Group Dynamics: Overview, Tools, And Leadership Styles Essay.

Write an overview of Group Dynamics in relation to a newly formed Project Group. Explain tools for overcoming problems and reflect how different leadership styles can assist group dynamics. Show understanding of frameworks that can assist.

Stages of New Group

Group associations can be amusing, encourage creativity, and recuperate moral, aid people calm down and develop bonds and relationships that would else not foster. Group dynamics are the strengths that transpire and get in shape when participants intermingle with every one over the span of the group in new project (Kozlowski & Botero, 2009). Such dynamic strengths are the outcome of then and there communications of group fellows and what participants bring to the association from a bigger social atmosphere. The phrase group dynamics represents the communications amongst people who are conversing together in a cluster setting. Group roles are usually determined by amalgamation of an individual’s personality and their experiences with group people (Trottier, Wart and Wang, 2008). Associations are and will forever be vital to human lives. An awareness of group dynamics is critical for efficient practice with any sort of group. Working in clusters is identical with construction and there exists a need to build members so that they can efficiently work in groups. Group dynamics comprises influence of power, behaviour and personality on the group activity (Kaiser, Hogan & Craig, 2008). Deficiency to pay vigilant care towards group dynamics can head to dissatisfied fellows and unproductive meetings.

There are two kinds of group’s namely formal and informal groups. Formal groups are structured and to engage in a peculiar task. Where a manager outlines a group to assist the organisation attain its goals, then it meets the requirements of a formal group. Whereas informal groups are that emerge effortlessly in response to members or organisational interests. Such interests embrace anything like research group alleged with the accountability to create a fresh product to a cluster of fellows who instinctively come along to recuperate member or social activities.  

Efficient group performance relies to a great extent on the composition and size of the group (Forsyth,2009). Group may comprise of a few member or several people. To be effective, number of people in a group should be limited without endangering work pressure and goal accomplishment .Engaging individuals in a team can either increase or reduce their potential. Owing to group dynamics, it is hard to assume a scenario, where group conduct does not affect the member (Yang Jen-Te,2007).  Organizational practitioners and specialists have witnessed that new group’s pass through several phases prior to attaining utmost performance. Every phase exhibits the participant with diverse challenges that must be overruled. These phases have been recognized as mentioned below:

Forming: in this stage of development participants are announced and group come into shape. Group fellows incline to be more diffident and gaze at the leader for instructions. There is moderate trust and people usually are cautious about their behaviour and actions.

Storming:  exhibits the arguing that will probably strike since team outlines itself. There might be contradiction regards to objective, leadership, working strategies .Members hunt for similar individuals or familiar and begin an innate sharing of personalities (Eisenbeiss,    Knippenberg & Boerner, 2008).

Norming: in this phase members of the group have clarity of their roles and sense more cosy in giving feedback, sharing ideas and opinions. Group members feel comfortable in this phase and cooperation supersedes conflict. Endeavours are made to corroborate several norms for job performance (Zaccaro & Shuffler, 2009). After completion of this stage, a clear image will emerge regards to hierarchy of governance.

Tools for Overcoming Problems

Performing: represents that participants have open communication, high trust and shared sense of objective. Now the group is completely functional where fellows visualize themselves as a cluster and get convoluted in the task. Everyone makes an involvement and the leadership figure also appears as a part of the cluster. Group norms are implemented and communal pressure is exercised to ensure the procedure of efficacy of group (Mathieu, Maynard & Gilson, 2008). The future viability of the cluster is established and fostered. In this phase fellows are at their optimum interdependence and productivity is at peak.

Adjourning: this phase reflects that work of the group is complete and participant of the group disperses. Few members might be happy regards to outcome and few might be unhappy about the separation from the group.

All team leaders are eventually concentrated on satisfying team requirements with the motive of boosting team efficacy. Headship is the vehicle by virtue of which such requirements are fulfilled. The function of leader is communal in majority of groups. Leader is the person in the cluster who mentors others in their activities frequently by directing, organising, coordinating, motivating and supporting their efforts (Martin, Cashel and Breunig  ,2006). To exhibit profitability and business results, styles are explored by the officials to advance profitability (Chen & Rosen, 2007). Underpinned components are vital for efficient and successful teams and if given due consideration can avert and help in overcoming problems:

1. Well defined expectations:the leaders must evidently discuss with members of team regard to anticipated performance and members of the team must be familiar with reasons for its existence.
2. Competence:fellows of the team must have potential, skill, capabilities, knowledge, strategies, resources and desired support to attain its objective to concentrate on the problems for which the group came into existence.
3. Commitment:team members must involve in the team, sense that the team objective is significant and exhibit determination to achieve the team goal and desired outcomes.
4. Collaboration:the members should comprehend group procedures and work efficiently and in coordination with other fellows of the team.
5. Control:the team members must not have sufficient empowerment and freedom to sense the authority requisite to achieve its mission, correspondingly it requires accountability. There needs to be a certain review system.
6. Creativity:the leader should cherish new ideas, unique solutions, creative thinking and appreciate members who imbibe reasonable perils for betterment.
7. Communication:the leaders must clearly communicate about significance of their assignment and hear steady feedback from members of the group. The leader must welcome diverse view points and team disagreement should be taken optimistically.

