
Contents
MGT557 Leading the Company of the Future: Team Management & Leadership
Strategy consultancy McKinsey emphasizes the value of high-performing teams. In their report “High-performing teams: A timeless leadership topic”, they mention that this is why savvy investors in start-ups often value the quality of the team and the interaction of the founding members more than the idea itself. It’s why 90 percent of investors think the quality of the management team is the single most important nonfinancial factor when evaluating an IPO. And it’s why there is a 1.9 times increased likelihood of having above-median financial performance when the top team is working together toward a common vision. “No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team,” is the way Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn cofounder, sums it up.
Building a team remains as tough as ever. Energetic, ambitious, and capable people are always a plus, but they often represent different functions, products, lines of business, or geographies and can vie for influence, resources, and promotion. Not surprisingly then, top-team performance is a timeless business preoccupation and there are various articles on the secrets of high-performing teams out there.
Your organisation’s CEO recognizes this issue and, knowing that you are currently taking the course Leading the Company of the Future, wants your expertise to conduct a report on the status of (high-performing) teams in your own organization.
Question 1
Start your report with a 50 word overview of the organisation, clearly stating the name and nature of the organisation.
Then, look into team issues at hand and do a root cause analysis (as covered in the subject content) of the issues faced by your organization when it comes to (highperforming) teams. Evaluate the decision-making pitfalls and ethical traps you have come across in your organization in this respect.
(15 marks)
Question 2
Now that you analysed at least some of the issues at hand in your own organization, create organisational change, with an understanding of organisational culture and decision-making. Focus on how you can manage change towards better functioning teams and, potentially, a better corporate culture. Select ONE (1) model for managing change covered in the subject content and relate it precisely to your own organisation.
(25 marks)
Question 3
Appraise the “head and heart” of everyday leadership. Select at least TWO (2) leadership concepts covered in the subject content that, according to you, would be the most helpful to effect changes when it comes to (high-performing) teams in your own organisation. Discuss in detail why you feel these two leadership concepts should be picked and support each with at least one practical example.
(30 marks)
Question 4
Recommend strategies and practices for leading in a future-forward manner. Apply motivational theories to engage employees and enhance performance. Evaluate how employees in your organisation could react and which concepts of motivation covered in the subject content (choose at least TWO (2)) could be helpful to keep the (highperforming) teams motivated and engaged. Justify your points.
Expert Answers on the Above Questions on Team Management & Leadership
Overview of the organisation
The organisation where I am working is a Singapore based professional service firm providing Technology Consulting Services and digital transformation assistance. They are several functional departments working together to deliver competitive solutions in a diverse culture business environment.
Analysis of issues within a team and the causes
Having members from different backgrounds across different functional teams working together often creates issues with cultural compatibility, communication issues and many other problems. My team was also faced with the issues of inappropriate decision making, hierarchical communication process leading to gaps in communicating important information and all these attributes towards the high power distance, performance pressure and unclear accountability.
Managing organisational change
Kotter’s change model can be applied in managing the change needed to solve the above identified problems. With the application of this change model, it can be possible to improve collaboration within a team and better coordination can be achieved across departments leading to better performance through improved communication. It is quite significant in working in a Singaporean business environment which requires clarity with leadership, and discipline performance of work activities.
Leadership concepts
The two important leadership concepts are psychological safety and transformational leadership. Psychological safety is crucial in encouraging open communication whereas transformational leadership helps in managing diverse teams to work on a shared vision.
Future forward leadership and motivation
Motivation level can be significantly enhanced by applying the self determination theory and expectancy theory. Employees looking for career progression can be managed using autonomy while employees looking for sustained engagement can be managed with performance reward linkages approaches to drive better outcomes. The commitment from employees would definitely improve leading to sustained team performance.
| This model answer is reviewed by Pamela Lim having expertise in business operations management related tasks. Disclaimer: This answer is a model for study and reference purposes only. Please do not submit it as your own work. |
Want a Full Worked Out Answer with References?
Assignments based on team management and leadership requires the application of theoretical knowledge along with strong analytical and application skills. If you are looking for structured guidance, expert insights and academically sound support for the above assignment, consult our management assignment helpers to provide you with appropriate assistance in achieving clarity and coherence in your task.

