Leading Teams

Course Description

Leading a team through any task or project requires special skills, and an understanding of the team dynamic and politics. This introductory-level course for managers or anyone interested in leading teams, addresses the key issues surrounding leadership in a team environment. Why is leadership important to team success? What is required of a team leader to lead his team effectively? This course considers how team leaders must account for the special and unique circumstances of working in a team, where responsibility, accountability, communication, and leadership are shared. This course is based on D. Quinn Mills' book, Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live, a text used at Harvard Business School. Excerpts of the book are made available via PDF download and no additional purchase is required.

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, the learner should be able to:

• List and identify the key characteristics and types of teams
• Recognize the benefits and challenges of empowered teams that leaders need to be aware of
• Identify differences in the primary and secondary roles filled by empowered teams and team leaders
• Recognize the key sources of motivation for empowered teams
• Explain Tuckman's model of team development
• Recognize the key qualities and skills of a team leader
• State the value of using the "checklist for team leaders"
• Recognize and apply suggested approaches for managing conflict in teams
• Discuss the different approaches needed for leading virtual teams