CHAPTER 3​: GROUP DYNAMICS:​ LEADERSHIP​

APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP

• The Trait Approach

• The Position Approach

• The Leadership-Style Approach

• The Distributed-Functions Approach

• Servant Leadership Approach​

• Servant Leadership Approach​

• Looks to the needs of the group​

The Distributed-Functions Approach

• Emphasizes that leadership is not limited to a single person or position. Every group member can act as a leader at different times by performing actions that serve the group's functions.

• Leadership functions are specific to each group and situation. The approach examines which tasks are necessary for the group's success and how members should participate.

• The appropriateness of leadership actions depends on the context (e.g., humor may be helpful in relieving tension but inappropriate in sensitive settings like therapy).

• Leadership is not a fixed trait but a set of learned skills that anyone can acquire. Fear of leadership often stems from uncertainty about leadership functions, but most individuals have already taken on leadership roles by adolescence.

• Responsible membership (contributing to the group's success) is the same as responsible leadership. Both are essential for maintaining group cohesion and achieving goals.

• Since leadership skills can be taught, nearly everyone has the potential to become an effective leader.

The Distributed-Functions Approach Leadership Defined:

Leadership is the performance of tasks that help the group maintain itself and achieve its goals. This includes:

• Setting goals

• Selecting and implementing tasks

• Providing resources

• Maintaining group cohesion

• Satisfying individual members' needs

The Leadership-Style Approach

• Focused on leadership styles, identifying three main types: authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire.

• The most effective style depends on the situation and members' expectations. Democratic styles work well when group members expect it, while authoritarian styles are better in environments where forceful leadership is anticipated.

Authoritarian Leaders:

• Characteristics: Have absolute power, set goals and policies, dictate activities, and control rewards/punishments.

• Pros: Efficient and decisive.

• Cons: Group members may follow out of necessity, not commitment, leading to backbiting, factionalism, and low morale if leadership is unsuccessful.

Democratic Leaders:

• Characteristics: Encourage maximum involvement and participation from group members in decision-making, spreading responsibility.

• Pros: Strong cooperation, public confrontation of conflicts, and commitment to group decisions after resolving conflicts.

• Cons: Can lead to slow decision-making and confusion.

• Effectiveness: Best in situations where group members expect democratic leadership (e.g., educational settings, discussion groups).

Laissez-Faire Leaders:

• Characteristics: Provide little direction, allowing group members to function largely on their own.

• Pros: Can be effective when members are competent, responsible, and have the resources to work independently.

• Cons: Often ineffective unless the group is highly motivated and resourceful (e.g., competent faculty in a college department).

The Position Approach

• Defines leadership by the authority of a particular position (e.g., president, vice-president, manager).

• Studies the behavior, training, and background of leaders in high-level positions.

Challenges with the Position Approach

• Inconsistency in Leadership Paths: Leadership positions are sometimes filled by individuals with little relevant training (e.g., family businesses), while others undergo extensive training.

• Variety of Leadership Behaviors: Different leadership positions require different behaviors. For example, a drill sergeant’s role differs significantly from a sensitivity group leader’s.

• Difficulty in Defining Leadership Behavior: It’s hard to distinguish leadership behavior from other behaviors of an authority figure, especially when incompetence is masked by an authoritarian attitude.

• Limitations with Non-designated Leaders: The position approach struggles to explain leadership behavior among group members who are not officially designated as leaders.

The Trait Approach: Assumes leaders have inherent traits that distinguish them from followers, suggesting leaders are born, not made.

• “Great Man/Woman” Theory: This theory asserts leaders emerge naturally due to their personal characteristics.

• Too much success or difference can alienate leaders from their followers (e.g., "B" students vs. "A" students).

• Leaders tend to be:

  • Better adjusted, dominant, extroverted, "masculine," and interpersonally sensitive.

  • Characterized by intelligence, enthusiasm, dominance, self-confidence, and egalitarianism.

Krech, Crutchfield, and Ballachey’s View: Leaders need to be

1. A member of the group.

2. Embody group norms and values.

3. Most qualified to accomplish the task.

4. Fit members' expectations of behavior and roles.

Charisma

• Defined as extraordinary power, often inspiring followers with confidence and hope.

• Charismatic leaders are highly self-confident and inspire commitment.

• Charisma differs among leaders (e.g., JFK, Gandhi, Churchill), but not all effective leaders are charismatic.

Machiavellianism

• Advocates manipulation for power, with followers seen as objects to be controlled.

• Characteristics of Machiavellian leaders:

  1. Detached from emotional involvement in relationships.

  2. Unconcerned with morality, focusing on personal gain.

  3. Accurate understanding of followers' needs for manipulation.

  4. Low commitment to ideology, focused on self-benefit.

Decline of Trait Theory

• Research questions its validity due to:

  1. Different leadership roles requiring different traits.

  2. Leaders and followers sharing similar traits.

  3. Leaders' traits not always correlating with success.

• Best approach for leader selection: Skills, qualities, and motivation to help achieve group goals.

two types of leadership roles in groups:

• Task Specialist: Focuses on accomplishing specific group goals.

