Team Leadership to meet Strategic Objectives

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

GLOSSARY OF TEAMS

ACRONYMS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES

CHAPTER 1: ORIENTATION
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.4 PRIMARY INVESTIGATIVE QUESTION
1.5 SUB-INVESTIGATIVE QUESTIONS
1.6 PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH STUDY
1.7 LIMITATIONS AND DE-LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
1.8 SUMMARY

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORKS BY KOUZES & POSTNER
2.3 LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORKS BY KOTTER
2.4 LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORKS BY ULRICH, SMALLWOOD AND SWEETMAN
2.5 LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORKS BY BLANCHARD
2.6 LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORKS BY MAXWELL AND BUCKINGHAM
2.7 LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORKS BY ADAIR AND COVEY
2.8 TEAM LEADERSHIP AND TEAM EFFECTIVENESS
2.9 UNDERSTANDING TEAMS
2.10 TEAM DYNAMICS
2.10.1 WORK GROUP
2.10.2 TEAM TYPES
2.10.3 TEAM PERFORMANCE
2.10.4 TEAM ROLES
2.10.5 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE FOR TEAMS
2.10.6 TEAM CONFLICT
2.10.7 TEAM COMMITMENT
2.10.8 TEAM TRUST
2.10.9 TEAM ACCOUNTABILITY
2.10.10 TEAM DIVERSITY AND CULTURE
2.10.11 TEAM LEARNING
2.10.12 TEAM METRICS
2.10.13 TEAM SKILLS
2.10.14 TEAM COMMUNICATION
2.11 ORANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND CULTURE
2.12 TALENT MANAGEMENT
2.13 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

CHAPTER 3 : RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN
3.3 POPULATION AND SAMPLING
3.4 TEAM LEADERSHIP QUESTIONNAIRE (TLQ) DESIGN
3.5 TEAM ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE (TAQ) DESIGN
3.6 QUESTIONNAIRE GENERIC CONTENT
3.6 PRE-TESTING OF THE QUESTIONNAIRES
3.7 DATA ANALYSIS
3.8 ETHICS
3.9 SUMMARY

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.1.1 RESPONDED MEASURED SAMPLING
4.2 THE RESPONSE OF TEAM MEMBERS AND TEAM LEADERS
4.2.1 THE RESPONSE OF TEAM A AND TEAM LEADER A
4.2.2 THE RESPONSE OF TEAM B AND TEAM LEADER B
4.2.3 THE RESPONSE OF TEAM C AND TEAM LEADER C
4.2.4 THE RESPONSE OF TEAM D AND TEAM LEADER D
4.2.5 THE RESPONSE OF TEAM E AND TEAM LEADER E
4.2.6 THE RESPONSE OF TEAM F AND TEAM LEADER F
4.2.7 THE RESPONSE OF TEAM G AND TEAM LEADER G
4.2.8 THE RESPONSE OF TEAM H AND TEAM LEADER H
4.2.9 THE RESPONSE OF TEAM I AND TEAM LEADER I
4.2.10 THE RESPONSE OF TEAM J AND TEAM LEADER J
4.2.11 THE RESPONSE OF TEAM K AND TEAM LEADER K
4.3 FREQUENCY OF TEAM RESPONSES
4.4 FREQUENCY FOR TEAM LEADER RESPONSES
4.5 RELIABILITY ANALYSIS FOR TEAM RESPONSES
4.6 RELIABILITY ANALYSIS FOR TEAM LEADERS’ RESPONSES
4.7 TEAM LEADER AGE RESPONSES
4.8 TEAM LEADERS YEARS IN A MANAGEMENT CAPACITY
4.9 RESPONSES OF TEAM LEADERS
4.10 TUCKMAN PLOT FOR TEAMS
4.11 AVERAGE TEAM RESPONSES
4.13 QUALIFICATION AVERAGE OF TEAMS
4.14 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

CHAPTER 5 : RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH STUDY
5.2.1 CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW
5.2.2 CHAPTER 2 OVERVIEW
5.2.3 CHAPTER 3 OVERVIEW
5.2.4 CHAPTER 4 OVERVIEW
5.3 SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH STUDY
5.4 ANALYSED TEAM LEADERS
5.5 ANALYSED TEAMS
5.6 AGE RESPONSE OF TEAM LEADERS
5.7 TEAM LEADERS YEARS OF SERVICE IN A LEADERSHIP CAPACITY
5.8 TEAM AVERAGES RESPONSES
5.9 TEAM QUALIFICATIONS RESPONSES
5.10 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.10.1 TEAM LEADERSHIP
5.10.2 TEAMS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX A:TEAM LEADERSHIP QUESTIONNAIRE (TLQ)

APPENDIX B: TEAM ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE (TAQ)

