Teams In Modern Organizations

WHAT?
Recently in Leadership class we have been learning about teams in modern organization. One of the types of teams we discussed in this unit was work teams.Work teams function together to achieve goals both individually and as a group, and have several ways to keep in check with their achievement of those goals. Whether it's through reward systems or scheduling meetings as a group to check on the team members work process and contribution, work teams usually find ways of succeeding as a team and achieving their goals.

SO WHAT?
Last year, in my Alumni Leadership class, we were responsible for shadowing at least one Alumni of Virginia Tech who graduated with a degree in the major we were studying. In my case it had to be a businessman or businesswoman, because I am a Marketing Major (At the time I was Business, Undecided). My neighbor from back home in Lorton, Craig Griffith, is a State Farm Insurance agent in Springfield, VA. Over my spring break in the Spring Semester 2010, I shadowed him for his Chamber of Commerce meeting, which was a group of businesses who called themselves the BNI Chamber of Commerce of Montclair, VA. At this meeting, I leanred that a Chamber of Commerce is a group of networks of businesses who want to benefit one another by referencing eachother and increasing customer interest so that each business excels in their own way. This team was a great example of a work team because it was a group of leaders of several different businesses who all shared a common interest of helping eachother achieve each business's goals. I observed that the goal of each business was to steadily increase the amount of clients or customers to their company in order to successfully increase their companies net income and wealth. They had several ways for doing this, including writing what was called a "testimony" which was basically a recommendation for other business members in the chamber of commerce in order to achieve more clients. There was a reward system for how many testimonies you would write out that actually gained the other business a client. From what I observed the reward was BNI member of the week, and conveniently enough Mr. Griffith received this reward that week for receiving the most new clients and gaining the most for other businesses.

NOW WHAT?
Through my recent studies of Teams In Modern Organizations, as well being able to observe work teams in modern organizations trough attending a Chamber of Commerce meeting, I have increased my knowledge in what it takes to be a leader in the modern day business world. I one day want to be able to join a Chamber of Commerce and use my knowledge to help contribute to the success of the different businesses in that chamber.