CHAPTER 11: MEMBERS AND LEADERS

For today, we would talk on members and leaders in a small group communication.

            In a small group communication, there would be a leader and its members. Each of them, the leader and his or her members has their own roles.  There are certain roles that are frequently served by members and leaders serve those rules too. So, what are those roles? First, GROUP TASK ROLES are those who help the group to focus more specifically on achieving goals. Those who perform this role work together as a group rather than an individual. There are 12 types of group task roles.

Initiator-contributor Presents new ideas or perspectives.

Information seeker Seeks for clarification of a matter by asking for facts and opinions.

Opinion seeker Tries to discover the values that underlie their group tasks.

Information giver The one that gives facts and opinions.

Opinion giver Gives values and opinions.

Elaborator Build up on what others had clarified by giving examples and trying to work out possible solutions.

Coordinator Helps in coordinating the activities of different members.

Orienter Summarize the things said and addresses the direction the group is taking.

Evaluator-critic Evaluates the decisions made before providing the group with positive and negative feedback.

Energizer Stimulates the group to be more active.

Procedural technician They focus on mechanical duties such as distributing group materials.

Recorder The one who jots down the activities done by the group.

Relationships must be nourished for a group to function effectively, at the same time members would feel satisfied and are productive. But, what if the group needs are not met? Members of the group would frequently engage in conflict. Thus, they might find the group process unsatisfying. However, fear not as we could use the 7 specific roles of GROUP BUILDING AND MAINTENANCE ROLES.

First, we have the encourager who supplies members with positive reinforcement in the form of social approval or praise. For example, praising your member for a job well done or approve their proposed ideas. Secondly, there is the harmonizer who mediates the differences among group members. Some use compromise as a way to resolve conflict between group member ideas and these kind of people are known as compromiser. Besides that, some play the role of a gatekeeper-expenditure by reinforcing the efforts of others to keep the channel of communication open. A standard should be set for the functioning of the group as well as for its solutions so, someone should play the role of a standard setter. There is also a role of group observer and commentator whereby they would remember to keep a record of the group proceedings to be used in the group’s evaluation of itself. Lastly, a follower would get along with every group members and passively accepts the ideas of other group members. There are an audience rather than an active member.

            Apart from group task roles and group building and maintenance roles, INDIVIDUAL ROLES are present too. This is a counterproductive role as they would hinder their group’s productivity and members satisfaction. There are 8 type of individual roles.

1.      Aggressor

2.      Blocker

3.      Recognition seeker

4.      Self-confessor

5.      Playboy, playgirl

6.      Dominator

7.      Help seeker

8.      Special interest pleader

Now, how can we that ensure a group has a good or an effective interaction and contribute efficiently? We can perform this by using several ways. First, the interaction process analysis. This is an alternative way to look at the contributions of group members.

Next, member participation is vital. Always emphasize on teamwork. Furthermore, avoid attacking others personally, be open-minded to criticism and allow time for better understanding. Groupthink should be discouraged too which means to not fall into situations where things are agreed, done or disagreed for the sake of convenience.

As mentioned earlier, a group should consist of members and a leader. In most small groups, one person would serve as the leader but in certain groups, leadership would be shared among several people.  A person who is the leader of the group should possess leadership qualities. All of us have potential leadership in ourselves as “leaders are not born, they are made”.  

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There are 4 approaches to leadership. First, traits approach to leadership states that a leader should possess certain qualities in order to perform their duties well. Next, functional approach to leadership tells us that a leader should know what action to take when facing with a given situation. Besides that, there is transformational approach to leadership whereby a leader would elevate the group members. Lastly, situational approach to leadership focuses on two main responsibilities of a leader that are accomplishing the task given and making sure that the members are satisfied.

The functions and skills of leadership are essentially significant in a small group. Hence, a leader should always be ready to play their role. It is also their job to activate the group agenda and as well as promote group interaction.  Leadership also helps to empower group members by raising their self-esteem, sharing leadership skills with the group members, being constructively critical and encourage growth and development. Apart from that, an individual with leadership abilities could help to keep member s on track of their work. This could be done by asking questions, summarizing the group’s accomplishment, setting an agenda and focus on current assignments. Next, member satisfaction could be ensured and ongoing evaluation could be encouraged too. Besides that, small group conflict could be managed more easily and lastly a leader with leadership qualities would follow up on their members working process.

However, culture would influence a group’s membership and leadership. First, individualism and collectivism has a great influence towards a membership and leadership. In both context,  a truly capable leader must be able to lead. What differs them is the importance of the members in the group. Individualist culture leaders care less about their members but collectivist cultures they think that a group is a significant entity. Cultural beliefs is also a part of this influence. In Asian cultures, the role of the leader is a very coveted and highly regarded position. Thus, a leader would be well respected. Despite of that, it is not easy to achieve the role of a leader in the Asian culture.

To wrap it all up, both the leader and the members of a small group is equally important in achieving success. Without teamwork, all would fall apart. Henry Ford once said:

“Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success”