Present organizations require effective leaders who comprehend the complications of the ever changing global atmosphere. Leaders influence both material rewards and interpersonal and sentences that usually craft employee behaviour and impact an employee attitude, motivation and performance (Tsai, Wang and Chung,2009). The character of leader in many groups comprises of two main elements task oriented and relationship oriented. Scholars categorized different leadership styles into below stated manner:

In this style there is less emphasis on functioning and high concentration on individuals. It is expected that every fellow is trustworthy, self-motivated and honest and want to be engaged and there prevails a permissive, supportive and participative work atmosphere that will lead to contented workers that are performance oriented. It depends on human relations, team work, good harmony, fellowship and participative decision making to get the job done.

 This pattern of leadership follows great focus on performance along with people. It expects that majority of individuals are trustworthy and honest and will effort hard to attain worthy goals and perplexing task. This endeavours for a fine organized and stimulating work environment with well-defined objectives combat with responsibilities and lets the task done by encouraging and administering members and groups to utilize their entire potential in realizing organizational along with their individual objectives. Supportive leaders usually would refer the group while approaching a concern and respect their opinions nevertheless the leader preserves the final call in what specific aptitude is acquired(Dessler & Starke, 2004).

This technique reflects less emphasis on functioning and people. This method assumes that individuals are uncontrollable and unpredictable and that a manager job is to sufficient to get by ,maintain a low character ,leave individuals alone and keep out of problems. It relies on renouncing to whosoever will emerge to the instance to get the task done. The idea is that the members should be capable to sort out problems and dig their way out without   extravagant guidance. Such leaders would offer very less mentoring while engaging with group matters on the expedition ,also would permit group associates to emerge with own verdicts.

This approach focuses much on performance and less on individuals. This presumes that fellows are irresponsible, untrustworthy and lazy and that projection, organizing, monitoring and decision making ought to be achieved by the leader with nominal employee contribution. This methodology believes in power, authority, control, hard work and manipulation to get the job done. When encountered with a urge to give a call, autocratic leader would come up with a resolution for the whole group, individually.

Further it can be stated that it is incredible to ascertain the accurate leadership fashion that suits best in group for new project. Clusters of any size and structure are impractically unique and diverse. The leadership technique that upholds excellence in a group dynamics is supposed to be dynamic leadership approach. A fine leader is capable to cultivate any group given to them, showcasing his skill and competence to opt from several leadership traits and then implementing it properly to the group.

References

Chen, G., Kirkman, B. L., Kanfer, R., Allen, D., & Rosen, B., 2007. A multilevel study of leadership, empowerment, and performance in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92: 331-346.

Dessler, G. & Starke, F. A. ,(2004). Management: Principles and practices for tomorrow’s leaders (2nd ed.). Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Education Canada Inc

Eisenbeiss, S. A., van Knippenberg, D., & Boerner, S., 2008. Transformational leadership and team innovation: Integrating team climate principles. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93: 1438-1446.

Forsyth R. Donelson, 2009 .Group Dynamics, Publication :Cengage Learning

Kaiser, R. B., Hogan, R., & Craig, S. B., 2008. Leadership and the fate of organizations. American Psychologist, 63: 93-110.

Kozlowski, S. W. J., Watola, D. J., Jensen, J. M., Kim, B. H., & Botero, I. C., 2009. Developing adaptive teams: A theory of dynamic team leadership. In E. Salas, G. F. Goodwin, & C. S. Burke (Eds.), Team effectiveness in complex organizations: Cross-disciplinary perspectives and approaches: 113-155. New York: Routledge.

Martin, B., Cashel, C., Wagstaff, M., Breunig, M. ,2006. Leadership in outdoor education and recreation. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Mathieu, J. E., Maynard, M. T., Rapp, T., & Gilson, L., 2008. Team effectiveness 1997-2007: A review of recent advancements and a glimpse into the future. Journal of Management, 34: 410-476.

 Trottier T., Van Wart M. and Wang X.,2008), Examining the Nature and Significance of Leadership in Government Organizations, Public Administration Review, 319-333

Yafang Tsai, Shih-Wang Wu and Hsien-Jui Chung,2009. The exploration of relationship between organizational culture and style of leadership, Service Systems and Service Management, ICSSSM 2009 6th International Conference, 585-590

Yang Jen-Te,(2007) Knowledge sharing: Investigating appropriate leadership roles and collaborative culture, Tourism Management, 28, 530-543

Zaccaro, S. J., Heinen, B., & Shuffler, M. 2009. Team leadership and team effectiveness. In E. Salas, G. F. Goodwin, & C. S. Burke (Eds.), Team effectiveness in complex organizations: Cross-disciplinary perspectives and approaches: 83-111. New York: Routledge.