Explain The Four Main Group Task Roles
The four main group task roles are initiator-contributor, elaborator, coordinator, orienter. Initiator takes charge to direct the group by proposing ideas and ways to problem-solve. The elaborator gives examples and experiences from their life to help decide whether or not an idea or approach to a problem would be effective or not. The coordinator organizes ideas and will often do this by restating ideas and points. The orienter keeps the group focused and in the end summarizes the discussions and ideas made by the group.
There are two main maintenance roles; the encourager and the gatekeeper. The encourager will be supportive to ideas and suggestions given in order to make sure no good ones are excluded. This is most useful when the discussion …show more content…
is fast paces and ideas are given little room to be given much thought. The gatekeeper tries to keep a balance between how much people talk. This is done by asking those who don’t talk much for their thoughts, and to limit talkative people’s time to talk. This is useful when either shy or talkative people are in a group.
Individual roles are any role which is unproductive or destructive to a group.
Two good examples are the blocker and aggressor. The blocker will be plain disagreeable and all around negative to any ideas given. This pessimistic attitude will discourage other group members throwing out potentially great ideas. The aggressor will try to lower the status of other group members by asserting a false sense of authority and taking other people’s credit for work.
Know these roles and being able to assign people and yourself these roles can be quite useful in a small group. Knowing if someone is being an individual role can help identify that member to change them. The same goes if there are too many maintenance roles, since not many are needed. However, if people identify with a role too much, they will feel locked into that role and lose flexibility to shift through roles depending on the situation. In general, the majority of the group should be group task, while a small minority of maintenance roles will keep the organized, on track, and …show more content…
supported.
The Importance of Nonverbal Communication in Groups Chapter 7 explains how the importance of nonverbal communication affects how a group interacts. Nonverbal communication is communication which relies on things like facial expressions, eye contact, and tone of voice. Nonverbal communication can dramatically change one’s perspective of a conversation if payed close attention to. When a group is discussing something, only one person is usually talking while the rest listen and send out nonverbal signals.
When listening to someone, they may look around if bored, lean in if interested, cross their arms if they feel insecure, or purse their lips if they feel the urge to say something. Overall, more nonverbal is done than verbal communication, and it is important to watch out for these signals to best know other group members. According to Albert Mehrabian, only 7% of communication in a conversation is done verbally. The other 93% is done through subtle movements of the body and the tone of voice when speaking verbally. According to his research, 55% of the communication occurs on the face where most emotion is shown. This reinforces the idea that eye contact is a must not only for manners, but to know when the person being spoken to is becoming uninterested or needs to say something. Of course though, when the person stops eye contact to not stare, feet can also tell if the person wants to leave, or is
distracted. When speaking to someone, it is important to be aware and conscious of any and all possible nonverbal cues. Tone of voice is most likely the easiest to control, but others like facial and hands are less noticeable. In a professional environment, it is best to keep a straight face with hands to the side if standing, or on the table if sitting. Also, it is important to keep legs and feet pointed at the listener or speaker to appear interested. If one of these are not paid attention to, it can result in seeming unprofessional.
Nonverbal communication is something which in most cases can be extremely useful when knowing the audience or speaker. For example, before the first presidential debate on tv between JFK and Nixon, Nixon was leading in the polls since he was more well spoken. But after seeing them on TV, JFK’s polls quickly rose due to the nervous and unconfident look Nixon gave off. The same can be used when hiring someone or listening to an idea or pitch. Despite these positives to nonverbal communication, it is still normally completely useless in virtual groups. It can only be used in mediums like skype, but even then it is still only a small video of someone’s face.
Dealing with Difficult Group Members Chapter 8 helps explain what to do when there are group members who are difficult to deal with. There are often group members who can be labeled as “group deviants”, people who do not follow the group or even restrain the group. For those who often think of themselves as the average productive group member, they are more likely to be aggravated by a group deviant. The first step to dealing with these type of people is to have control over any emotions.
