Building an Effective Technology Support Team
Introduction
Creating and managing an effective technology support team needs to be predicated on more than just the traditional four areas of planning, organizing, leading and controlling and include the critical skill sets of transformational leadership skills. Those four components of management theory don't take into account the broader aspects of transformational leadership's contributions of a compelling vision and galvanizing mission, both of which are critical for any technology support team to excel. The intent of this analysis is to illustrate the best approaches to building an effective technology support team. Included in this analysis are recommendations for managing personalities and how they affect relationships within and beyond the technical staff.
Creating and Effective Technology Support Team
Teams are by definition a group of people all working towards a common goal. Increasingly teams are both in-person and virtual, as evidenced by the use of cloud computing-based technologies to unify diverse workgroups and teams across broad geographic distances (Braun, Michel, Martz, 2012). The foundation of any effective technology support team is the ability to stay focused on a common goal, charter or mission, which is the purpose for working together (Kezsbom, 1993). The highest performing teams have a shared sense of interdependency and also a recognition that unity is necessary for the success of the
Teams are used to serve a variety of functions for organizations. According to Levi (2007), teams are comprised of people working together on a common project for which they all are accountable. They are usually part of a larger organization and the members of the team have specific knowledge, skills, and abilities about the task at hand. A successful team from the team members’ point of view is one in which the team members focus on the internal operations, the contributions of the team members and how well they all work together. A successful team, from managements’ point of
Next, the dillemma of how to coordinate the activities across multiple departments raised the question of what types of teams are best for working support issues. After investigating teams, the leadership question came up with regards to what set of skills, abilities, and knowledge are required to cultivate the best performance from a team. Together, these two sets of questions led to investigating the best methods to improve team
Humans are physically, mentally and emotionally unique, however, each of us shares a core set of needs, which guide and motivate one’s decisions and actions. One of the human needs that one desires to fulfill is interpersonal and involves feeling of belongingness. It is critical that all human feel a sense of belonging and acceptance among others, regardless of the social groups or settings. Therefore, the most efficient way one can fulfill this need is to understand the concepts of a team. Teams have become more increasingly prominent in the workforce because it has countless benefits for both individual and the organization as a whole. A team rather than individualized work derive better quality, understand the strengths and weakness of each team member, it increases productivity and creates an opportunity for synergistic combinations of idea and abilities. Due to individuals distinctive personality traits the development of a cohesive team can be challenging, however through influential communication processes, effective leadership approaches, and conflict management a team can be use to help achieve greater success.
There is a saying that many hands make light work. The essence of this statement is that more can be achieved as a collective than individually. We all have different skills, knowledge and personal attributes. By utilizing all of these different aspects in a team, more ideas can be generated. As more ideas are generated, more creative solutions are generated, leading to better results. It is amazing the amount of support that is created in teams, especially when the going gets tough. People will often go to what seems like extreme lengths when they know that they can rely on the support and encouragement of the team. Never underestimate the significance of this in
Executives refer to business as a team sport for a variety of reasons. First, many business organizational structures arrange departments either in cross specialty teams or task oriented teams based on operational design and expected outcomes. These teams are designed with members who are assigned roles that increase overall team productivity. The team members bring talents, knowledge and a skill set that uniquely contributes to collective intelligence and resourcefulness. Through collaboration and team work, Successful teams achieve synergy, or “exceeds the sum of each individual’s contribution”.
Team United for Success is a team interacting through mutually supporting responsibilities which guide them by a common purpose, working across space, time, and organizational boundaries. (Dagan & Mandell 2006). We can be described as members detached geographically, working apart more than in the same location, goal ambitious, and members equally accountable for team success and results (Dagan &
Teams are more than just groups of people assembled in the same area, they are a collection of individuals dedicated to a common purpose and with a series of detailed performance targets, working together with complementary skills. Teams of people are encountered in various scenarios, not just in the workplace, but also throughout life, such as sports, associations, charities and voluntary services.
Good teamwork is essential in my setting but it needs a lot of conscious effort in order for the team to work at its best. Working in a team rather than just an individual has the potential to bring together all the skills experiences and disciplines required to support the service users. There are 11 main building areas:
An experiment based resource which examines transformational leadership using face-to-face communication and virtual teams. Analyses indicated that the most effective leaders were those who increased their transformational leadership in virtual teams. Team-member ratings suggest that transformational leadership has a stronger effect in teams that use only computer-based communication, and leaders who increase their transformational leadership achieve higher levels of team performance. This source was of particular use as I had limited information on transformational leadership and it applied the theory to both virtual and face-to-face teams. The information provided gave me an understanding as to why transformational leadership is vital when interaction between group members is limited and high levels of trust in team members is required.
Teamwork has become increasingly more popular in organizations. In order for teams to be successful it is important that individuals have the tools necessary to align their tasks with a shared goal. Teams must be able to provide the necessary feedback and support to continue to improve the
Teamwork is essential to the smooth running of many projects, organisations and companies. Much research has been conducted into the effectiveness of teams and their contributions to organisational success.
First, it is very challenging to build trust within virtual teams. It is very hard for you to trust people who you do not know well or those whom you have not observed working over time. Secondly, in virtual teams, it is difficult to obtain group-process gains (positive synergy) that many times accompany face-to-face communication. Process losses (negative synergy) are more likely. It is difficult to create team synergy and to overcome the absence of informal, interactive learning. Thirdly, there is a feeling of isolation and detachment associated with the virtual teamwork. There is no physical interaction which is associated with verbal and non-verbal ques and thus, there is absence of social interaction with supervisors and coworkers. Virtual team members may be less productive and satisfied than their counterparts working face-to-face due to feeling of isolation and detachment. Fourthly, it is tricky to balance technical and interpersonal skills among the virtual members. There is a challenge for a virtual teal leader to recruit, select and retain team members who have a good balance of technical and
Throughout our lives we participate in any number of team activities. We may not even realize we are part of a team, but we are! If one is married, they are half of a team; if one relies on God to help them get things done, they are a part of a team; if one work outside of the home, they are a part of a team of employees working for a “boss.” Teams are not just organizational functions, they are a part of everyone’s lives. This paper is discussing the organized team, assembled to reach a common goal. What is a balanced team? What are the characteristics of a team?
Teams have always contributed significantly towards the successful operation of any organization. Traditionally, team members had to endure the challenges of time, distance, and even cultural differences in order to successfully complete a team activity. However, recent advancements in technology have led to the birth of virtual teams. The paper aims to explore the effectiveness and differences ofvirtual teamsas compared to face-to-face teams. The evaluation will be on the basis of dimensions such as performance, cohesion, conflict, trust and satisfaction among others.
Teams are prevalent in all walks of life. People participate in teams through church, volunteering, school, sports, and now in the workplace. Working together in teams in the workplace is becoming increasingly popular. So much so that Robbins, S. P., De Cenzo, D. A., & Coulter, M. (2015) states that and estimated 80% of Fortune 500 companies have at least half their employees working in teams. Teams are thought to outperform individual work and help achieve organizational goals faster. Work team use complementary skills and use a collective performance to reach goals. Work teams rely on key components like structure, diversity, autonomy, and specific goals to remain effective. Although individuals want to develop close relationships and become cohesive with team members, we must try to remain ourselves and not always feel the need to conform in order to feel accepted. Managers can help avoid these conformity pressures by creating a team in which members can be themselves and voice their opinions without fear of retaliation. Managers must also look at contemporary leadership views to lead teams effective, maximize their strengths, and avoid pitfalls along the way.