Interpersonal Group Dynamics
Leadership Lessons Learned in Interpersonal Group Dynamics
Leadership Lessons Learned in Interpersonal Group Dynamics
When I first started Interpersonal Group Dynamics I had no idea what to expect to learn for the next six weeks. It was merely a class I needed to work towards my degree in Strategic Leadership. Even though I’ve had plenty of leadership training in the Air Force (AF), this course helped reinforce some of what I should have already been practicing. To be an effective leader you need to be able to think critically, communicate openly and be a leader that people believe in, not just a figure head with leader as a title.
Critical Thinking An effective leader doesn’t make snap decisions based on gut instinct alone. It takes years of training and observation to learn the proper way to lead people. In the AF, as a young Airman you are taught to follow the rules and do whatever you are told. As you grow in your career you take notice of good leaders and bad leaders. The good one’s always stand out because of their ability to think critically in any given situation. Like Kepner & Tregoe (1992), good leaders identify the root cause of a problem and identify the action steps, sometimes needing to make those decisions in very little time. Having this ability could mean the difference between life and death in the military. Brainstorming (Osborn, 1953) with subordinates is another way an effective leader can arrive at a solution to a problem. Listening to others ideas might help the leader find a solution he might never thought of on his own. It doesn’t show a sign of weakness or inability; it shows his concern for what his subordinates think about the given situation and gives them some stock in the outcome. By doing this he will also open up the lines of communication that might not have otherwise been there.
Communication
If my commander doesn’t clearly state that he wants me to go straight over a hill to save time, I might want to
Leadership Lessons Learned in Interpersonal Group Dynamics
When I first started Interpersonal Group Dynamics I had no idea what to expect to learn for the next six weeks. It was merely a class I needed to work towards my degree in Strategic Leadership. Even though I’ve had plenty of leadership training in the Air Force (AF), this course helped reinforce some of what I should have already been practicing. To be an effective leader you need to be able to think critically, communicate openly and be a leader that people believe in, not just a figure head with leader as a title.
Critical Thinking An effective leader doesn’t make snap decisions based on gut instinct alone. It takes years of training and observation to learn the proper way to lead people. In the AF, as a young Airman you are taught to follow the rules and do whatever you are told. As you grow in your career you take notice of good leaders and bad leaders. The good one’s always stand out because of their ability to think critically in any given situation. Like Kepner & Tregoe (1992), good leaders identify the root cause of a problem and identify the action steps, sometimes needing to make those decisions in very little time. Having this ability could mean the difference between life and death in the military. Brainstorming (Osborn, 1953) with subordinates is another way an effective leader can arrive at a solution to a problem. Listening to others ideas might help the leader find a solution he might never thought of on his own. It doesn’t show a sign of weakness or inability; it shows his concern for what his subordinates think about the given situation and gives them some stock in the outcome. By doing this he will also open up the lines of communication that might not have otherwise been there.
Communication
If my commander doesn’t clearly state that he wants me to go straight over a hill to save time, I might want to
References: Haney, William V. 1992. Communication and organizational behavior, 6th ed. Home-wood, IL: Irwin. Kepner, Charles H., and Benjamin B. Tregoe. 1992. The rational manager: A systematic approach to problem solving and decision making. New York: McGraw-Hill. O’Hair, Dan, Gustav W. Friedrich, and Lynda Dixon Shaver. 2005. Strategic communication in business and the professions, 4th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Osborn, Alex. 1953. Applied imagination: Principles and procedures of creative thinking. New York: Scribner Sims, Henry P., Jr., and Charles C. Manz. 1996. Company of heroes. New York: Wiley. Tubbs, Stewart L. 2009. A systems approach to small group interaction. New York: McGraw- Hill.