EFFECTIVE TEAM MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP: THE CHALLENGES OF TEAM WORK IN AN ORGANIZATION

Team management and leadership are about embracing the collective performance, collective skills and knowledge, and collective decision-making of all members of an organization. Effective team management and leadership are not limited to the organizational leader making policies but extend to team members’ collaboration in problem-solving and decision-making. The wisdom of “best practices” indicates that the success and productivity of an organization depend on collaborative team work. However, collective teamwork can be a challenging activity especially in more traditional environments where the leader is regarded as the “expert” and the team members implement instructions from the “authorities.” An important issue is the question of whether the leader or the team members are hampering the advancement of the organization. This paper will attempt to answer this question by discussing: (a) the role of the organizational leader, (b) the role of the team members, (c) the interaction of the leader and the team members, (d) the organizational context, and (e) the example of higher education in Malaysia.