Needs to write Leadership Portfolio

BUILDING TEAM COOPERATION AND TRUST 1

BUILDING TEAM COOPERATION AND TRUST 2

BU521 Organizational Leadership

Week 6 Assignment:

BUILDING TEAM COOPERATION AND TRUST

By Raushan Ibrayeva

Southern States University

Dr. Michelle L. Clemons

May 17, 2019

Introduction

Needless to say, a team without trust or cooperation does not in any way qualify to be regarded as a team. Rather, such can best be described as a group of individuals who are just working together and more often than not making disappointing progress. A team that lacks trust and cooperation will often fail to share information among themselves, might regularly battle over sharing of responsibilities and rights and members will basically fail to cooperate with one another (Costa, 2003). It does not matter how talented or skilled the members of such a group are, but as long as they fail to cooperate or trust each other, the team is destined to fail terribly. However, with trust and cooperation, team members will be in peace with each other and together build a team that is strong because every member is a part and parcel of the team. Also when team members trust each other, they have a high chance of attaining the objectives and goals of the team. Here are some ideas on how to build trust and cooperation on a team.

Leading By Example

The first step towards having a team with members who cooperate and trust each other is through leading by example. As a team leader, I will start by trusting both the boss and members of my team. This is because the team members will always be looking up on me as their leader and this is the best opportunity to show them what trusting in other people looks like. In the event that I am virtually managing the team, I will make sure that I treat my team members in the same way i would if it was face to face (Jones, 2018). Trust is built by living up to ones promises and this acts as an example for every other members of the team because ones word is all they can give.

Knowing Team Members Personally

Also, as a team leader, I understand the power that comes with knowing each of the members personally. This gives me the chance to create an opportunity for the members to share their personal stories with me. I will do this by taking time to interact with them about their families, hobbies and any other personal issues. I will also find time to socialize with the team members after meetings or during breaks. By conversing with them personally about work and their personal lives, the team members will gradually start to develop trust with me and conversely with other members of the team. By building trust, it is easy to create a bond between myself and every other team members and they end up trusting each other because we all end up sharing a common ground. (Salas, 2004)

Communicating the Expectations

Existence of trust alone is not enough to build a strong team. Therefore, I will try out a number of strategies to build cooperation between the team members. One way to do this will be by communicating the expectations that I have for the team as their leader. To foster this, I will ensure that every single member of my team is assigned with responsibilities and roles which they will hold within themselves (Gillespie, 2004). In the event that every member of the team has clearly understood their position in the team, they will probably work effectively without having to cross shoulders with one another based on the roles and responsibilities to be executed. This way I will have created a collaborative environment while at the same time prevented arising of any type of responsibility related conflicts. Furthermore, with the creation of a collaborative environment, each member of my team will be able to take part in shared results from the responsibilities. Having this kind of focus within the group, there is a definite experience of success from both the success of every individual and also as a group.

Establish Team Goals

Another strategy I will use to nature team cooperation is to establish the goals of the team. As a leader, I understand the benefits of setting measurable goals for a stated time period while working with a team. The objective of setting goals for the team is to provide the team members with something to accomplish (Jones, 2018). Such wins or rather goals have their own way of breaking down barriers while at the same time creating personal and collective momentum. Furthermore, I will take time to sit down with members of my team and help with the re-evaluation of their goals and even redirect them when needed. With this type of transparency within a team, it is easy to foster cooperation and eliminate confusion and finger pointing and disintegration of the team’s cohesion.

Encourage Innovation

Lastly, I would encourage the members of my team to become innovative. To foster cooperation within the team members it is necessary to encourage brain storming in an environment that is non-judgmental and open. To encourage cooperation, I will make sure I engage the members to share their thoughts, ideas and reasoning consistently (Yukelson, 2017). This will help them feel connected to me as their leader and to themselves besides becoming more motivated to achieve and even exceed their expectations.

Conclusion

In conclusion the establishment of trust and cooperation within the members of a team is just the beginning of having a successful team. For cooperation and trust to be founded within a team, the above discussed attributes must be consistent besides including motivational factors. Motivated members are happy team members. With an environment that is conducive and with a good leader, trust is automatically established. Failure to execute these factors will lead to a team that is purposed to fail now or later.

References

Costa, A. C. (2003). Work team trust and effectiveness. Personnel review, 32(5), 605-622.

Gillespie, N. A., & Mann, L. (2004). Transformational leadership and shared values: The building blocks of trust. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 19(6), 588-607.

Jones, G. R., & George, J. M. (2018). The experience and evolution of trust: Implications for cooperation and teamwork. Academy of management review, 23(3), 531-546.

Salas, E., Sims, D. E., & Klein, C. (2004). Cooperation at work. Encyclopedia of applied psychology, 1, 497-505.

Yukelson, D. (2017). Principles of effective team building interventions in sport: A direct services approach at Penn State University. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 9(1), 73-96.