APPENDIX C : CRONBACH ALPHA CALCULUS ON TEAM A

APPENDIX D : CRONBACH ALPHA CALCULUS ON TEAM B

APPENDIX E : CRONBACH ALPHA CALCULUS ON TEAM C

APPENDIX F : CRONBACH ALPHA CALCULUS ON TEAM D

APPENDIX G: CRONBACH ALPHA CALCULUS ON TEAM E

APPENDIX H : CRONBACH ALPHA CALCULUS ON TEAM F

APPENDIX I : CRONBACH ALPHA CALCULUS ON TEAM G

APPENDIX J : CRONBACH ALPHA CALCULUS ON TEAM H

APPENDIX K: CRONBACH ALPHA CALCULUS ON TEAM I

APPENDIX L: CRONBACH ALPHA CALCULUS ON TEAM J

APPENDIX M: CRONBACH ALPHA CALCULUS ON TEAM K

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1:The Leadership Code

Figure 2.2:Servant Leadership Implementation

Figure 2.3:The 8th Habit

Figure 2.4:Framework of Team Leadership and Team Effectiveness

Figure 2.5:Workplace Social Exchange Network Flow Diagram

Figure 2.6:The broad Functions of Strategic Leadership

Figure 2.7:The Team Trilogy

Figure 2.8:Lencioni Five Dysfunctions

Figure 2.9:Sociological Criteria of Groups

Figure 2.10:Team Performance Curve

Figure 2.11: Transformational Leadership and Team Performance

Figure 2.12: The parts of the mind

Figure 2.13: Five domains of Emotional Intelligence

Figure 2.14: Good Practice in the Workplace that Cultivates EQ

Figure 2.15: Fundamental Attitudes and Behaviour in Conflicts

Figure 2.16: Drivers of Overall Organisational Commitment

Figure 2.17: The four Layers of Diversity

Figure 2.18: The U Process and the Five Disciplines

Figure 2.19: The Balanced Scorecard

Figure 2.20: Aristotle communication framework

Figure 2.21: Shannon and Weaver’s Communication Framework

Figure 2.22: Berlo’s “SMCR” Communication Framework

Figure 2.23: Team Communication-Maxwell

Figure 2.24: The Three Cultures

Figure 2.25: Levels of Culture

Figure 2.26: Culture and Organisational Dimensions

Figure 2.27: Organisational Culture Matrix

Figure 3.1: Chapter 3 Research Design Methodology Approach

Figure 4.1: Team Leader A Respondent Data

Figure 4.2: Team Leader B Respondent Data

Figure 4.3: Team Leader C Respondent Data

Figure 4.4: Team Leader D Respondent Data

Figure 4.5: Team Leader E Respondent Data

Figure 4.6: Team Leader F Respondent Data

Figure 4.7: Team Leader G Respondent Data

Figure 4.8: Team Leader H Respondent Data

Figure 4.9: Team Leader I Respondent Data

Figure 4.10: Team Leader J Respondent Data

Figure 4.11: Team Leader K Respondent Data

Figure 4.12: Team Leaders Age Responses

Figure 4.13: Team Leaders Managaement Capacity in Years

Figure 4.14: Characteristics of Team Leaders Measured

Figure 4.15: Tuckman Plot for Teams Measured

Figure 4.16: Team Averages Measured

Figure 4.17: Team Qualifications Measured

Figure 5.1: Chapter 2 Learning Theory

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: Ten Commitments of Leadership

Table 2.2: Team Leadership Functions and Team Interaction Dynamics

Table 2.3: Absence of Trust

Table 2.4: Teams that fear Conflict

Table 2.5: Teams that Fails to Commit

Table 2.6: Teams that Avoids Accountablity

Table 2.7: Teams that do not Focus on Results

Table 2.8: Belbin Team Role Theory

Table 2.9: Leadership Competencies List

Table 3.1: Assumed Sampling Team Leaders and Teams

Table 3.2: TLQ Inputs

Table 3.3: Rating Scale for TLQ

Table 3.4: Team Maturity Evaluation

Table 3.5: Team Characteristics Evaluation

Table 3.6: TAQ Inputs

Table 4.1: True Sampling Detail of Team Leaders and Teams

Table 4.2: Team A Respondent Data

Table 4.3: Team B Respondent Data

Table 4.4: Team C Respondent Data

Table 4.5: Team D Respondent Data

Table 4.6: Team E Respondent Data

Table 4.7: Team F Respondent Data

Table 4.8: Team G Respondent Data

Table 4.9: Team H Respondent Data

Table 4.10: Team I Respondent Data

Table 4.11: Team J Respondent Data

Table 4.12: Team K Respondent Data

Table 4.13: Team Frequency Respondents Table

Table 4.14: Team Characteristic Evaluation Summary

Table 4.15: Team Leader Characteristic Rating Response

Table 4.16: Team Leader Frequency Respondents Table

Table 4.17: Cronbach Alpha Calculus Summary on Various Teams

Table 4.18: Combined Cronbach Alpha Calculus on Team Leaders

Table 4.19: Team Leader Matrix Response

DEDICATION

“This research study is dedicated to my father who, although he passed away some years ago, shared my inspiration, carrying the family tradition of our surname of achieving a high standard of faith and excellence in my growth as a human being focusing on success now on earth and in heaven someday in the future.”

A special thanks to my supervisor Prof. Erik Schmikl. His guidance and motivation has been indispensable to my study. His own clear example of being a genuine servant leader, showing transformational leadership and humanitarian agility has not gone unnoticed.

I value the support he has given me in my attempts to achieve this degree and for moulding me so that one day I may become an exceptional creative leader inspiring others, building a trust and adding value to human life abundantly.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the following people and / or parties who have enabled me to complete this work:

My closest family giving me the support and motivation;

My supervisor Prof. Erik Schmikl for his immense knowledge, advice and guidance throughout the work on the dissertation;

To my friends and especially new friends made during the Master’s Degree journey in the project management environment for sharing their views and knowledge of collective information;

Father David Swanepoel and Tinus du Preez for proof reading this dissertation; and

Company C, for allowing me to evaluate team leaders and their teams in order to construct a validated, measureable dissertation that is useful for strategy compliances.”

ABSTRACT

Team leadership has always been at the epicentre, the heart of any company wishing to meet strategy objectives. Working in an environment where teams function cross-functionally, functional centricity can become the turf and playground that obstruct and eliminate objectives for strategic intent. To enable a shared vision which meet strategy objectives this research study has examined a core sample of team leaders who provided leadership of their various teams. Given a competency to which level all leaders conformed in their managerial capacity to lead teams, eleven team leaders were evaluated with regard to key competency characteristics involving empathy, feedback, leadership capacity, commitment, performance, empowerment, communication, motivation and influence. The respondent teams were assessed on their maturity level and a Tuckman plot was compiled to measure each team’s maturity level in the organisation as well as each team’s competency characteristic dimensions which consisted of the following:

Absence of trust.

