Leadership, perceived team climate and process improvement in municipal government

Purpose – To examine the role of perceived team climate in facilitating leadership and sociotechnical optimization to affect quality related outcomes in a municipal government. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was administered to employees working in a municipal government, measuring leadership, perceived team climate, technical subsystem components, and team performance. Hypotheses were tested with multiple regression, and the fit of a path model implied by all hypotheses was tested with structural equation modeling. Findings – Institution‐level communications and department‐level leadership had the greatest effects in shaping perceptions of team climate. Perceived team climate predicted process improvement, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction. Perceived team climate also substantially mediated relationships between leadership support for teamwork and technical components with these outcomes. Research limitations/implications – Data were collected at one point in time from a single source, workers in a US municipal government. Some measures were new. A longitudinal design would strengthen causal inferences regarding the origins and effects of team climates. Practical implications – Soft controls such as norms influence the effectiveness of teams in process improvement. Mid‐level managers have the greatest impact among leaders in creating a team climate. Open communication makes a difference to virtually every aspect of performance. Originality/value – This paper demonstrates the importance of shaping perceptions of a team climate to facilitate process and quality improvement. It emphasizes the importance of open communications and clarifies changing roles of leadership in modern organizations. Finally, it provides rare documentation of quality management in government.