Team Leadership

• Manager Led - These managed teams are only responsible for executing tasks. Management decides what tasks are to be performed, assigns members to teams, and provides the organizational context within the team functions.
• Team Leader - The team leader functions as a facilitator and a team member. The team is largely responsible for determining goals, tasks, assignments and schedules. The team leader keeps the team on track with minimal direction.
• Self-Managed - Self-managed, also termed self-directed, teams are much more autonomous. The team members develop the team goals, the team charter, assign their own tasks, and monitor the team's performance. Management only determines the organizational context.

Self-managed teams may need a facilitator at team initiation and during training. Eventually, however, periodic mentoring is all that is needed to keep the team fully functioning and producing. Leadership passes among team members depending on the specific task and individual expertise. With self-managed/self-directed teams, decisions and responsibilities are "pushed down" from management to the team members. This can have several advantages. Team consensus contributes to gains by the organization in acceptance and ownership of decisions.

Regardless of team type, the tasks assigned should be comprised of a meaningful, significant portion of a whole product, process, or program. Team members should understand and be able to articulate how the team's work contributes to the whole and to the organization.