Team work has been emphasized as an important way of getting a piece of job done effectively in organizations by the participation of every member of the team. However, leadership skills and other factors do affect team performance. This study investigated the factors that influence the effective performance of research clusters team leaders and team members in the Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP). A survey was conducted and a hundred and seventy six (176) faculty staffs and members of different research cluster in UTP participated in the study. Structural equation modelling (SEM) technique was employed to analyze the data. The outcomes of the study shows that team leaders Human Skills and Team self Evaluation significantly influence the effective performance of the team. Also, team self evaluation have a direct effect on technical skills. Implication for practise and future works was also discussed.