The Hill Model for Team Leadership

The Hill Model for Team Leadership is a framework that guides leaders in making decisions and taking actions that are beneficial for their team's effectiveness. It distinguishes between internal and external leadership actions and emphasizes the importance of monitoring and taking action on both task-related and relational issues.

Internal Leadership Actions:

👉 Task:

  - Goal Focusing: Leaders direct the team's efforts toward clear and achievable objectives, ensuring everyone understands and commits to these goals.

  - Structuring for Results: The leader organizes work processes, clarifies roles, and sets up systems that enable the team to achieve its objectives efficiently.

  - Facilitating Decision Making: Leaders help the team in gathering information, analyzing options, and making decisions collectively that are in the best interest of the project and the organization.

  - Training: Leaders identify skill gaps and provide training opportunities to team members to enhance their capabilities and performance.

  -  Maintaining Standards: Leaders uphold and enforce high standards of performance, ensuring quality in the team's outputs and conduct.

👉 Relational:

  - Coaching: Leaders support individual team members through guidance, feedback, and encouragement to promote their professional growth and performance.

  - Collaborating: Leaders foster a spirit of cooperation and teamwork, encouraging team members to work together effectively.

  - Managing Conflict: Leaders address interpersonal issues and conflicts within the team promptly and constructively to maintain a positive working environment.

  - Building Commitment: Leaders inspire and motivate team members to fully engage with their work and commit to the team's goals.

  - Satisfying Needs: Leaders pay attention to the individual needs and aspirations of team members, ensuring that these are met to maintain morale and motivation.

  - Modeling Principles: Leaders set an example through their own behavior, embodying the principles and values they expect from the team.

External Leadership Actions:

👉 Environmental:

  - Networking: Leaders connect with individuals and groups outside of the team to build relationships that can provide support and resources.

  - Advocating: Leaders represent the team's interests to external stakeholders, promoting its achievements and lobbying for necessary resources.

  -  Negotiating Support: Leaders negotiate with external entities to secure the support and resources that will benefit the team and its projects.

  - Buffering: Leaders shield the team from disruptions and external pressures that could negatively impact performance or morale.

  - Assessing: Leaders continuously scan the external environment for trends, threats, and opportunities that could affect the team.

  - Sharing Information: Leaders disseminate relevant external information within the team, ensuring members are aware of external factors that may influence their work.

Source — Leadership: Theory and Practice by Peter G. Northouse