Impact of Shared Leadership on Cross Functional Team Effectiveness and Performance with respect to Manufacturing Companies

Cross functional teams are increasingly used by organizations to improve employee productivity. It helps to boost the morale of employees and as a result, trust, internal team environment and cohesion among the members increase in the long run. From the period of Hawthorne studies and the beginning of human relations movement, it is evident that informal groups play a major role in employee performance. These parameters are intertwined in the dynamics of teams, whether formal or informal, and have a great impact on the overall effectiveness and performance. The affective reaction created by cross functional teams on satisfaction of members leads to team effectiveness and performance especially in organizations where teamwork is a culture. It is interred by many researchers and it is more relevant in specific industrial sectors. This paper deals with effectiveness and performance of cross functional teams in manufacturing companies at Coimbatore, as the relevance of these teams is higher in the current scenario. It studies the impact of shared leadership on cross functional team effectiveness and performance and brings out the lacunae in achieving that productive state. It offers recommendations to HR professionals to increase team performance in the organizations adopting team culture.