Elements of Effective Groups Essay

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Introduction

The use and effects of collaboration and co-operation cannot be underestimated. Group work has many advantages, but at the same time, the members of a group need to adjust to each other and learn how to work together, which can be challenging. People form groups for academic, professional and business purposes. Group formation involves several stages. This work looks at the implications of each stage of group formation and its specific character. It also discusses the effects of negative traits among members and ways of increasing the efficiency of a group and developing a successful collaboration between its members.

Stages of Group formation

Forming is the first stage of building a group. At this stage, the leader dominates all activities because other members of the group do not know their roles (Mind Tools, 2012). Members are always humble and optimistic about the group. Some of them are often anxious while others experience high levels of excitement. At this stage the leader may have to deal with some shyness and insecurity among the group members, which can be overcome with the help of ice-breaking strategies.

During the storming stage, conflicts arise among members. This situation results from individual differences among members (Mind Tools, 2012). Some even challenge the suitability of their leader. At this stage, a lot of disagreements occur; some members may even leave the group.

During the norming stage, members become friendly to each other (Mind Tools, 2012). Their friendship results from the ability to resolve conflicts and acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses. They respect their leaders, and depend on each other. During this stage the group members learn how to handle their differences. The group’s performance and effectiveness also improves. This achievement marks the beginning of the performing stage. A group that reaches this stage is capable of achieving its objectives (Mind Tools, 2012).

The role of a group leader

The major role of the group leader is to help the group achieve its objectives (Mind Tools, 2009). The leader should guide the colleagues in developing the objectives, mission and vision for the group. It is also the leader’s responsibility to resolve conflicts that arise during the storming stage.

A successful leader formulates objectives for every session. The leader also has to inform the group about the plans and guide the group in developing objectives that are specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable and time-bound (Mind Tools, 2009). In addition to these objectives, the leader has to assign each member a task based on the background knowledge to prevent their negative roles from interfering with the efficiency of the group.

Problematic Roles of Individual Group members

The nature of one group member can affect the performance of other members (Adams, & Anantatmula, 2010). Some members tend to take up roles that negatively affect performance. Such roles include aggressor, blocker, devil’s advocate, topic jumper and dominator. The aggressor intimidates the colleagues, criticizes everything and prevents the introduction of new ideas. The blocker rejects other people’s views, and does not allow the group to discuss peacefully. The dominator uses coercion to dominate discussions. All these behaviors are most likely to occur during the storming stage. To prevent such personalities from interfering with the performance of the group, the leader has to introduce a charter that gives every member an opportunity to speak. Contributions during discussions raise the morale of members (Gilley, Morris, Waite, Coates, & Veliquette, 2010). This way the members can protect themselves from aggressors, blockers and dominators. Therefore, having objectives for the group is the best tool for dealing with the problematic members.

Conclusion

Discipline and clearly assigned roles are the best way to achieve successful collaboration within the group and avoid confrontations between its members. The group leader has to be prepared to face all possible challenges and address the situations that prevent the group from productive work. It is the leader’s duty to turn their group into a team and develop understanding and friendly connections between the peers.

References

Adams, S. L., & Anantatmula, V. (2010). Social and behavioral influences on team process. Project Management Journal, 41(4), 89–98.

Gilley, J. W., Morris, M. L., Waite, A. M., Coates, T., & Veliquette, A. (2010). Integrated theoretical model for building effective teams. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 12(1), 7–28. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Mind Tools. (2012). Web.

Mind Tools. (2009). Web.

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