The fear of conflict.

The lack of commitment.

The avoidance of accountability; and Inattention to results.

To move from a good to even a great team performance, characterising a high-performance team with an impressive team leader, measurement is needed to pin-point the level at which the assessed company is currently performing, in order to validate and plan future long-term, winning strategies.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

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ACRONYMS

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CHAPTER 1: ORIENTATION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

This Chapter will provide an orientation and background to the problem to be investigated; the problem statement; the primary and sub-problem statement; the primary and sub-investigative questions; objective of the research study and its restraints.

When employees are working in an environment where engineering and development with innovation meets strategic objectives, engineering teams normally align their purpose, and cooperate in trying to meet company goals. People who perform in such groups and teams either bond and work collectively together, or they work in functional independence fulfilling their purpose of meeting company goals. Endless problems can result in meeting any strategic objectives. Such problems relate to team leadership driving these teams.

The research which has been undertaken here originated when company A, a company with its head office in Europe, purchased a 70% share of company B in 2007, with a 30% share still remaining with company B. When this new company was formed in July 2007, it started trading as company C, with the objective of becoming a world-class branding company. The prime objective for company C is to make its mark as a versatile, high-precision branding company for the South African market which is also globally competitive.

Company A is well known, globally, as a quality branding company that produces high quality optics in the commercial and military fields. The trading company formed in South Africa is a division of the mother company situated in Europe. Company C in South Africa focuses mainly on products that are used in airborne, land and sea observation systems. After the merging and integration of the two companies, the researcher was working in the capacity of a project assistant, helping a senior project manager fulfilling task objectives for the South African Navy, on submarine periscope products.

The company soon restructured all staff in various positions and business units, according to the strategy map laid down by the new executive members. Most engineers became project managers. The researcher was transferred to the configuration department working in the capacity of a configuration specialist. The work entailed planning, change control, auditing and status accounting. It also entailed working as a team member on a project, managing a data pack for the complete duration and life cycle of the project.

Being a team member involves interacting with cross-functional departments such as quality, marketing, procurement, engineering, and operations and helping to facilitate their various activities. Teams, as an internal resource, are expected to perform and deliver key project goals that are congruent with the company’s strategic objectives.

According to Lynch (2006:7), every organisation needs to manage its three main strategies, namely: internal resources. external environment within which the company operates; and the organisation’s ability to add value to what it does.

When individuals collaborate in teams or in cross-functional teams, working and reaching milestones,- the intention is to meet strategic objectives for the project and the company. However, it can happen that teams can miss key milestones, can overspend their initial budgets, and can delay tasks. This, in turn, can damage the company, which is in conflict with established company strategy. Depending on the life cycle phase a project team or product finds itself in, its operations department can suffer disaster when a material resource planning system is switched on. The operations department will soon discover that the designs, components and resources allocated to these processes do not conform to the initial requirements.

The engineering teams that were doing contractual work, such as design work, qualification of product, and numerous other engineering tasks, are normally responsible and accountable for engineering problems not yet fully resolved. Owing to time scales and production schedules all these unattended engineering tasks become the ownership of the production department that initially manufactures the products. Endless problems occur with high product scrap rates, demotivation of production teams, late deliveries of components, non-reliable designs and no product qualification. These all tie up to product and team failure. Working in such teams, shadowing their weaknesses from the rest of the company, and working exclusively in functional independence, is very dangerous for members of teams wishing to meet strategic objectives. Failure occurs more often when cross-functional teams work against each other or a turf warfare, departmental politics and divisional rivalry become the major objective and frequently this failure spirals down to the lowest level of authority, including a team. The repair of a problem so far down the pipeline costs energy, motivation and money, in relation to the resource action plan to get the work done efficiently and effectively. The impact can result in late or delayed delivery schedules that could entail breaching contracts.

No company can really afford to lose contracts and this should be avoided at all costs. A company’s heart is truly its employees, and when they are mismatched or wrongly assigned in teams, or there are work groups not performing, silos occur that result in the absence of trust, lack of commitment, the inattention of performance results, fear of conflict and the avoidance of accountability. This derails teams and detaches cohesion.

Aligning teams, focussing them to become high- performance teams, will become much more important than the individual members. This alignment in teams with impressive leadership could create a better future in this company especially with a view to deliver strategic objectives.

The research undertaken by the researcher will not only benefit the researcher’s personal goals, but will also benefit the company’s long-term strategic objectives as an input to assess the current teams and leadership potential and formulating recommendations how teams can become highperformance teams and how measurable leadership frameworks could be developed for company C going into 2016 and beyond.

1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM

Since the merging of company B and the creation of company C, much energy has been expended on the shaping and forming of the newly- established company, making it a global branding company that has the same values and beliefs as the mother company, company A in Europe. There is a large cultural difference between European and South African company cultures, and these mismatching cultures and objectives laid down by the executives do not resolve any forward movement for company C.

The new organisation has appointed the line managers from the previous company as team leaders in organisational structures to spearhead the company forward. The mind-sets of the functional managers were clouded by the previous methods, policies and procedures that they had used before the merger. Departments, including engineering groups, worked in silos, and cross-functional teams could not function as they should have. There were, and still are, resource problems, because programme managers in their current positions cannot do resource planning for project teams.

They are highly trained engineers with product knowledge, but they have no (or little) people management skills. The blame was shifted onto the human resources department for not providing the human talent and support. Eventually, individuals working in groups and teams became “loose cannons”, never completing key objectives for projects. There virtually was no team leadership and cultivating training programmes for developing future team leaders. This clearly became a necessity and a responsibility for team leaders in managerial roles.

