Introduction
A team may be defined as a group of committed and motivated individuals, working collectively and interdependently to share resources, skills, and knowledge in a coordinated pursuit of a common objective of producing high quality results (Leach & Mayo, 2013; Mickan & Rodger, 2000). In effect, members of the team must be distinguished by their common commitment and motivation in their pursuit of common objectives. Commitment ensures that each member stay together and tough it out in their pursuits for desired results. Conversely, motivation provides them the necessary emotional fuel to push the boundaries of their resources, skills, and knowledge in service of the common goal of high quality outcomes.
Moreover, each member of the team must work collectively (not solitarily) and interdependently (not independently) in a coordinated manner. Coordination is crucial in effectively calibrating the activities and outputs of each team that are expected to contribute to the eventual realization and achievement of the common objective (Pintor, 2013). However, coordination cannot happen in a team without well-defined roles and responsibilities. Roles provides a demarcation line of specialized functions that situates each member in relation to the other members of the team. Conversely, responsibilities define the scopes and limits of the member’s roles in specific activities and outputs consistent with their respective functional roles within the team. Thus, there is an intuitive need for the definition of the roles and responsibilities of team members as an indispensable requirement for effective and efficient team coordination.
A recent development in the leadership literature proposed the concept of shared leadership wherein one or more team members assume formally or informally the role of the team leader in various moments in the circumstances of the team; that is, beyond the formal positions or titles initially adapted in defining the individual roles of each member in the team (Pintor, 2013). Its implementation often involve periodic rotation of leadership to one or more members of the team. Moreover, it establishes and emphasizes a relationship-oriented work culture (Ullah & Park, 2013)
The concept of shared leadership is particularly beneficial to the team and in the achievement of its objectives in situations of highly complex tasks (as these tasks require a diverse array of knowledge and skills), interdependent tasks (wherein different outputs of each member significantly impacts on the quality of team outputs), creativity demand (as alternative ideas arise more from many members than a single member), highly committed employees (as they are capable of going the extra mile for the team), and non-urgent tasks (as more time are available for individual and group learning and adaptation) (Pintor, 2013). In fact, team members, who are aware of the strengths and potentials of this approach to leadership, can initiate and stimulate the process of leadership shifting or rotation within the team.
However, role ambiguity has become an inherent characteristic of many workplaces today that make use of interdependent teams. However, Srikanth and Jomon (2013) observed that establishing better clarity in member roles can significantly and positively impact on the individual team members’ role performance. This is so because knowledge of role activities is necessary in effectively fulfilling all expectations associated with the role. Thus, it is essential that expectations should be known. And, that knowledge can only be obtained through the clear description of a team member’s role and associated responsibilities.
The present exploration of the roles and responsibilities of team members will commence with the determination of their specific roles and the definition of their specific responsibilities and ends with a hope at enriching the better understanding of the value of each specific role and responsibility in bringing about the achieve of all objectives that the team was created for. Each role was defined and clarified as separate sections hereinafter.
Role 1, the Team Leader
The team leader (TL) is primarily responsible in taking the initiative of leading each team meeting towards a specific direction and pre-communicated agenda. Consistent with the concept of collectivism, the TL prepares the meeting agenda together with the other members of the team. During team meetings, the TL ensures the respectful relationship among team members and their compliance with the rules and boundaries previously set collectively that governs behaviors and the meeting protocol. Whenever necessary, the TL works with the Facilitator in addressing conflicts that may occur between members during meetings. After meetings, the TL is responsible in communicating the outcomes of the meetings, whether in terms of ideas or projects decided, with the relevant management team. To effectively discharge of this complex function, the TL must be optimistic in outlook and highly motivated in pushing forward the team towards its objectives.
Role 2, the Assistant Team Leader
The assistant team leader (ATL) is functionally responsible to take charge in leading the team in the absence of the TL or when the TL is preoccupied with an urgent matter in behalf of the team while the meeting is in progress. The ATL follows up on team issues from where the TL left off in the previous meeting. To be effective in this role, the ATL must be capable of establishing and maintaining an open line of communication with the TL (Project Management Institute [PMI], 2013). Moreover, in order to improve team cohesiveness and interaction, it will be a superb idea to rotate or share the ATL spot among members in every rotation cycle, including the rotation of the ATL holder into the TL spot. This rotational concept of leadership is called shared leadership, a trend in team leadership structure, which has gained a growing interest lately although still largely unexplored empirically (Ullah & Park, 2013).
Role 3, the Scribe
The crucial responsibility of the scribe is the keeping of accurate minutes of weekly meetings, including key decisions, ideas, action items, and respective member assignments. The scribe is also responsible for assisting the team in the planning and documentation of the weekly agenda as well in the recap of the previous meeting’s discussion through formally prepared notes (minutes). Since team discussions during meetings should be recorded verbatim as said by any member of the team or invited visitors, the scribe must be capable of maintaining focus during the team meeting and keeping in check personal opinions from interfering in the factual recording of the entire proceeding.
