W1_Tega Ziregbe_Tuckman Analysis Assignment

Problem recognition, definition and evaluation:

For this exercise the Bistro 12 team (the team) is required to research and evaluate using the Bruce Tuckman model what stage of development the team is currently at. Also required from the group is to determine which of the leadership styles researched would best apply to the Bistro 12 team.

Bruce Wayne Tuckman is best known for his article - 'Developmental sequence in small groups' which gives that groups go through a number of phases or stages if they exist for an extended period. The stages are stated as forming, storming, norming and performing and later a fifth stage - adjourning ^[1] was added.

Using the questions provided in the survey to find what stage the team was operating at, it was discovered we are currently at the forming stage and this was done by adding the answers for various questions under each stage and a total was discovered as below:

Stage	forming	storming	norming	performing
Total	29	24	26	25

Feasible Alternatives:

Feasible alternatives to the problem at hand will be to adapt different leadership styles. There are various numbers of Leadership styles ^[2] at our disposal but best for this team and project are:

·         Transformational Leadership

·         Transactional Leadership

·         People-Oriented/Relations-Oriented Leadership

·         Charismatic Leadership

Developing outcomes for each alternative:

Given the stage of the project the Bistro team is at, it is of high importance the leadership the team adheres to. If the team is governed by poor leadership at this stage, team members could easily fall off the team. The following leadership styles above were chosen for the reasons below ^[2]:

Transformational: leaders are inspiring because they expect the best from everyone on their team as well as themselves. These leaders lead by example hence leading to high productivity and engagement from everyone in their team.
Transactional: leadership is based on the idea that members of the team agree to obey their leader when they accept a job. Team members often get a reward in return for their effort towards the goals of the team and also the team leader has a right to punish members whose work doesn't meet an appropriate standard. This style clarifies team members’ roles and responsibilities giving no one room to hide.
People-Oriented/Relations-Oriented Leadership: here leaders are totally focused on organizing, supporting, and developing the people on their team and is a participatory style which tends to encourage good teamwork and creative collaboration.
Charismatic Leadership: this style can be mistaken for transformational leadership because these leaders inspire enthusiasm in their teams and are energetic in motivating others to move forward. The difference between the two styles though lies in their intention. While transformational leaders want to transform their teams, charismatic leaders are often focused on themselves, and may not want to change anything.

Selection of a criteria:

Criteria used to select the best style of leadership will be based on

         I.            The stage of the project the Bistro 12 team is at compared to where the team ought to be.

       II.            The aims and goals of the team

     III.            Problems team may be experiencing achieving those goals

Analysis and comparison of the criteria:

By adopting the transactional leadership style team members are required to follow the leader. The stage the team is at does not comply with where the team initially agreed upon. Hence it might be necessary to take the “bull by the horns” as might be said and get a system where task are assigned and must be completed by set dates. Adopting the transformational style leaders expects the best from everyone on the team and they tend to lead by example. This style is highly beneficial as it provides all team members with a high level of involvement with all the work the team is doing.

People-Oriented leaders help the team to work as one and are interested in the welfare of team members.

Selection of the preferred alternative:

By comparing the various styles available and knowing the constraints the team is facing transactional leadership style seems to be the style best suited to the Bistro 12 team. Members have to agree to obey out project leader and when tasks are completed members get rewarded for a job well done.

Performance monitoring:

The monitoring of this project is based upon the exams taken, the project paper written and the questions to be answered from the provided textbooks. The overall team performance also shows how well the leader has performed to get the team to achieve on assigned deliverables.

References:

[1] Mark K. Smith (2005) “bruce w. tuckman - forming, storming norming and performing in groups”. Retrieved from

http://www.infed.org/thinkers/tuckman.htm

[2] Mind Tools Ltd (1996-2012) “Leadership Styles: Choosing the Right Style for the Situation”. Retrieved from

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_84.htm