Most of the programme and project managers were engineers and both planning and sharing resources occurred exclusively in functional independence. Conflict between teams and individuals was common, with few win-win situations. When projects were terminated or closed down, having achieved their purpose, the re-using of skilled resources in the formation of new teams became a challenge and careful planning and matching of resources needed to be done in forming new teams. It is imperative that project managers and line managers, seen here as team leaders, need to have people skills together with the required technical skills.

Engineers and programme managers in leadership positions currently form the foundation that leads teams and is functionally focussed. This situation in company C needs to be changed, in order to benefit the company’s long-term strategy. From the researcher’s objective position for this research study, it is clear that a cumulative assessment on the current status of teams and leadership outcomes will add value by providing recommendations and suggestions that could provide talent balancing and changes to teams, enabling them to become high-performing teams. The leadership outcomes provided by the research project could affect leadership training. It also could suggest team leader replacements, driving the company’s high-performance teams forward to obtain integrated strategic objectives.

1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Against the above background the research problem to be investigated reads as follows: “Current team work and leadership occur functionally centred that result in strategic objectives failing”.

1.4 PRIMARY INVESTIGATIVE QUESTION

The primal research question to be answered by this investigation is: “What leadership frameworks and type of team collaboration should be applied to deliver strategic objectives successfully? “.

1.5 SUB-INVESTIGATIVE QUESTIONS

The investigative sub-questions to be answered in support of the primal research question are:

- What leadership education and framework can foster high-performance teams and team leaders?
- How does the current organisational structure and culture match with the working of the teams to date?
- To what extent does talent management contribute towards attaining strategic goals?
- What efficient and effective psychological team leadership characteristics need to be present for the team leaders leading the teams to attain company goals?

1.6 PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH STUDY

The primary research objectives of this dissertation read as follows:

- To mitigate the research problem as defined;
- To demonstrate a need analysis for skilled team leadership and team dynamics, building the next generation of skilled resources for the company;
- To determine the leadership frameworks that can align and improve company’s strategic objectives to be effective and efficient;
- To capture to what extent team leadership could be developed to enable leaders to obtain a high-performance visibility; and
- To measure the company’s current team and leadership performance in various functional departments obtained from the statistically sample evaluated.

1.7 LIMITATIONS AND DE-LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The following limitations and de-limitations will be applicable to this research study:

- Limitations:
- The research study is limited to company C employees only and will not include employee contributions from the mother company A situated in Europe.
- The research study is limited to the human resource requirements and availability in the time frame conducting the research.
- The research study is limited to the requirement policies of the company, with the instruction issued by HR to the researcher not to target the executive team members formulating the strategy for company C.
- De-Limitations:
- The research study outcome will contribute to team leadership and team development, projecting a quality mind-set and initiative, to move forward and improve human talent in the future.

1.8 SUMMARY

This chapter covered the background to the research study and provided the problem statement, primary and sub-investigative questions to be answered, the objective as well as the limitations and de-limitations of the research study.

Chapter 2 will cover a literature study in support of the sub-investigative questions to be answered. This will be followed by chapter 3 the research design methodology, the analysis of the research data (chapter 4), and final integrative chapter 5 with conclusions and recommendations arising from the research study.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Since ancient times leadership and teams have existed and living in a century and in a millennium of constant change, businesses need to adapt to fit in to the global network chain. Teamwork with leadership becomes increasingly important in the society where we as humans work and from which we earn a living. As technology increases in the workplace, teamwork and leadership also need to grow and develop continuously, linking to the work and social networking environment.

According to Meister and Willyerd (2010:155), the way our organisations function to be more competitive for the future, will be to rely on human development skills and working in teams and groups rather than as individuals. Companies will hire entire work groups and teams to solve problems, rather than working with brilliant individuals. The workforce in the context of teams for the future will be fluent, diverse in age and ethnicity, flexible, collaborative, very mobile, global and hyper-connected. It is happening already globally and learning and growing companies need to adapt to this new, evolving way of working with workgroups and teams.

Along with teams come the responsibilities that providing them with team leadership knowledge. Leading teams starts with individuals having a shared vision that influences the rest of the team and allows them to lead by example. Almost every human being can become a leader and the knowledge we obtain through experience and taught theory can be applied with great success. According to Kouzes and Posner (2007:27),” leadership is not only in the hands of the privileged few, but it is available for those who can model the way, inspire a shared vision, enable others to act and provide encouragement ”.

The ability to become a great leader according to Maxwell (1995:197), begins with the desire to be one, which multiplies with influence and which continues to build and grow to the next generation depending on the leadership style used.

When companies want results, they cannot take the leap to achieve success in meeting their strategic objectives alone. Real commitment is needed and it is very much dependent on leadership. Teams become very important when individuals join together in working groups to form teams. According to Liker (2004:173-182), the principle is “to grow leaders internally rather than sourcing them from other companies. The fundamental issue here is growing potential leaders internally for the company and using their expertise and commitment thoroughly because they understand the work, live the philosophy and teach it to others.”

2.2 LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORKS BY KOUZES & POSTNER

According to Kouzes and Postner (2007:25-26), leadership is embedded in five basic practices with ten commitments that serves as guides as to how leaders get extraordinary things done in organisations. These can be summarised as follows according to Table 2.1. Leadership practice is not taught, applied and supplied exclusively for those who are gifted in using leadership skills, but is rather available to all of us.

