5 Areas of Responsibility of A Leader
To answer the question - “what is a leader?” - we must look
at what a leader does. In order to understand what a leader does, we must examine
the environment in which a leader functions.
To understand the leader’s environment we need two essential
embedded bits of knowledge. First we need to know that a leader works within a
team. Secondly, we must understand that a team is a group of people that are
united by a common need or passion, and share a common vision. (Read "The Absurdity Of Leadership")
Armed with this information, let’s turn our attention to the
team for a brief moment. We understand that an assembly of people can be taken
from a group to a high performance team through five progressive stages (Read 5 Stages of Team Development). These stages include forming, storming, norming,
performing and adjourning.
To fully appreciate and comprehend leadership and the
function of a leader, let’s look at the leaders’ responsibilities in each of
the phases:
1.
Forming: The forming stage of team development
is defined by the assembly of the team, selected to pursue a specific vision.
Team members meet each other for the first time, are on good behaviour, are
skilled, share a common need, but are yet to be exposed to the vision. At this
stage the team is dependent on the leader for guidance, orientation and resources.
The leader plays a central role in introducing team members to one another, and
fostering rapport between them. The responsibilities of a leader during this
phase include:
a.
Identifying candidate team members that share
the common passion / need
b.
Assembling team members and resources to achieve
the vision
c.
Sharing the vision with team members and evoking
“buy-in”
d.
Defining roles and responsibilities for each team
member
e.
Assist in the identifying of goals for
respective team members
f.
Delegate respective authority and
accountabilities.
g.
Training/coaching/mentoring of skills, knowledge
or attitude that may be required to realise the vision
2.
Storming: The storming stage is a turbulent time
in the team’s development. This phase is
marked by conflict between team
members as they volley their own ideas and suggestions to outshine others for
the leader’s attention. Team members function individually in silos, unwilling
to support or assist and regard any support as interference. Team members are
aware of the vision, but are not focused on its achievement. The leader is burdened with sorting resources
and resolving conflict. Goal achievement is weak and infrequent. This is an
emotionally draining time for the leader, which will see weak or new leaders giving
up, racked with strain and anger. The main responsibilities of a leader in this
phase are:
a.
Periodically getting resources for team members
as they find their feet
b.
Remind team members of the vision, ensuring
commitment to te bigger picture
c.
Assist respective team members with defining of
boundaries, goals and critical tasks within respective areas of function.
d.
Conflict resolution: yes, it is part of team
development are you had better be prepared to deal with it on a regular basis.
e.
Emphasis goals set, encouraging team members to
focus on the bigger picture.
f.
Training/coaching/mentoring of skills, knowledge
or attitude that may be required to realise the vision
3.
Norming: Calm slowly returns to the group as
they exchange their personal ego for focus and commitment to the vision. The
emphasis is less about their own ideas and more on what will move the team
forward. Team members start to function within their roles, providing assistance
to other team members as they move out of their silo into a “team” space. Team members start to take on the
responsibility of acquiring their own resources. This phase is characterised by
goal achievement. The leader can take a deep breath in this phase, and check
progress towards achieving of the vision. Calibration and corrections to the
team’s direction may be required. The leaders responsibilities change in this
phase to assisting:
a.
Check team is on track to achieve Vision
b.
Set and reset goals and tasks for team members
c.
Periodically offer advice and guidance to team members
as required.
d.
Ensure effective networking between team members
e.
Observe and track progress, taking on role of
mentor
f.
Focus on positive motivation and constructive
feedback sessions
4.
Performing: The desired phase of team
development is achieved as team members frequently achieve goals on a regular
basis. Team members in this phase are efficient at acquiring their own
resources. They now motivate one another, sharing is each other’s success. Conflict
during this phase is directed to ensure constructive outcomes. The leader is
relaxed, observing team members from a distance, ensuring they remain on course
to achieve the vision. The vision is often well within reach when a team enters
this phase. The leaders main responsibilities during this phase include:
a.
Positive motivation and feedback sessions
b.
Mentoring of team members if required
c.
Aware of approaching success with successful
achievement of vision
d.
Offer “recognition and rewards” sessions to
achieving team members
e.
Prepare team members as successors to the
leadership role
5.
Adjourning: Once the team has successfully
achieved the vision, the time comes for the team to disband and move onto other
projects. A leader’s time will be taken up by arranging celebrations and
preparing team members to move on / up or forward within their careers,
ambitions or level of leadership.
The dynamics of these phases are not always clear cut, (See "The Absurdity of Leadership) and
any team could experience two phases simultaneously. It is important for the
leader to correctly identify the phase in which the team moves through, and
adjust style and approach accordingly. The leader must have a dynamic ability
to mix project management with people skills in order to successfully navigate the
team through all the phases to produce desired results. 
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