| The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between leadership, team potency, team satisfaction, and team effectiveness in service sector teams. Team potency and team satisfaction was predicted to mediate the relationship between leadership and team effectiveness. A total of 30 Coffee Retail Stores in Manhattan, New York were sampled. Sixty-two ethically diverse, mixed gender, shift teams and 254 participants were surveyed for the study. Participants were asked to complete the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, Short Form 5X (Bass & Avolio, 1994), the Team Potency Scale (Guzzo, Yost, Campbell, & Shea, 1993), and a team satisfaction and demographic questionnaire. Two independent observers rated teams on their performance using a questionnaire developed by the researcher. Team potency was found to mediate the relationship between leadership and team satisfaction, with the beta coefficient reduced from .27 to .05. No relationship was found between leadership and team effectiveness, preventing a test of mediation. Leadership effectiveness was related to team potency (.42, p < .01). Team satisfaction was also related to leadership effectiveness and team potency (.22, p < .05 and .55, p < .01 respectively). This study underscores the importance of developing effective leaders and potent teams to enhance team performance. |