Also leaders do not come only from large companies, branded companies, start-up companies or from well-established companies. Leaders can be found everywhere and are known as the “heroes of the day”. Leadership, which means getting things done in an extraordinary way, comes with a price tag. According to Kouzes and Postner (2007:339-340),” leadership is not a gene, or a secret code, that can be deciphered by ordinary people. The truth is that leadership is an observable set of skills and abilities in all assets of modern life as we know it which can be strengthened, honed to perfection and enhanced, given the motivation and desire, along with practice and feedback with coaching” (Kouzes & Postner ,2007:339-340).

Table 2.1: Ten commitments of Leadership (Source: Adapted from Kouzes &

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Giving us the leading theory about leadership today, Kouzes & Posner further define interactively the ten fundamental truths of applied leadership complementary to Table 2.1 that can be briefly summarised as follows:

- “Leadership is not about personality; it ’ s about behaviour ” (Kouzes & Posner, 2007:15).
- “Credibility is the foundation of leadership ” (Kouzes & Posner,2007:37).
- “Personal values drive commitment ” (Kouzes & Posner, 2007:56).
- “Passion and attention go hand in hand ” (Kouzes & Posner,2007:113).
- “Everyone performs better when they take charge of change ” (Kouzes & Posner, 2007:169).
- “True leaders tap into people ’ s hearts and minds, not merely their hands and wallets ” (Kouzes &Posner, 2007:174).
- “Leaders are active learners ” (Kouzes & Posner,2007:203).
- “Leaders are genuinely interested in those they coach ” (Kouzes & Posner, 2007:262).
- “Leadership development is self-development ” (Kouzes & Posner, 2007:344).

2.3 LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORKS BY KOTTER

Strategic objectives that drive companies to perform, creating wealth, growth and sustainability have a direct link to leadership and according to Kotter and Cohen (2002:15), involve eight fundamental steps that energise leaders. Following these steps any change leader can become better. The theory is in congruence with the theories of Kouzes and Posner which address effectiveness for long-term and short -term applied practices, falling in the domain and framework of a learning organisation. The eight fundamental steps according to Kotter & Cohen (2002:15), can be summarised as follows:

Increase urgency: (Kotter & Cohen, 2002:36)

- “ Showing others the need for change with compelling objects that they actually see, touch and feel.
- Showing people valid and dramatic evidence from outside the organisation that change is required.
- Looking constantly for cheap and easy ways to reduce complacency; and
- Never underestimating how much complacency, fear and anger exists, even in good organisations. ”

Build the guiding team: (Kotter & Cohen, 2002:60)

- “Showing enthusiasm and commitment to help draw the right people into the group.
- Modelling the trust and teamwork needed in the group.
- Structuring meeting formats for the guiding team so as to minimize frustration and increase trust; and
- Putting your energy into step 1 (raising urgency) if one cannot take on the step 2 challenge and if the right people will not do so. ”

Get the vision right: (Kotter & Cohen, 2002:82)

-“Literally trying to see possible futures.
- Visions that are so clear that they can be articulated in one minute or written up on one page.
- Visions that are so moving-such as commitment to serving people.
- Strategies that are bold enough to make bold visions a reality; and
- Paying careful attention to the strategic question of how quickly to introduce change.”

Communicate for buy-In:( Kotter & Cohen, 2002:101)

- “Keeping communication simple and heartfelt, not complex and technocratic.
- Doing homework before communicating, especially to understand what people are feeling.
- Speaking to anxieties, confusion, anger, and distrust.
- Ridding communication channels of junk so that important messages can go through; and
- Using new technology to help people see the vision (intranet and satellites). ”

Empower action:( Kotter & Cohen, 2002:123)

- “Finding individuals with change experience who can bolster people ’ s self-confidence with we-won.
- Recognition and reward system that inspire, promote optimism, and build self-confidence.
- Feedback that can help people make better vision-related decisions; and
- “ Retooling ” disempowering managers by giving them new jobs that clearly show the need for change.”

Create short-term wins: (Kotter & Cohen, 2002:141) “Early wins that come fast.

- Wins that are as visible as possible to as many people as
- possible.
- Wins that penetrate emotional defences by being unambiguous. Wins that are meaningful to others-,the more deeply meaningful the better.
- Early wins that speak to powerful players whose support you need and do not yet have; and
- Wins that can be achieved cheaply and easily, even if they seem small compared with the grand vision.”

Don’t let up:( Kotter & Cohen, 2002:159)

- “Aggressively ridding yourself of work that wears you down, like tasks that were relevant in the past but are not now, and tasks that can be delegated.
- Looking constantly for ways to keep urgency up; and
- Using new situations opportunistically to launch the next wave of change.”
- Make change stick: (Kotter & Cohen, 2002:177)
- “Not stopping at step 7. It isn ’ t over until the changes have roots. Using new employee orientation to show recruits compellingly what the organisation cares about.
- Using the promotions process to place people who act according to the new norms into influential and visible positions. Telling vivid stories over and over about the new organisation, what it does, and why it succeeds; and
- Making absolutely sure you have the continuity of behaviour and results that help a new culture growing.”

2.4 LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORKS BY ULRICH, SMALLWOOD AND SWEETMAN

According to Ulrich, Smallwood and Sweetman (2008:1-2), “leadership matters and good leadership always inspires, excites, engages, but can leave us from time to time if we don ’ t practise or exercise our personal proficiencies building trust and credibility ”. Ulrich, Smallwood & Sweetman (2008:14), formulated five basic rules of a leadership code which makes for effective leadership. The fundamentals are illustrated in Figure 2.1

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Figure 2.1:The Leadership code ( Source : from Ulrich, Smallwood, & Sweetman, 2008:14)

This framework is a very powerful tool and can inspire any leader to think beyond his / her capabilities, and with this motivation, to implement such a framework in leading people in a practical world. The five basic concepts are summarised as follows (Ulrich et al., 2008:14-19):

Shape the future (Rule 1):

To shape the future, strategic questions can be answered like, “Where are we going?” (Ulrich et al., 2008:14) for a typical journey for the company. This rule focuses on organisational needs tested pragmatically against current resources, finances, people and organisational capabilities of what is possible, defining and delivering strategic objectives.