When someone gets angry, primal instincts take over. People will become more angry and have less thought for problem solving. In a controlled environment, it is possible to be angry and not say regretful things. However, this is not usually the case. Because of this, it is better to confront the person at the right place and time rather than spontaneously becoming angry. There are five strategies to controlling these emotions.
First, be aware of any anger arising. Knowing when anger is present is important to do the following. Once the anger is recognized, focus on breathing and do it slowly. These few seconds of breathe give more controlled thought on what to do next. Mentally say things like, “This is not worth it” and, “Everything will be fine”. Thoughts are connected to emotions, and ones that are reassuring are the most ideal ones. As discussed earlier, it is important to have control over nonverbal cues, this is all the more prevalent when angry. When angry, someone might clench their first, concave their eyebrows, have a scowl, or even just have wild hand movements. It is important to remain calm both physically and mentally. This is best done by keeping eye contact, slow down speaking, and have a relaxed face. After this, do not become personal. Even when angry, it is best to keep things professional and not target the other person’s personal matters. Personal things include the way they look, their family, friends, culture, and gender. Lastly, do not bring up issues which are too late to be resolved or from a long time ago. Bringing up these sort of issues only create more unnecessary conflict which can lead to more anger and hate. This is most problematic since these issues can no longer be resolved anyways.
When angry, the person should try to watch what they say. It is fine to say things that is upsetting about the other person, but it must be done in a certain way. The best way to express issues with someone else is to begin each problem by saying, “I”, followed by what is problematic. This is to counter possibly saying, “You” instead which would be attacking the other person, taking longer to find resolve.
Once all this is understood, the person is ready to disclose their feelings to the other group member. By being calm and collected, one can maturely convey their feelings to the other person. It is important to note that even after all these steps, the other person’s behavior may continue afterwards. This can be either because they have a hidden agenda, destructive personality, or just stubborn. “No one can change the behavior of another person.”, this means that it is important that relaying feelings does not change the “group deviant’s” behavior, but can certainly help.
Functional Perspective
In chapter 9, it is explained how functional perspective focuses on how any group member can act like a leader to make the group more effective. Leadership behaviors are described as when someone guides and controls the group or others in the group. In general, leadership behaviors fall into two categories: task leadership and process leadership. The task leadership style focuses on accomplishing the goal and being productive, while the process leadership style focuses on maintaining a healthy interpersonal environment in the group. Task leadership is about completing the goal without getting off track or too distracted. To do this, first the group must initiate. This is done when a group member verbally starts a discussion or activity. Even when the meeting has already started, a group member can initiate more brainstorming for ideas so a group does not become stagnant. Next is the more advanced behavior, coordinating. This is when a group member recognizes when either two team members ideas are relevant to each other, a group member is being too talkative while one is being too quiet, or when the group is going off track. Even when everything is coordinated, good ideas may be ignored or excused. This can be countered by elaborating on other team member’s ideas. When an idea is proposed, it can either be argued amongst team members, instantly rejected, or instantly elaborated on. When an idea is elaborated on, it expands on it and gives more insight, helping decide whether or not it is good. In the end, or even the middle, the whole meeting can seem like a blur. At this point, it is smart to summarize what has been discussed so far. By summarizing, the solution to a problem can become more clear and not only further progress a group quicker, but also more effectively. Overall, being a task leader is as simple as creating ideas, acknowledging other’s ideas, and just going over what has been talked about so far. Even in a group, people are still individuals with needs. These needs are the same needs discussed in Interpersonal Needs. It is for all group members to stand out and do any of these four process leadership behaviors to create a better climate. After long discussion and brainstorming, a group can become fatigued and tiresome. This is when it is a great idea to suggest something like a five minute break. It is important to suggest a set break, rather than bringing up casual conversation. This is so it is clear that the group is taking a quick break and not just going off track. When discussing in a group, it is common for a couple of the members in the group to monopolize the conversation. This can either be due to shyness of others or the talkativeness of the couple, but either way this is when someone can be a gatekeeper. The gatekeeper can direct conversation to someone talking less so that the conversation is diverse. The gatekeeper is important so that an eight person group does not become a three person group. When someone is shy, it ca often be that they need encouragement. When a group member sees another member being shy or ignored, it is important to exhibit an encouraging behavior so that they can become more effective team members later on. When members become overly conflicted with one another, it is ok for a group member to call a quick break to mediate.
