FIONA DENT is a Director of Executive Education at Ashridge responsible for one of the three faculty teams who manage programmes, client relationships and deliver management development solutions in the Leading People area. She has previously worked in management development roles in the Automobile Association and the financial services sector. She teaches and consults in a broad range of personal, interpersonal and relationship skills and is the author of several articles on Self Managed Development, Influencing Skills and the Use of Psychometric Instruments in Management Development and four books.MIKE BRENT is a member of the faculty at Ashridge and specializes in leadership, team-building, coaching, cross-cultural management, leading change and personal development. He has worked as a management trainer and consultant with many international companies including GE, HP, Ericsson, France Telecom, ICI, Volvo and Bang and Olufsen. He has published a number of articles on influencing, coaching and leadership.

Utilising the authors' access to leaders and team members working in sport, the military, business and the charity sector, The Leadership of Teams/i looks at all aspects of teamwork, focusing on the role of the leader and examining the most common challenges facing both teams and leaders.

Few books offer a balanced mix of theory and practice aimed at those working in teams - this one blends academic structure with real-life examples and case studies.

Introduction1. Teams - what and why!2. Leadership and teams3. The stages of team development4. Team roles5. Types of teams6. Qualities and characteristics for effective team leaders and members7. Building trust8. Engaging the team9. The emotional element10. Teams and accountability11. Influencing the team12. Facilitating the team13. Coaching the team14. Managing challenging behaviour15. Dealing with conflict16. Change in teams17. Dealing with politics in teams18. DerailmentAnd finally, the future of teamsReferences and BooklistIndex

Teams are everywhere - business, industry, schools, hospitals and government. There are executive, management and cross-functional teams, as well as teams formed for specific tasks and projects. But when a team can succeed or fail on the quality and effectiveness of its leader, everyone will have a view on the leadership qualities that are most important.So what makes a successful team? And what can leaders do to ensure that their teams collaborate effectively and are committed to the right goals?The Leadership of Teams examines some of the most common challenges facing both teams and leaders, including:· interpersonal challenges;· working in a global context;· different roles in different teams;· multicultural teams; and· coaching and developing team members.Written by experienced academics and practitioners, The Leadership of Teams incorporates results from specially-commissioned surveys on team-working, organized by Ashridge Business School. Using examples from sport, the military, business and the charity sector, this book shows how the best leaders successfully inspire, support and work with their teams in order to produce peak performance.