Make things happen (Rule 2):

Make things happen is actually turning what one knows into what one does. Executors translate strategy into actions, assign accountability with regard to what key decisions to take and which to delegate, and keeping promises to stakeholders.

Engage today’s talent (Rule 3):

Engage today’s talent is informally asking “Who is taking the business journey with us?”( Ulrich et al., 2008:15). Talent managers identify the skills required, draw talent to their organisations and engage them in an intensely personal way to become professional in the organisation. Talent managers are also helping people to develop themselves for the benefit of the organisation.

Build the next generation (Rule 4):

Building the next generation answers the question from a strategic point of view, “Who stays behind to sustain the organisation for the next generation?.” (Ulrich et al., 2008:16). Building a workforce that enables growth that will outlive any single individual is the focal point of this rule. Human capital developers help future leaders become successful.

Invest in yourself (Rule 5):

Invest in yourself is, literally and figuratively, a means of building personal proficiency. It is about being passionate about beliefs and interests, building trust and credibility making it possible for others to follow their dreams. It is about focussing on ones strengths to achieve excellence in attaining ones goals. All leaders must excel in rule 5. The higher a leader rises within an organisation, the more he or she needs to develop excellence in more than one of the four domains listed above.

2.5 LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORKS BY BLANCHARD

The leadership theories, taught and presented by Blanchard ( 2010), make practical sense in a practical world using leadership fundaments which can be applied daily. According to Blanchard and Ridge (2009:69-71), servant leadership frameworks carry a message from the heart, involving five core values, namely: caring, candour, mutual trust, learning and teaching, and persistence. The servant leadership message can be used at any stage of practising leadership and making the concept our own, in the environment in which we are working.

All humans in any functional or managerial position of authority daily serve one another by providing task objectives with the support of management by leading people. Servant leadership can also be used as an inspiring framework to guide team leaders to serve the need of its teams. This leadership framework can be achieved quite easily and it is entirely up to the individual to decide how he / she should apply this knowledge and inspire others. The key points are summarised as follows:

- Performing well: “What makes people feel good about themselves?” (Blanchard & Ridge, 2009:91).
- To help people perform well, an effective performance management system must be established (Blanchard & Ridge, 2009:94). It all starts with performance planning (Blanchard & Ridge, 2009:97). The biggest impact on performance comes from day-to-day coaching (Blanchard & Ridge, 2009:101).
- Trust is the key to effective coaching (Blanchard & Ridge, 2009:117).
- The ultimate coaching tool: accentuating the positive (Blanchard & Ridge, 2009:122).
- Redirection helps get performance back on track (Blanchard & Ridge, 2009:125).
- Deliver reprimands with caring candour (Blanchard & Ridge, 2009:129).
- Performance reviews should be about retaking the final exam (Blanchard & Ridge, 2009:133).
- Developing and sharing your leadership point of view is a powerful communication tool for your people (Blanchard & Ridge, 2009:136). Servant leadership is the only way to go (Blanchard & Ridge, 2009:139), and ;
- Celebrate successes (Blanchard & Ridge, 2009:149).

This framework, explained in Figure 2.2 indicates how servant leadership should be implemented in a company. The framework is a pyramidal hierarchy of an organisation upside down.

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Figure 2.2: Servant Leadership Implementation (Source: Blanchard & Ridge, 2009:145)

According to Blanchard (2010:202), employees need to work more smartly and not harder. Providing these resources (human talent) directly, leaders must help enhance the talent of team members in teams and discover their ability to increasingly unleash their talent.

2.6 LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORKS BY MAXWELL AND

BUCKINGHAM

According to Maxwell (2004:9-11), the theory of his perception of leadership rests on four main pillars which can be summarised as follows:

Relationships:

No human takes the journey alone in this world. Every person depends constantly upon another in both tangible and intangible ways.

Equipping:

Leaders equip people for a bigger role in life, and even in organisations, big or small, leaders train people, develop them to the point at which they eventually surpass the leader in knowledge and ability.

Attitude:

Cultivating a good positive nature in leading a group, a team, a business, a company or even a country, fosters real success. Talent is not enough. A good positive attitude extends most boundaries that humans know. “Attitude”, in this context, is really about how the person is and that overflows into how he / she acts.

Leadership:

Growth for a successful leader involves influencing others. This takes time and effort at directing one’s own life and ability. It also involves being immersed in the strategy of the organisation in which one operates in order to achieve success.

From the traditional leadership point of view Maxwell (2007:122), also gives guidance on how talent, as one of the vital essentials of leadership, could be utilised and practised. This is summarized as follows:

- “Become an excellent coach and maximize your potential on your own. Give your best effort.
- Create a clear purpose for what you want to accomplish.
- Focus on the greatest talent, staying in your strength zone; and
- Employ the right resources that will facilitate the building blocks needed to go to the next level of achievement. ”

According to Buckingham (2011:5), strong leadership makes humans feel invigorated, inquisitive and successful. To recognise strengths, a simple acronym “SIGN” is a reminder for one to utilise ones’s strengths and mentally to zoom into this when doing tasks. The explanation of the acronym is as follows:

S-Success: “Do we feel a sense of accomplishment about finishing a task?”

I-Instint: “Do we instinctively look forward to performing this task?”.

G-Growth: “Are we mentally focused?”.

N-Needs: “Does this task fulfil our needs? ” .

Leaders need to discover their own strengths based on the acronym, pushing and adapting in the most desired direction where their core strengths are embedded. No longer are people the greatest asset to any company unless they are in a position to enhance their strengths, those things they do best and well, consistently and energetically. Individuals and teams outperform those who do not adapt their strengths so as to pave the way for enhanced performance.