Role 4, the Gatekeeper
The primary role of the gatekeeper is to maintain the channels of communication open between members of the team during meetings. An open communication is essential because it connects each member to each other and to a common set of goals, strategies, and actions (PMI, 2013). In fact, it should not be the core competency of the gatekeeper but also to each member of the team and the entire team itself. This function safeguards objectives from jeopardy, arising from miscommunications within the team. Thus, the gatekeeper has to engage each team member as to ensure that their involvement in the meeting remained active by taking the opportunity provided to express individual perspectives in a timely manner. Like the TL, the gatekeeper shares the function of ensuring that the team members abide with pre-agreed norms of behavior and interaction.
Role 5, the Focal member
The focal monitors the safety of the working area (e.g. free from foreign object damage). He or she monitors the work area in order to keep the team abreast on issues arising in the work area and the total production floor. He acts as the point of contact (POC) unit for applicable Boeing representatives. Like the TL, he or she has responsibility to ensure compliance of the established team rules and decorum.
Role 6, the Team members
All members of the team are expected to attend all team meetings and participate, contributing ideas while encouraging each other to be active participants. Depending on the specific expertise each member brings into the team, the members are expected to take on tasks they can competently accomplish, while working with other members, to ensure that the team achieve its common objectives. Thus, each member should be open-minded and willing to work together in a team.
Role 7, Facilitator
The facilitator is oftentimes an external consultant hired to work with the team, helping it achieve its objectives in a timely and precise manner. Helpful suggestions from the facilitator as the coach or mentor can help the team achieve its output requirements. By definition, the facilitator provides helpful suggestions on certain courses of action. Although responsible for the safeguard of the process, he or she is responsible for the content.
Role 8, the Supervisors and Managers
A supervisor or a manager is expected to participate as a team member in the weekly EI team meetings whenever possible. The support of these bottom and middle managers is crucial in enabling teams to progress in the development and pursuit of their empowerment plans. They have the organizational powers to allow members of the team to set aside an hour for weekly meetings or even for make-up meetings when necessary. Their support can also help remove roadblocks in the team’s pursuit of common objectives. In fact, like the facilitator, they can act as coaches, supporting and reinforcing desired behaviors among team members, and, thus, influencing their performance and achievements, which usually translate into the achievements of the team itself (Pintor, 2013). Moreover, these managers can join the team in celebrating its successes.
Conclusion and recommendation
Teams, and consequently, teamwork, becomes necessary in today’s organizations, particularly in the accomplishment of their goals, due to the increasing complexity of within organization coordination. Results can only be delivered by effectively functioning teams. Effective team performance relies upon the organizational culture, its structure, the expertise of members, communication, and teamwork (Leach & Mayo, 2013).
The emergence of shared leadership in contemporary leadership literature provides a fresh perspective in structuring both the membership and the leadership. As Pintor (2013) had indicated, it can be a powerful force stimulating each member of the team to behave with strong motivation and commitment towards the accomplishment of commonly defined team objectives. Moreover, the shift of leadership is intuitively natural in a tightly bound teams. Any member assigned to take on leadership for a limited period or specific side project can simply facilitate his way into the leadership through the use of open questioning to draw the rest of the members out to participate and contribute their minds, skills, and expertise as valuable resources to the team. At the minimum, such structural dynamics in the team can make the team life exciting, challenging, stimulating, and professionally rewarding.
Moreover, the issue on team effectiveness is generally not new to, and in fact an integral part of, the leadership literature. A team can be easily assessed by observing their performance from three systems-oriented perspectives: the input, the process, and the output. A below par output is an indicator of an ineffective team. If the team comprises superior samples of skills in the individual capacity of each member, a below par result is indicative of a badly executed process, which is itself influenced by a host of factors, including but not limited to the members’ behavior and relationship as a group, the clarity of their roles and responsibilities, and the manner in which the team is led. In fact, each of these factors alone can provide a good indicator of team processes and problems. Vague role structure and responsibilities, for instance, can seriously impact the quality of the team’s output.
Consequently, it becomes necessary to recommend a few rules that teams may utilize in removing the vagary and vagueness of their roles and responsibilities. First, when it is not clear, refuse to stop working on clarifying it until it is very satisfactorily clear. Setting a standard of clarity in the members’ respective roles and responsibilities in the team should be considered a non-negotiable step in the preliminaries of any team creation. In fact, teams should not be allowed to function (thus, created) until the demarcations of roles from the perspective of their responsibilities are clearly delineated. A compromise from high quality in this area will have serious quality repercussions in the quality of the team’s outputs later on.
Second, espouse co-ownership of the team through shared leadership. Each member of the team must be made to feel that he or she co-owns the team with the rest of the team members. Thus, each member will have the responsibility and accountability in ensuring that the team works and achieves the purpose of its creation. Co-ownership through shared leadership fosters a strong sense of being necessary in the success of the team, making each member morally responsible and accountable to himself or herself and to the team members and the team for its success or the fulfillment of its missions.
Lastly, team members should not lose sight to the fact that the team is a micro-context of their larger responsibility as paid workers in a larger business organization, the success of which depends entirely on its people and their valuable contribution to the company. In a sense, the team should considered a necessary tool to such an end; although in a freshly empowering way.
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