• Social/Emotional (Group Maintenance) Specialist: Focuses on maintaining group harmony and resolving conflicts.

Task Roles (to accomplish goals):

• Information and Opinion Giver: Provides relevant information.

• Information and Opinion Seeker: Asks for input from others.

• Starter: Proposes tasks/goals to initiate action.

• Direction Giver: Develops plans and directs focus.

• Summarizer: Restates major points.

• Coordinator: Connects ideas and coordinates activities.

• Diagnoser: Identifies difficulties and obstacles.

• Energizer: Stimulates higher work quality.

• Reality Tester: Examines the practicality of ideas.

• Evaluator: Compares decisions to group standards.

Group Maintenance Roles (to strengthen social/emotional bonds):

• Encourager of Participation: Encourages everyone to contribute.

• Harmonizer and Compromiser: Resolves conflicts and reconciles differences.

• Tension Reliever: Eases group tensions through humor or breaks.

• Communication Helper: Ensures effective communication.

• Evaluator of Emotional Climate: Assesses and shares feelings about group dynamics.

• Process Observer: Observes and assesses group processes.

• Standard Setter: Sets group norms and goals.

• Active Listener: Actively listens and supports others.

• Trust Builder: Encourages openness and risk-taking.

• Interpersonal Problem Solver: Resolves conflicts between members.

Task and Maintenance Functions in Groups:

• Both task and maintenance functions are needed at different times for a group to function well.

• A task leader may emerge to guide the group, but may face hostility due to focus on task.

• A social/emotional leader may also emerge to maintain group harmony.

• In groups with one official leader, the leader is expected to manage both task and social/emotional needs.

Situational Leadership Theory:

• Telling: High task, low maintenance behavior for low-maturity members.

• Selling: High task and high maintenance behaviors for moderately mature members.

• Participating: Low task, high maintenance behaviors for committed and knowledgeable members.

• Delegating: Low task, low maintenance behaviors for mature, responsible members who can direct their own work.

Leader's Responsibilities:

• Executive: Coordinates group activities.

• Policy Maker: Sets group goals and policies.

• Planner: Decides on methods to achieve goals.

• Expert: Provides knowledge and skills as needed.

• External Group Representative: Acts as the official spokesperson for the group.

• Controller of Internal Relations: Manages group structure and relationships.

• Purveyor of Rewards and Punishments: Handles promotions, demotions, and task assignments based on performance.

• Arbitrator and Mediator: Resolves conflicts and reduces factionalism within the group.

• Exemplar: Sets an example of desired behavior for other group members.

• Ideologist: Defines and upholds the group’s beliefs and values.

• Scapegoat: May become a target for the group’s frustrations and disappointments.

Leadership Roles​

• Task Roles: Needed to meet specific goals set by the group​

• Maintenance Roles: Social emotional specialist helps to resolve tension and conflicts within the group​

• Other Roles: Leaders may take on a variety of other functions as needed​

Task Roles​

Move the group towards the accomplishment of specific goals that have been set by the group. Examples include:​

• Information and Opinion giver​

• Information and Opinion seeker​

• Starter​

• Direction giver​

• Evaluator

Maintenance Roles​

Strengthen social/emotional bonds within the group. Examples include:​

• Encourager of Participation​

• Harmonizer and compromiser​

• Tension reliever​

• Communication helper​

• Interpersonal Problem Solver

Power and Influence​

• Power and Influence are normal parts of relationships ​

  -Capacity of an individual to motivate others to carry out certain actions or behave in certain ways​

  -A person’s “power” is dependent upon the perception of the group members​

• ​Though often viewed negatively, power is a normal part of human relationships as people are frequently influencing and being influenced by others.​

• The terms “power” and “influence” are used interchangeably and “refer to the capacity of an individual to motivate others to carry out certain actions or to behave in a particular way”

Power Bases in Groups​

Based on group members’ perceptions of the group “leader”​

1. Reward​

2. Coercive ​

3. Legitimate​

4. Reverent​

5. Expert​

Expert

• Based on the perception that an individual (A) has specialized knowledge or expertise, which influences the behavior of another (B).

• Examples: Accepting a physician’s advice on medical matters or a counselor’s suggestions are common examples of expert power.

• Conditions for Expert Power:

  • B must believe that A has the right knowledge or expertise.

  • B must trust A's expertise for influence to occur.

• Limits of Expert Power:

  • Expert power is more limited than referent power because it is tied to specific areas of knowledge or ability.

  • Attempting to exert expert power outside of this area reduces the expert’s credibility and power.

Reverent

• Occurs when one individual (A) influences another (B) because B identifies with or desires to be like A.

• Identification:

  • B feels a sense of oneness with A or aspires to have A’s identity.

  • The stronger B’s identification with A, the greater A’s referent power over B.

• Verbalization of Referent Power:

  • B may think or express: "I am like A, and therefore I will behave like A" or "I want to be like A, so I will adopt A’s beliefs and behaviors."

• Effect in Ambiguous Situations:

  • In situations where there is no clear right or wrong, B is likely to adopt the thoughts, beliefs, and values of A or the group A represents.

