Leader Resource Spotlight:
Steve Myers runs the Team Technology website. The material on the site is pertinent to leaders and certainly worthy of leaders' time and attention. The home page is divided into these subcategories: leadership, team building, business, team roles, & management.
"The difference between leadership and management" effectively outlines the differences between the two distinct skill sets and offers examples of each. The Myers Briggs page offers an introduction to the Myers Briggs personality indicator. The page is also a springboard to a host of other resources related to Myers Briggs, including the Mental Muscle Diagram Indicator (an online personality test) and peripheral articles related to the Myers Briggs model of personality.When asked to provide information about the Team Technology website, Steve Myers offered his responses below.
How do you see the website benefiting leaders?
"We aim to provide a select smorgasbord of high quality articles and resources that leaders and leaders-in-waiting will find of value, both in their own development and in their leadership of others.
For example, there may be some whose talents don't necessarily fit the needs of their immediate situation and, as a result, they may feel that they don't have the potential for leadership. We hope to raise their aspirations (e.g. by providing an awareness of the range of leadership styles, and how there needs to be a fit between culture and individual, thereby widening their view of what leadership is). This might lead to the individual seeking to develop hidden talents, or finding other situations where their leadership talents can be expressed.
For those in a leadership role that suits their abilities, we provide, and are developing, tools and techniques to help them enact that leadership. For example, we have an online course in 'soft skills for project managers' that covers a lot of topics that are relevant for a certain type of leadership, such as networking, use of power, trust, overcoming 'team islands,' etc."
What other information--pertaining to leadership--should be highlighted?
"The article that is perhaps most exemplar of our approach is the
brief review of "The Admirable Crichton."
The play is most usually cited as an examination of class distinctions, but it
has some important lessons about the nature of leadership and the relationship
between individual talents and the environment/circumstances. Crichton (played
by Kenneth More in a 1950s film) demonstrates great qualities of leadership,
particularly the ability to adapt to changing circumstances."
What additional aspects of the website should leaders be sure to review?
"Leadership and teamwork are inextricably linked, and there is an
online questionnaire that may be
helpful for those who are having difficulties when leading a small team of
people (which can include senior management leading a team of middle managers).
This questionnaire can help leaders to identify and understand hidden or
unconscious team dynamics that may be inhibiting effective team performance. It
can help explain why a team is difficult to lead, or why it isn't going in the
desired direction. At the moment the questionnaire can only be used in
standalone form, but by the end of July we hope to have completed development of
a 360 facility, enabling the leader to produce a consolidated report from the
team responses (i.e.: the team appraising itself, or from response from people
outside the team). This 360 report facility will be available free of charge."
More information is available at the Team Technology website.
Click here to go directly to the website: (opened in a separate window).About the Leader Resource Spotlight: the Leader Network offers the Leader Resource Spotlight feature as a forum to highlight resources and opportunities that exist for leaders.