In-depth analysis of an effective team leader (AS) Week 11

I had the opportunity to work in a group where the leader was fantastic! But before becoming fantastic in my eyes he had to make his proofsJ. We were a team of five people, complete strangers from different nationalities. This person said at our first meeting that we need to introduce ourselves in order to learn a little bit about each other before starting the work and made a comment saying that this work is a common work so the individual goals need to be put aside. Then he asked us to make a list individually about every person in our group, our impressions, what we think about the person why we might have troubles or not with that person and to keep it until the end of the work. I found it weird but I did it. He was older than me so I thought that he has much more experience than me so I might discover something out of it. As the time pass by, I discover a person full of positive energy, always smiling and true to his values that he shared with us at the first meeting, and he has a kind of magnetism that made him very respected. It was no doubt that he was the leader of our team. He was very effective; he was able to bring us together no matter what and was very engaged in the project. At every meeting he was clearly setting up our goals so everyone understand where we are going, when there was a conflict he was using the two side arguments (even if most of us were having congruent behaviors we were masking them because we were feeling that it’s better to avoid conflict but thanks to his behavior it was natural!!), always looking for the best in us. He was the leader but he was sharing responsibilities in order to keep the motivation and by behaving this way he created a unity and collaboration in a very healthy environment. He was very humble, he was open to ideas, different perspectives and was always reassuring us that he does not have all the answers! This attitude made us avoid group thinking while we were working. When we were at the last stage of the project, we were feeling bored and very tired of all the work, he was able to find the proper words to cheer us up. Actually he became a coach for us, because he was supporting and that made us perform to the best of our abilities. He really trusted us, he was not into the “if you want something done properly, do it yourself”. He was always recognizing that our work is well done, and knew how to take the best of each other because he was really interested in our way of working (at least I felt it like thisJ).

Looking back at this time, I now know that he used the strategy of “Everest Goal”. Indeed, he was always going beyond what was expected, he really wanted us to achieve an extraordinary accomplishment in order for us to be proud of ourselves! And at the final presentation, I felt very proud of what we have achieved and that feeling was a great reward for all the work we have done. I also took a look at what I have written on my list about my first impressions about my teammates. I was shocked, literally, none of what I have written was true! Thanks to that experience I understood, that working in groups is a powerful tool to improve your own abilities but also to know other people and learn from them by the establishment of a connection with a common goal.