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88People, Groups,

and Their Leaders

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Why Do People Join Groups?

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Most people fall into two groups:

Formal groups Usually governed by the formal structure of the

organization.

Informal groups Tends to form around common interests, habits,

and personality traits.

continued

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Why Do People Join Groups? continued

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People join groups to fulfill needs that can’t be fulfilled when acting alone. Those needs and their fulfillment fit the following categories:

Affiliation Assistance Attraction Proximity Activities

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What Makes a Group?

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GroupGroup

people people who who

interactinteract

people who people who maintain stable maintain stable relationshipsrelationships

people people who share who share common common

goals goals

people people who form who form subgroupsubgroup

ss

people who have people who have unspoken or unspoken or

formal rules and formal rules and normsnorms

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Formal Groups and Their Development

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There are usually four distinct stages of the development of any group:

Forming Redefining Coordinating Formalizing

continued

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Formal Groups and Their Development continued

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All four focus on the two behaviors of the group:

Task Activity Group Process

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Status and Conformity in Groups

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As groups form, members begin to develop respect for each other. Rarely, however, is everybody in the group respected equally. Thus, status in the group becomes increasingly important.

continued

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Status and Conformity in Groups continued

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When group norms have been established and status issues have been sorted out, conformity becomes an issue.

continued

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Status and Conformity in Groups continued

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Conformity also has an ugly side. Too much of it can kill creativity and discourage people from saying what is really on their minds. One example is the problem called groupthink.

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Informal Groups

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All informal groups within organizations:

Are fulfilling the needs of members. Are usually necessary to an

organization. Are always changing. Are not affected by formal

boundaries.

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Barriers to Group Effectiveness

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Groupthink, as defined by Irving Janis:

“A mode of thinking . . . when the members’ striving for unanimity overrides their

motivation to realistically appraise courses of action.”

continued

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Barriers to Group Effectiveness continued

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Three different types of bad decisions come out of groupthink:

Those that result from believing too much in the great worth and status of the group.

Those that lead to closed-mindedness. Those that have to do with too much pressure for

conformity.

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Solutions to Group Effectiveness Barriers

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1.Changing ineffective norms

2. Identifying problems

3. Improving the composition of the group

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Hidden Agendas

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Have you ever been in a group where nothing seemed to be getting done? Perhaps you looked around to figure out why. Hidden agendas may have been part of the problem.

Hidden agendas are the secret wishes, hopes, desires, and assumptions hidden from the group. People often try to accomplish hidden agendas while pretending to care about group goals.

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Leadership: What It Is and What It

Requires

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Without effective leadership, groups function poorly or not at all.

Leadership is the ability to influence others to work toward the goals of an organization.

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Leadership Versus Management

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According to Warren Bennis: Good managers do things right.

Managers go through the motions.

Effective leaders do the right things. Leaders have the real power in the

organization.

The manager who is also a leader is the most effective of managers.

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Leadership Styles

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One popular method of understanding leadership is to examine the four common styles used by most leaders.

These styles are based mostly on the extent to which the leader includes others in the process of making decisions.

continued

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Leadership Styles continued

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Leadership Leadership StylesStyles

Autocratic Autocratic LeadersLeaders

Consultative Consultative LeadersLeaders

Participative Participative LeadersLeaders

Free-ReinFree-ReinLeadersLeaders

continued

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Leadership Styles continued

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Which of the four leadership styles is best? The answer will depend on two variable: The situation will often determine the

most effective style. The personality and skill level will be

a factor.

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Leaders and the Use of Power and Authority

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The effectiveness of a leader also depends greatly on the leader’s attitude toward power.

Some leaders have authority but little to no power.

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Sources of Power

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Position power is based at least in part on the position of the person using the sources of power:

Legitimate power Reward power Coercive power

continued

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Sources of Power continued

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Personal powers have their source in the personalities of those who them:

Networking power Expert power Charismatic power

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Strategy for Success 8.1:Watching for Hidden Agendas

1. Strong emotions in other members.

2. Contradictions between verbal and nonverbal signals.

3. Themes that keep coming up, perhaps disguised, even after the formal topic has been changed

4. Agenda conflicts that involve a group member’s self-esteem.

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Strategy for Success 8.2:Strengthening Your Leadership

Power1. Strengthen your legitimate power.

2. Strengthen your reward power.

3. Strengthen your coercive power.

4. Strengthen your networking power.

5. Strengthen your expert power.

6. Strengthen your charismatic power.

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88End of Chapter 8