The Importance of Leadership in Team Effectiveness

When was the last time your organization promoted someone into a leadership role? What criteria factored into the decision and did it include leadership in team effectiveness?

Evaluating Leadership in Team Effectiveness

Too often, promotion decisions are made without considering whether a leader—or potential leader—can create and sustain highly effective teams. This oversight is not surprising. Few organizations include team-building as part of their leadership development programs. Even fewer assess leaders on their ability to build effective teams.

Leadership is fundamentally about expanding the collective capacity of others to achieve a common goal. It involves building social capital, strengthening connections, and fostering trust, collaboration, and communication. These elements are essential for achieving results.

The Role of Team Dynamics

Promotions frequently overlook a person’s ability to create and sustain highly effective teams. If we believe that leaders are only as good as the teams they lead, this is a significant issue. If we disregard this importance, we risk promoting skilled individual contributors instead of true leaders.

Enhancing Organizational Performance

For organizations aiming to improve overall performance, the first step is to include leadership development—not just leader development—in their existing programs. This approach should extend further. The ability to create and sustain highly effective teams must be a key consideration in leader promotion decisions.

Assessment Tools for Leadership

This capability can be assessed using instruments like the Team Assessment Survey. This survey includes several benchmarks for comparison and can integrate customer or client feedback on results. By using such tools, organizations can make more informed promotion decisions.

In the end, leadership in team effectiveness is a critical factor in building high-performing teams. Organizations that prioritize this will foster stronger cultures and better results.

Check out our new resources page for leaders and teams.

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