The principal and staff of the Pinetown District Secondary School for their kind hospitality and for hosting me at the school to conduct the research. The study attempted to identify the role functions and composition of formal teams in schools, based on the literature showing the complexity of managing through teams in secondary schools. The main focus of the study was to identify the level of functioning of the formal teams in accordance with the characteristics of effective teamwork and the sailor in which the team goals are achieved.
One of the main findings of Leadership Through Teams is that all three formal teams seem to be performing below their potential due to a number of other factors, resulting in a hindrance to team performance. However, an analysis of the related literature on teams reveals characteristics of effective teams that are essential so that formal teams in the school have some responsibility for what they do. Thus, the results of the research will prove to be valuable in improving the effectiveness of formal teamwork at school.
The research will attempt to determine the team leaders' and team members' perceptions of their team's effectiveness. The following chapter presents the related literature which focuses specifically on two important aspects of the study, firstly the concept of leading through teams and secondly the characteristics of effective teams. Therefore, the principal, as head of the school, does not always have to be at the forefront of matters.
Building effective teams is therefore a major responsibility of the school manager and the senior staff [Bell, 1 992, pA5].
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TEAMS
Thus, team members should be willing to share information with each other without special reference to the team leader or other members of the team. Third, team changes must be built into the team's routines or structures. 1 9 . exercise leadership when their experience and skills match the needs of the team.
This means that the team leader must understand and communicate to team members the rationale underlying the team's work in particular. Once the vision is developed, it should be presented to team members by the leader as a reminder of what they want to achieve. The next chapter will analyze the research methods used in this study.
For each team, the leaders and all members of the teams were included in the research. Note that the principal is the team leader for both the senior management and middle management teams, and the senior vice-principal is the academic subject team leader, hence the reference to only two team leaders. The role functions of the team are to take responsibility for the management of the school and the day-to-day activities of the school.
The research participants consisted of the principal and senior vice-principal as team leaders and the members of the formal teams. Therefore, the research participants included the two team leaders and sixteen team members from the three formal teams. The subject team leader states that he has always led meetings because the team members believe that "management tasks are the responsibility of the leader".
Members are given responsibilities, but they are not according to the skills and experiences of the members. This research is enlightening about the effectiveness of formal teams in high school. Problem solving appears to rest in the hands of team leaders with final decisions communicated by leaders.
In light of the findings and the conclusions derived from them, the following recommendations are made. The team leader does not have to be at the head all the time, he/she can also be a member of the team.
I FORMAL TEAMS IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN THE I
I PINETOWN DISTRICT OF THE KWAZULU NATAL I
I DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE I
Q3 Has the school policy document outlining the role functions of members of formal teams been made available to you? Given before the meeting Handed out at the meeting Prepared at the meeting No agenda is given. Question 7 Consider whether any team member is available to attend the team meeting.
VI0 Please tick the appropriate box that best represents your view of the need for Senior Management support and awareness of what is going on in the team. Ql Your team leader uses the skills, knowledge and experiences of individuals in the team effectively. Q4 The following is a list of factors considered important to the effectiveness of a formal team.
Q8 If you indicated YES in Q7, please specify 2 ways in which conflict is handled in your team. Q9 How would you rate the consideration team members take to listen effectively to each member of the team. QI0 Briefly state what you believe to be your team's strengths and weaknesses in terms of effectiveness.
Q2 The team leader allows members to express their opinions about differences in the team. Leader is able to easily adapt to changing situations for the benefit of the team].