There are two main maintenance roles; the encourager and the gatekeeper. The encourager will be supportive to ideas and suggestions given in order to make sure no good ones are excluded. This is most useful when the discussion …show more content…
is fast paces and ideas are given little room to be given much thought. The gatekeeper tries to keep a balance between how much people talk. This is done by asking those who don’t talk much for their thoughts, and to limit talkative people’s time to talk. This is useful when either shy or talkative people are in a group.
Individual roles are any role which is unproductive or destructive to a group.
Two good examples are the blocker and aggressor. The blocker will be plain disagreeable and all around negative to any ideas given. This pessimistic attitude will discourage other group members throwing out potentially great ideas. The aggressor will try to lower the status of other group members by asserting a false sense of authority and taking other people’s credit for work.
Know these roles and being able to assign people and yourself these roles can be quite useful in a small group. Knowing if someone is being an individual role can help identify that member to change them. The same goes if there are too many maintenance roles, since not many are needed. However, if people identify with a role too much, they will feel locked into that role and lose flexibility to shift through roles depending on the situation. In general, the majority of the group should be group task, while a small minority of maintenance roles will keep the organized, on track, and …show more content…
supported.
The Importance of Nonverbal Communication in Groups Chapter 7 explains how the importance of nonverbal communication affects how a group interacts. Nonverbal communication is communication which relies on things like facial expressions, eye contact, and tone of voice. Nonverbal communication can dramatically change one’s perspective of a conversation if payed close attention to. When a group is discussing something, only one person is usually talking while the rest listen and send out nonverbal signals.
When listening to someone, they may look around if bored, lean in if interested, cross their arms if they feel insecure, or purse their lips if they feel the urge to say something. Overall, more nonverbal is done than verbal communication, and it is important to watch out for these signals to best know other group members. According to Albert Mehrabian, only 7% of communication in a conversation is done verbally. The other 93% is done through subtle movements of the body and the tone of voice when speaking verbally. According to his research, 55% of the communication occurs on the face where most emotion is shown. This reinforces the idea that eye contact is a must not only for manners, but to know when the person being spoken to is becoming uninterested or needs to say something. Of course though, when the person stops eye contact to not stare, feet can also tell if the person wants to leave, or is
distracted. When speaking to someone, it is important to be aware and conscious of any and all possible nonverbal cues. Tone of voice is most likely the easiest to control, but others like facial and hands are less noticeable. In a professional environment, it is best to keep a straight face with hands to the side if standing, or on the table if sitting. Also, it is important to keep legs and feet pointed at the listener or speaker to appear interested. If one of these are not paid attention to, it can result in seeming unprofessional.
Nonverbal communication is something which in most cases can be extremely useful when knowing the audience or speaker. For example, before the first presidential debate on tv between JFK and Nixon, Nixon was leading in the polls since he was more well spoken. But after seeing them on TV, JFK’s polls quickly rose due to the nervous and unconfident look Nixon gave off. The same can be used when hiring someone or listening to an idea or pitch. Despite these positives to nonverbal communication, it is still normally completely useless in virtual groups. It can only be used in mediums like skype, but even then it is still only a small video of someone’s face.
Dealing with Difficult Group Members Chapter 8 helps explain what to do when there are group members who are difficult to deal with. There are often group members who can be labeled as “group deviants”, people who do not follow the group or even restrain the group. For those who often think of themselves as the average productive group member, they are more likely to be aggravated by a group deviant. The first step to dealing with these type of people is to have control over any emotions.
When someone gets angry, primal instincts take over. People will become more angry and have less thought for problem solving. In a controlled environment, it is possible to be angry and not say regretful things. However, this is not usually the case. Because of this, it is better to confront the person at the right place and time rather than spontaneously becoming angry. There are five strategies to controlling these emotions.
