Nicole Fiorentino
MGMT 562 – 62
May 2, 2023
Personal Leadership Challenge – Team Success
Successful
Unsuccessful
Being early in my career, I have only a handful of professional job opportunities to
compare. Over time I have been able to better identify signs of a successful team but
unfortunately my career did not start that way. It is clear from the following descriptions that
specific characteristics of each team caused me to have opposite experiences. Some major
themes are with the types of skills attributed to managerial activity. My second manager had
better people skills and was able to manage an even larger team than my first manager who
lacked positive interpersonal qualities. This difference in management lead to the “us vs. them”
phenomenon in the unsuccessful team between leadership and associates. However, having a
shared mindset in the successful team created a climate of trust and increased levels of work
productivity.
My first role in a large corporate environment was with an unsuccessful team that was
struggling financially and dynamically. After working in this position for 6 months it became
clear that it was a psychologically unsafe environment that promoted employee scrutiny,
blame and abuses of power. We worked in siloes, and one leader ran his teams on the basis of
fear with no respect for anyone’s individual voice. At first this role left me jaded, causing me
to believe that a corporate environment regularly worked under such extreme conditions.
Characteristics:
 Over-scrutiny
 Abuses of the corporate hierarchal structure
 Employee fear led to team withdrawal
 Associates felt undervalued & not appreciated
 Lack of respect for anyone’s ideas
 Constant blame for “failures”
 Leadership resisted change
My next position was with a successful team that is attributed to every individual and manager
within the department. I experienced the greatest growth personally and professionally in this
team and was encouraged to explore my own creativity and ideas when solutioning for
projects. This team showed me that an openness and ability to accept diversity of thought,
different working styles and a willingness to show up for each other can lead to better business
outcomes.
Characteristics:
 Group effort and sense of employee equality
 Little acknowledgement of title or positions of power
 Acknowledgement for every milestone or team success
 Recognition & gratitude for my efforts
 Willingness to change & remain open