
in teaming.
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References
Aram, J., Morgan, C., & Esbeck, E. (1971). Relation of Collaborative Interpersonal
Davis, J., & Eisenhardt, K. (2011). Rotating Leadership and Collaborative Innovation:
Griffith, T., & Sawyer, J. (2010). Multilevel knowledge and team performance. Journal of
http://www.jstor.org/stable/41683959
Kayser, T. (2011). Six ingredients for collaborative partnerships. Leader to Leader, 2011(61),
48-55. doi:10.1002/ltl.480
Marks, M. A., DeChurch, L. A., Mathieu, J. E., Panzer, F. J., & Alonso, A. (2005). Teamwork in
doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.sienaheights.edu:2048/10.1037/0021-9010.90.5.964
https://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.sienaheights.edu/docview/896959135?accountid=28
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http://www.governing.com/templates/gov_print_article?id=379675371 (Links to an
external site.)
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Cliff Stevens / H-P Coloma Correspondent. (2011, November 15). End of the line for Watervliet
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/localnews/end-of-the-line-for-watervliet-paper-
mill/article_27a6ac5b-863b-5a4c-9a45-e067264d847c.html
https://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.sienaheights.edu/docview/304938971?accountid=28
644