First, be aware of any anger arising. Knowing when anger is present is important to do the following. Once the anger is recognized, focus on breathing and do it slowly. These few seconds of breathe give more controlled thought on what to do next. Mentally say things like, “This is not worth it” and, “Everything will be fine”. Thoughts are connected to emotions, and ones that are reassuring are the most ideal ones. As discussed earlier, it is important to have control over nonverbal cues, this is all the more prevalent when angry. When angry, someone might clench their first, concave their eyebrows, have a scowl, or even just have wild hand movements. It is important to remain calm both physically and mentally. This is best done by keeping eye contact, slow down speaking, and have a relaxed face. After this, do not become personal. Even when angry, it is best to keep things professional and not target the other person’s personal matters. Personal things include the way they look, their family, friends, culture, and gender. Lastly, do not bring up issues which are too late to be resolved or from a long time ago. Bringing up these sort of issues only create more unnecessary conflict which can lead to more anger and hate. This is most problematic since these issues can no longer be resolved anyways.
When angry, the person should try to watch what they say. It is fine to say things that is upsetting about the other person, but it must be done in a certain way. The best way to express issues with someone else is to begin each problem by saying, “I”, followed by what is problematic. This is to counter possibly saying, “You” instead which would be attacking the other person, taking longer to find resolve.
Once all this is understood, the person is ready to disclose their feelings to the other group member. By being calm and collected, one can maturely convey their feelings to the other person. It is important to note that even after all these steps, the other person’s behavior may continue afterwards. This can be either because they have a hidden agenda, destructive personality, or just stubborn. “No one can change the behavior of another person.”, this means that it is important that relaying feelings does not change the “group deviant’s” behavior, but can certainly help.
Functional Perspective
In chapter 9, it is explained how functional perspective focuses on how any group member can act like a leader to make the group more effective. Leadership behaviors are described as when someone guides and controls the group or others in the group. In general, leadership behaviors fall into two categories: task leadership and process leadership. The task leadership style focuses on accomplishing the goal and being productive, while the process leadership style focuses on maintaining a healthy interpersonal environment in the group. Task leadership is about completing the goal without getting off track or too distracted. To do this, first the group must initiate. This is done when a group member verbally starts a discussion or activity. Even when the meeting has already started, a group member can initiate more brainstorming for ideas so a group does not become stagnant. Next is the more advanced behavior, coordinating. This is when a group member recognizes when either two team members ideas are relevant to each other, a group member is being too talkative while one is being too quiet, or when the group is going off track. Even when everything is coordinated, good ideas may be ignored or excused. This can be countered by elaborating on other team member’s ideas. When an idea is proposed, it can either be argued amongst team members, instantly rejected, or instantly elaborated on. When an idea is elaborated on, it expands on it and gives more insight, helping decide whether or not it is good. In the end, or even the middle, the whole meeting can seem like a blur. At this point, it is smart to summarize what has been discussed so far. By summarizing, the solution to a problem can become more clear and not only further progress a group quicker, but also more effectively. Overall, being a task leader is as simple as creating ideas, acknowledging other’s ideas, and just going over what has been talked about so far. Even in a group, people are still individuals with needs. These needs are the same needs discussed in Interpersonal Needs. It is for all group members to stand out and do any of these four process leadership behaviors to create a better climate. After long discussion and brainstorming, a group can become fatigued and tiresome. This is when it is a great idea to suggest something like a five minute break. It is important to suggest a set break, rather than bringing up casual conversation. This is so it is clear that the group is taking a quick break and not just going off track. When discussing in a group, it is common for a couple of the members in the group to monopolize the conversation. This can either be due to shyness of others or the talkativeness of the couple, but either way this is when someone can be a gatekeeper. The gatekeeper can direct conversation to someone talking less so that the conversation is diverse. The gatekeeper is important so that an eight person group does not become a three person group. When someone is shy, it ca often be that they need encouragement. When a group member sees another member being shy or ignored, it is important to exhibit an encouraging behavior so that they can become more effective team members later on. When members become overly conflicted with one another, it is ok for a group member to call a quick break to mediate.