The Impact of Leadership Modes on Team Dynamics and Performance in Undergraduate Management Classes

In business school environments, teamwork often factors into discussions about effective pedagogy. However, leadership of classroom teams has attracted virtually no attention from scholars. How teams should be led in the classroom and what kinds of outcomes different types of team leaders produce remain underdeveloped areas of inquiry. In this article, the authors present findings from a study of the relationships between leadership modes and the performance and dynamics of classroom teams. The authors found that emerging leaders are least effective, while designated and rotating leaders are most effective for fostering differing types of team dynamics. The authors also discuss pedagogical and future research implications. Copyright (C) 2006 Heldref Publications