Summary: Team’s Leadership
In this Radar team, which was characterized by highly reflective learning behaviors and
minor weaknesses in the action part of learning, more than one individual member was
engaged in team’s leadership activities. Although an official project leader was
designated for this team, he did not take a superior role in the team which was in
accordance with the organizational culture that aimed at flat organizational hierarchies.
In observed meetings, the official leader appeared as a regular team mate who took over
a role as moderator and coordinator, rather than as a superior. Hence, no commandos
and clear directions were given by any single member of the team; on the contrary, this
Radar team based its project decisions on collective agreement. It was observed that
team members mutually influenced each other in the achievement of the final team goal.
Therefore, there was not only a leadership influence observed from the team leader to
the team members, but also vice-versa and among each other. This taking over of
leadership activities among team members was greatly supported by members’ seniority
and functional expertise, but also by members’ experience in leading their own projects
which were running in parallel to this observed Radar project.
In relation to performed leadership, at the team meetings my observations revealed an
energetic exchange of leadership activities among team members which influenced team
members as regards to task, relations and change. Only some weaknesses were
identified in the performed task oriented substance, in particular in the leadership
activity of clarifying members’ roles and objectives. At the same time, these more or
less committed leadership activities influenced the learning process of the Radar team.
Exactly how these leadership activities influenced team learning, both as regards
reflection and action, will be the subject of the following discussion.