As leaders try to do more with fewer people, they need to engage each person’s strengths and do so across the entire organisation. The best companies are made up of great teams which are strategically aligned to meet stakeholder objectives (Buckingham, 2008:16).

The leadership to drive these teams needs to create a culture where individuals can strive, discover their talents and use opportunities. The foundation of the strengths plays an important role in the achievement of business outcomes like:

- Profits.
- Productivity.
- Customer satisfaction. Safety; and
- Employee retention.

2.7 LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORKS BY ADAIR AND COVEY

Strategic leadership encourages leaders to focus on tomorrow’s opportunities rather than yesterday’s lost ones. Apart from broad leadership functions, providing direction for the common good, can result in a leader obtaining the skills to become an effective strategic leader.

According to Adair (2010:39), seven key steps can be applied to become a strategic leader, which are summarised as follows:

- Giving direction for the organisation as a whole:

Enable a purpose for the organisation. A task without a vision is drudgery; but vision without a task is merely a dream. It also means re- connecting team members with their sense of purpose (Adair, 2010:52).

- Strategic thinking and planning:

The prime function of a strategic leader for a company is provide the direction in which the company needs to go. Applying the best strategy is strategic thinking and is needed in conjunction with strategic planning to plan the way forward (Adair, 2010:64).

- Making it happen:

Sometimes when one looks at leaders in the execution phase, one can observe that they never act and there is a dearth of commitment. Leaders always should look, think and intervene, controlling the organisation with control systems, coordinating the flow harmoniously in the organisation (Adair, 2010: 68).

- Relating the parts to the whole:

A leader’s task is to review the organisational structures continuously with reference to the task, the team and individuals within it. A leader also delegates and organises progress to be made within the organisation (Adair, 2010:83).

- Building partnerships:

Building partnership means building internal relationships with the organisation itself, with functional groups and with teams, motivating and building the individual doing the task to achieve the purpose of the company (Adair, 2010:100).

- Releasing the corporate spirit:

Releasing the corporate spirit means forcing the purpose, encouraging communication and vision and it enhances the greatness in people working in the organisation (Adair, 2010:107).

Developing today’s and tomorrow’s leaders

To develop today’s and tomorrow’s leaders means coaching and training leaders in the context of a team or group and inspiring others to make their dreams become possible within the organisation (Adair, 2010:111).

According to Covey (2006:4), striving, being effective and being an efficient leader, are no longer optional if one is to obtain fulfilment in organisations. To leap beyond being effective and being efficient as a leader Covey (2006:152), suggests a framework of eight habits that, if lived out result in being effective in a modern society. These habits can be summarised as follows:

- Habit 1: Be-Proactive

“Being proactive is more than taking the initiative. It is recognizing that we are responsible for our own choices and have the freedom to choose based on our principles and values rather than our moods or conditions. Proactive leaders are agents of change and choose not to be victims, to be reactive, or to blame others.”

- Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

“Individuals, families, teams and organisations shape their own future by first creating a mental vision for any project, large or small, personal or interpersonal. They don ’ t just live from day-to-day with no clear purpose in mind.”

- Habit 3: Put First Things First

“Putting first things first means that organisations or team leaders organise and execute around the most important priorities. Whatever the circumstance, It is living and being driven by the principles you value most, not by the urgent agendas and forces surrounding you.”

- Habit 4: Think Win-Win

“Thinking (win-win) is a frame of mind and heart that seeks mutual benefit and mutual respect in all interactions. It is thinking in terms of abundance and opportunity rather than scarcity and adversarial competition. It is not thinking selfishly (win-lose) or (lose-win). It ’ s thinking in terms of we not me.”

- Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood.

“When we listen with intent to understand others in the organisation, rather than with the intent to reply, we begin true communication and relationship building. ”

- Habit 6: Synergise

“Synergy is the third alternative, not my way, not your way, but a third way which is better than either of us could come in terms. Synergy is also the key to any effective team or relationship. A synergistic team is a complementary team-where the team is organised so that the strengths of some compensate for the weaknesses of others.” Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw:

“The slogan is about constantly renewing ourselves in the four basic areas of life: physical, social / emotional, mental and spiritual. It ’ s the habit that increases our capacity to live out all other habits of effectiveness.”

The eighth habit provides the pathway to a enormously promising side of reality, which is the voice of the human spirit, full of hope and intellect, resilient by nature, boundless in its potential to serve the common good which is illustrated in Figure 2.3 (Convey, 2006:5).

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Figure 2.3: The 8th Habit (Source: Covey, 2006:5)

2.8 TEAM LEADERSHIP AND TEAM EFFECTIVENESS

Team leadership and teams function and work almost like a nuclei of the living cell, which have positive and negative electrons spinning around the nuclei forming a cohesive sphere of charged electrons keeping this nuclei together. The resemblance is that the team leader represents the nuclei of the cell and the charged electrons, positive or negative, the team members. The team members must function as a unit to maintain stability, team performance and effectiveness which can be interrupted easily if there is no equilibrium in the team. Team leaders can influence the performance of team members directly with regard to certain tasks, functions or single solutions tasks, where the performance of the most capable members determines the level of group productivity.

According to Salas, Goodwin and Burke (2009:94), an integrative framework can be explained in Figure 2.4 with regard to how team leadership and team effectiveness connect, meeting goals for strategic intent. Based on this framework the emphasis lies on the functionality of leadership behaviours or style endorsed by team leaders which must, and should be exhibited in given circumstances.

