Effective teams require effective team members with key traits and characteristics. The leader of an effective team must be able to define team roles, describe role responsibilities, choose tasks for each role, and seek out team members with the skills to complete these tasks. This assignment gives you an opportunity to show these skills. In addition, it prepares you to complete your final course assignment, A Report for Vice President’s Approval, due in Week 10.
Scenario
Your VP has asked you to create a new team for a new product or service the company is introducing. You will be building a team to support the product/service, which will consist of 5–7 members, which you will lead. In this assignment, you will complete the first step in the process of creating an effective team: planning. You will determine the roles needed on the team, describe these roles, choose the tasks assigned to each role, and identify the skills team members need to complete those tasks.
Instructions
Create a 1–2 page plan for your team that meets the following requirements: State your team’s purpose. This purpose should make clear the team’s shared goal, what the team does, for whom, and why. Example: We produce financial reports so our customers can receive timely, quality investment information. Explain the specific roles you will need and what each will be responsible for. Describe the responsibilities of the role, including the types of tasks the team member performs. Remember to include yourself as the team leader. Your team can be no larger than 5–7 people. As an example, you as leader might opt to have a Business Analyst (BA) as a member of the team. The Business Analyst would run reports, present an analysis of the data, and share findings with the leader and/or team. The Business Analyst would work with the team leader to provide data and analysis about the new product or service. What are the skills and/or traits you have identified each role will require and why are those critical? Continuing with the Business Analyst example: The analyst must have strong analytical ability and be great at using creativity, reasoning, and past experiences to identify and solve problems effectively. A trait that is important for this role includes being detail-oriented and focused. Additionally, technical literacy is important as the BA must be proficient with basic computer skills. The BA must possess the ability to work well in one or more groups and bring out the best in others (teamwork skill) and outcomes. Identify and describe three strategies a team leader could use to ensure the effectiveness of their team and why those are important to foster.
Gather and review the resources you’ve read during the first three weeks of the course. In your assignment, you should use specific phrases, ideas, and quotes from the Strayer Videos, Coach’s Huddle, Weekly Readings, and/or Discussion Questions to explain and support your thoughts. Example: “When Coach talked about hiring a former doctor to work at JGR, it made me realize how important it is to identify and hire the right players for your team.” Check your assignment for grammatical errors. Review what you have written for clarity. This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is: Outline the requirements and traits of an effective team.