• Unconscious Influence: B is often unaware of the referent power A has over them.

Legitimate

• Based on the perception that A has a legitimate right to influence B's behavior, and that B has an obligation to accept this influence.

• Sources of Legitimate Power:

  • Cultural Values: Social norms or values (e.g., intelligence, age, caste, physical characteristics) may grant individuals legitimate power in certain contexts. For example, in some cultures, elders are granted authority due to their age.

  • Position in a Formal Organization: Authority is granted based on position, such as a supervisor having the right to assign tasks.

  • Legitimizing Agent: Processes like elections can legitimize someone's authority within a system, granting them power associated with their position.

• Limits of Legitimate Power:

  • The scope of legitimate power is generally defined by roles and job descriptions.

  • If power is exercised beyond these specified limits, it can reduce the authority figure’s legitimacy, attractiveness, and influence.

Coercive

• The ability to impose punishments or remove positive consequences, such as firing a worker for poor performance.

• Basis of Coercive Power: Relies on the expectation that B will be punished by A if B fails to meet set standards.

• Difference from Reward Power:

  • Reward Power: Increases attraction and cooperation between A and B.

  • Coercive Power: Decreases attraction and often leads to resentment and hostility.

• Impact of Coercive Power in Conflict:

  • Using coercive power to resolve conflicts often escalates hostility, resentment, and anger.

  • It can lead to aggression, counterthreats, and distrust between parties.

  • Coercive power tends to exacerbate conflicts rather than resolve them.

• Recommendation: Coercive power should be avoided in conflict resolution whenever possible, as it typically worsens the situation.

Reward

• Includes promotions, pay increases, time off, and praise, which are used as incentives.

• Reward Power: This is the ability of one group member (A) to influence another (B) by offering rewards or removing negative consequences in response to B’s behavior.

  • Power Dynamics: Reward power is stronger if:

    • The reward is valued by the group member (B).

    • The member believes they cannot obtain the reward from others.

• Effects of Reward Power:

  • When used effectively, it encourages hard work and communication from group members.

  • However, reward power can backfire if group members feel manipulated or coerced, especially in conflict situations.

  • If B perceives the use of reward power as bribery or control, they may eventually refuse to cooperate.

Effects of Unequal Power​

• When power is relatively balanced, members are generally more cooperative.​

• If a group is dominated by a few powerful members, low-powered persons are likely to feel less committed to carrying out decisions made by more powerful members.​

• Leads to distrust between low-power and high-power group members.​

• When threatened, high-power members may respond by instituting norms or rules that legitimize their power, or by creating penalties.​

• Members are less likely to work together​

Guidelines for Forming and Leading a Group​

• Do your homework and plan ahead​

• Planning sessions; Keep goals in mind​

• Relax before start of meeting​

• Pay attention to cues upon entering the meeting room​

• Seating arrangements are important​

• Introductions and clarification of roles​

• Provide agenda ahead of time​

• Additional guidelines​

Homework

• Careful preparation for each group and each group session. Do your homework! ​

• Visualize what the group might be like.​

• After the group has met, review the events of the previous group. What can you do better? Are there issues you hadn’t considered? Goals that need clarification?

Planning a Session​

Keep the overall goals and the goals of each individual session at the forefront of planning.​

• Select relevant content​

• Use examples​

• Present material in a logical order​

• Plan the time​

• Be flexible​

• Change the pace​

Relaxing before you start a meeting​

• Some anxiety is useful; too much can hinder effectiveness​

• Take time prior to each session to clear your mind and relax.​

Cues upon entering the meeting room​

• Be on time!​

• Even better, arrive a few minutes early​

  -Allows leader to observe members, be informed of events that may have occurred, and gain valuable information regarding age, gender, personal interactions, etc.​

Seating Arrangements​

• Eye contact​

• Circle - generates discussion, encourages equal status, promotes openness and cohesion​

• Table – provides a work surface, but also restricts movement and serves as a barrier; influences group interaction​

• Square or round table promotes a more egalitarian atmosphere​

Introductions

• Leader – summary of credentials as they relate to role​

• Members – introduce selves; may use icebreaker or name tags​

​

Note: Leaders should get to know the names of each group member​

Clarifying Roles​

• Tasks and responsibilities necessary to reach group goals should be clarified​

• Increased productivity and cooperation when members participate in defining goals, tasks, and responsibilities​

Agenda

• Have one!​

• Ideally, leader should provide an agenda several days before a meeting so that members have the opportunity to suggest items be added or deleted.​

Other Guidelines​

• Understand that leadership is shared​

• Use appropriate decision-making procedures​

• Seek to create a cooperative rather than a competitive atmosphere​

• Provide content that is stimulating and relevant.​

• Pay attention to endings ​

Standards For Social Work Practice With Groups​

Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, Inc. (AASWG)​

• Section I: Core Values and Knowledge​

• Section II: Pre-group Phase: Planning, Recruitment, and New Group Formation​

• Section III: Group Work in the Beginning Phase​

• Section IV: Group Work in Middle Phase​

• Section V: Group Work in Ending Phase​

• Section VI: Ethical Considerations​