Leadership in Teams

Leadership in teams

Argosy University

May 30, 2014

Leadership in teams

Leadership can have a powerful impact on individuals, teams and the organization itself. Leadership has been defined as directing behaviors in pursuit of common goals (Hoyt, 2003). It is critical for organizations to ensure they have the most suitable leader in place to reach their goals. There are several leadership models and theories in place, and many leaders are chosen based on their qualities and the type of leader they are. Leaders can fit the mold of a single theory or fall into several types of theories which are often somewhat related. The purpose of this paper is to describe the leadership theory and abilities at the Art Institute of San Antonio, specifically in Academic affairs.

The Art Institute of San Antonio is a branch of the Art Institute of Houston. It is a for-profit institution which has a current student body of approximately 1050 students. Academic advising is broken up into three areas: new student cohort which meets with the new student advisor, continuing cohort which meets with the program director or the virtual advising team, and the pending graduate cohort which will only meet with their program director. Advising, in a sense, is a team effort. Regardless of who our cohort is, the goal of advising is to adequately advise all students with questions or concern regarding academics such as schedules, grades, GPA, etc. All advisors work very differently and often independently of others, relying on system notes about students to achieve the individual level. The Dean of Academic Affairs will often assign tasks to the best fit, as he has taken the time to build a relationship with all advisors. With the level of empowerment all advisors are given, along with the delegation of tasks and goal of the overall student body, the best fit for advising would be a transactional leader.

Transactional leaders allow teams to build on their own. There is not much...