Leadership Handout Series

UNDERSTANDING THE GROUP PROCESS

If you’ve ever wondered about your group’s morale, membership participation, how decisions are made and by whom, or how people get along, then you’ve been affected by “group process.” Group process refers to how an organization’s members work together and get things done. Typically, organizations spend a great deal of time and energy setting and striving to reach goals but give little consideration to what is happening between and to the group’s greatest resource, it’s members. While working hard to achieve results, it is critical that member’s needs be addressed. Membership in an organization is as much an opportunity to develop self confidence, refine skills and make friends as it is to back a cause, to entertain, raise some money or educate the campus community. All of these can be done simultaneously but most likely won’t just happen on their own.

Effective organizations take a close look at how members work together, which roles they fill and whether members are contributing equally. Group process observation and analysis can help identify problems early thus hopefully alleviating the need for a major overhaul as the year progresses. Your vantage point as a group member provides a great opportunity to regularly observe how things are going. Depending on the frequency of meetings and an understanding of what to look for, you can be instrumental in ensuring group and individual success.

Elements of an organization which typically influence group proceedings include communication, participation, decision making and fulfillment of organizational roles. When observing these specific areas you will likely see several things happening simultaneously. This is to be expected but can also be rather confusing. Initially, you may want to isolate a single aspect of the group. As you become more adept at observation you can gradually increase your areas of focus. Below are listed several questions to ask yourself as you begin observing a group.

COMMUNICATION

One of the easiest aspects of the group process to observe is the communication pattern. For instance:

Who talks? For how long? How often?
At whom do people look at when they speak?

Single-out individuals, possible potential supporters
The group
No one

Who talks after whom, or who interrupts whom?
What style of communication is used (assertions, questions, tone of voice, gestures, etc.)?

The kinds of observations we make give us clues to other important things which may be going on in the group, such as who leads whom or who influences whom.

PARTICIPATION

One indication of involvement is verbal participation and body language. Look for differences not only in the amount of participation among members; but also the manner, style or tone in which they participate. For example:

Who are the high participators? Who are the low participators?
Do you see any shift in participation (e.g., highs become quiet; lows suddenly become talkative). What are possible reasons for this in the group’s interactions?
How are the silent people treated? How is their silence interpreted (e.g., consent, disagreement, disinterest, fear, etc.)?
Who talks to whom? Do you see any reason for this in the group’s interactions?
Who keeps the ball rolling? Why? Do you see any reason for this in the group’s interactions?

DECISION MAKING

Many kinds of decisions are make in groups without considering the effects of these decisions on the other members. Some people try to impose their own decisions on the group, while others want all members to participate or share in the decisions that are made. For instance:

Does anyone make a decision and carry it out without checking with other group members (self-authorized)? Does s/he decide on the topic to be discussed and immediately begin to talk about it. What affect does this have on other group members?
Does the group drift from topic to topic, and if so who topic-jumps? Do you see any reason for this in the group’s interactions?
Who supports other members’ suggestions or decisions? Does this support result in the two members deciding the topic or activity for the group? How does this affect the other group members?
Is there any evidence of a majority pushing a decision through over other members objections? Do they often call for a vote (majority support)?
Is there any attempt to get all members participating in a decision (consensus)? By whom?
Does anyone make any contributions which do not receive any kind of response or recognition? Why?

ORGANIZATION ROLES

A variety of crucial roles need to be filled to ensure group goal accomplishment and success. There are three basic types of group roles in an organization:

Task Roles: are primarily expressed or emerge when members are trying to accomplish the group tasks. Examples: initiator-contributor, information seeker and giver, elaborator, orientator, energizer, recorder.
Maintenance Roles: emerge or are oriented toward improving the relationships among group members. Examples: encourager, harmonized, compromiser.
Self Oriented Roles: when an individual group member has a specific need these roles emerge and focus on that personal need regardless of group concerns. Examples: aggressor, recognition or power seeker, dominator, blocker, distracter.

Group leaders should be aware that sometimes these various organization roles may be dysfunctional in nature, especially if they emerge at inappropriate times during the group process. Your leadership role is to help the group members effectively make the transition from dysfunctional group member to supporting or functional group member. Process observation requires patience and the ability to focus on everyone in the group. Attention to these questions and roles can help you to better understand how the group is affecting its members and vice versa.

If you would like more information or clarification on the various group roles within the team building stages of group development please refer to the handout - Stages of Group/Team Development or visit the Office of Student Activities Resource Library in the Shriver Center.