8000-268 Leading Your Work Team

8000-268 Leading Your Work Team is a unit within the ILM Level 2 module that focuses on providing the leaders within organisations and teams with relevant knowledge that they can effectively implement in improving the performance of their teams. Leaders have the responsibility of facilitating the successful accomplishment of specific goals and objectives that the organisation has. This involves being able to motivate, influence and encourage team members to pursue specific goals and objectives that are assigned to the team.

This unit is critical in, proving relevant information support to the leaders that they can use in developing theory and practice to achieve the tasks and duties that are necessitated by being in the position of leaders in the team. There are different theoretical frameworks that are provided to the leaders to ensure they are able to identify the best leadership and management framework that they should implement in achieving specific goals and objectives.

This unit is important in improving the capabilities and skills of leaders in fulfilling their professional obligations and mandate. The main purpose of the unit is to build an understanding of leading teams using existing theoretical frameworks and situational contexts, which is critical for organisational and team leaders. The unit is completed in 6 guided learning hours and is equivalent to a 2 credit value in the overall assessment of the ILM Level 2 module.

Suitability of the Course

Different leaders within the organisation are tasked with the responsibility of overseeing critical activities within their areas of responsibility. This involves being able to influence the subjects under them to perform better hence boosting the performance of their areas of responsibility and contributing to the overall performance of the organisation.

As such, the unit is suitable for leaders within the organisation. It is specifically designed to meet the needs of team/ cell leaders and supervisors within the organisation. These are leaders responsible for leading small groups of people to achieve a specific goal that is shared between them. They need to develop both leadership frameworks and styles that are effective in impacting the performance of the team members hence achieving the assigned roles and responsibilities.

However, it can also be used by organisational leaders, including line managers, to develop a specific leadership and management framework that is effective for the organisation. Team members can also pursue the unit to ensure that they build their understanding of the different frameworks of leadership hence making them understand better the structure within their organisation or team. Pursuing the course can further help the team members to prepare adequately for leadership positions which could arise within the organisation as well as build them professionally.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the unit, the learners should be able to:

• Differentiate between leadership and management from the context of the organisation as well as team levels hence identify the roles of each.

• Show understanding of the concept of leadership and its significance, especially in the context of their area of responsibility, such as their teams

• Understand the different styles of leadershipleadership that are backed by theoretical frameworks

• Identify the most common leadership styles that are implemented within their organisation and the context within which the leadership style is used within the company

• Develop a framework of different leadership styles that can be used in different contexts and situations

• Identify the effects that each leadership style and framework could have on the performance of the team or in their areas of responsibility.

• Develop their personal leadership style that is designed to impact the performance of their teams.

Key Learning Areas

8000-268 Leading Your Work Team as a unit is wide as it covers critical factors that revolve around being able to effectively manage a team to achieve the assigned duties hence accomplishing specific defined goals and objectives. The unit, therefore, focuses on building both leadership and management skills that are required within the team context. The learners are further guided in developing their specific leadership style that they can use within the context of their individual teams. Some of the main learning areas within the unit include:

Leadership and Management

Learners who are mainly practising or potential team leaders should be guided into developing an effective understanding of the differences between leadership and management hence ensuring that they develop effective attitudes towards team leadership. 8000-268 Leading Your Work Team plays the role of explaining this difference, ensuring that the learner understands the needs of each of them and the contexts where each is applicable within an organisation.

Additionally, this area of learning helps to build the learner to understand the characteristics and skills that are required for a leader. This is critical lain ensuring that they are prepared to develop professional competencies and abilities that are essential in fulfilling the roles and responsibilities of a leader. As such, the area is important in bundling an understanding of the basic information and theoretical backgrounds of leadership and management.

Leadership Styles

This area of learning helps the learner to appreciate the different styles and techniques of leadership that can be implemented within the organisational context. First, the learner is introduced to the range of leadership styles that are backed by existing theoretical frameworks.

They are further taught about the use of each leadership style and the associated behaviours that the leader in each style has, as well as the impacts on the group of people being led. The learners are then guided on techniques that they can use to study their areas of responsibility and develop a personal leadership style that is appropriate for their areas of practice which is important in achieving the desired organisational goals and objectives.

Evaluation

8000-268 Leading Your Work Team is a unit that requires the learner to build both a theoretical and practical understanding of the content being taught. As such, one of the key tools of assessment is supervised practice and simulation, where the ability of the learner to apply the knowledge on leadership styles and skills within a real-life situation is tested. Additionally, a written assessment is used to examine the ability of the learners to master theoretical information that has been taught within the course of the unit.