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Figure 2.4: Framework of Team Leadership and Team Effectiveness (Source: Salas, Goodwin, and Burke, 2009:94)

According to Salas et al. (2009:95-96), the conceptual and empirical literature suggests three core team leadership functions that can be used to establish in what state the operating team could be. These can be summarised as follows:

Setting direction for the team function. Managing team operations; and Developing the team’s capacity to manage their own problem-solving processes.

The following team leadership functions with regard to setting directions, team operations and developing a team leadership capacity are summarised according to Table 2.2 (Salas, Goodwin & Burke ,2009:96):

Table 2.2: Team Leadership Functions and Team Interaction Dynamics (Source: Adapted from Salas,

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According to Glaser (2006:6), the DNA of leaders is truly to create a culture that enables colleagues to be connected. It involves living the values and visions of the team. The following best practices can be used to promote performance and added value:

- “Choose people who work in different ways that can raise the IQ for everyone.
- Use the best practices frameworks to catalyse cooperation and teamwork.
- Ask team members to think of things they do, that have a positive impact.
- Share best practices with colleagues.
- Create opportunities daily to experiment with the leader behaviours that the leader has not been practising.
- Create an environment of healthy and supportive feedback. Identify areas of strength.
- Audit one another, acknowledge and improve one another ’ s people management skills; and
- Monitor one another ’ s impact, notice how team members can reduce territoriality and increase positive energy and support.”

2.9 UNDERSTANDING TEAMS

Teams have existed since ancient times, and today, in a modern society, teams and teamwork have become so important that it is becoming impossible to do huge projects and programmes with individuals alone if one is to deliver services on time and according to budget. The essence is really the commitment of the team members, how motivated the team is, and what leadership is present driving the team to deliver the required tasks or services according to the objectives. Teams and teamwork really add value to any organisation, large or small. Teams are formed to be the shapers of the organisation, created in a balance with the right organisational resources “fit”, to obtain objectives and goals which are linked to strategy for an organisation.

Teams and workgroups also have other functions when they are formed and according to Gibson, Ivancevich, Donnelly and Konopaske (2009:248), teams and workgroups enhance productivity, they flatten organisational structures, they facilitate quicker decisions, improve quality, workforce diversity and increase customer satisfaction either internally or externally. Regarding team performance and teams within teams the psychological contract for each team member and team leader is very important according to Steyn (2010:74).

The fundamentals of such a psychological contract according to Steyn (2010:74), consist of the following key points:

The beliefs held by an individual employee regarding the terms of the exchange agreement between that employee and his / her organisation.

The psychological contract is inherently perceptual and therefore may vary from one person to another. Individuals strive for a balance between their contributions to the organisation and the outcomes they receive from the organisation. That is, they strive for a sense of equity between themselves and the organisation; and

Whether or not employees perceive that the organisation is fulfilling its end of the psychological contract influences the attitudes and behaviours of employees.

Reflecting this psychological contract it exchanges organisational and employee connection, a workplace social exchange network that can be presented in Figure 2.5:

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Figure 2.5: Workplace Social Exchange Network Flow Diagram. (Source: Steyn, 2010:74)

Teams are made up of individuals carrying the DNA of what a company expects for creating and fulfilling long-term success. The link between teams and strategic leadership is actually congruent and according to Adair (2010:38), the functions of strategic leadership are also embedded in three broad functionalities which are illustrated as per Figure 2.6:

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Figure 2.6: The Broad Functions of Strategic Leadership (Source: Aldair, 2010:38)

Teams and leadership coexist in these fundamentals as part of strategy for any organisation. According to Katzenbach and Smith (1993:9), the essence of a basic team trilogy is skills, accountability and commitment and without commitment groups and teams cannot perform. With commitment, a team becomes a powerful unit of collective performance. This psychological characteristic in the context of any organisation fulfilling a team trilogy is explained in Figure 2.7 which gives the best description of the vital three apex points including performance results, personal growth and collective work.

Teams outperform individuals acting alone. Using the trilogy basic building blocks can lead to high-performance teams. The performance contract of the team is also directly linked to the strategy for the organisation. This essence to align teams to company goals, is the only way of moving forward in the future, with excellent team members equipped with well developed, enthusiastic trained team leaders.

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Figure 2.7 :The Team Trilogy (Source: Katzenbach & Smith,1993:9)

When companies want results, taking the leap to achieve success and to meet their strategic objectives, they cannot do this alone. Real commitment is used, using leadership as the main ingredient. This is very important when individuals join together working in groups and teams. According to Liker (2004:39), the principle is rather to grow leaders than to purchase them from other companies. The fundamentals here are, growing potential leaders internally for the company and, using their expertise and commitment thoroughly, because they understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others.

According to Liker (2004:37-41), the Toyota Production System (TPS) framework is quite unique, because it’s leadership philosophy applications can be practised in any operational environment that fosters the building blocks of leadership and quality, with a team work mind-set meeting strategic objectives. The learning philosophy is summarised in fourteen powerful fundamentals that consist of the following key points that can enable a learning organisation to become very successful.

- “Base your management decisions on long-term philosophy, even at
- the expense of short-term financial goals.
- The right process will produce the right results.
- Use pull systems (direct from warehouse or store) to avoid overproduction.
- Level out the workload.
- Build a team culture stopping to fix problems. Get quality right the first time.
- Standardized tasks are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment.
- Use visual control so that no problems are hidden.
- Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes.
- Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others.
- Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company ’ s philosophy.
- Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers by challenging them and helping them improve.
- Go and see for yourself so as to understand the situation thoroughly.
- Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options, and implement decisions rapidly; and
- Become a learning organisation through relentless reflection and continuous improvement “ (Liker, 2004:37-41).

According to Lencioni (2002:197-220), there are five dysfunctions that can be present in any team. He shows what the team leader actions could be for every dysfunction. The framework is explained according to Figure 2.8:

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