Group Exercises – PRO EXPERT WRITINGS

Competency 1: Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior

Makes ethical decisions by applying the standards of the NASW Code of Ethics, relevant laws and regulations, models for ethical decision making, ethical conduct of research, and additional codes of ethics as appropriate to context

1 2 3 4 5 na

Uses reflection and self-regulation to manage personal values and maintain professionalism in practice situations

1 2 3 4 5 na

Demonstrates professional demeanor in behavior; appearance; and oral, written, and electronic communication

1 2 3 4 5 na

Uses technology ethically and appropriately to facilitate practice outcomes 1 2 3 4 5 na

Uses supervision and consultation to guide professional judgment and behavior 1 2 3 4 5 na

Comments:

Competency 2: Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice

Applies and communicates understanding of the importance of diversity and difference in shaping life experiences in practice at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels

1 2 3 4 5 na

Presents herself/himself as a learner and engages clients and constituencies as experts of their own experiences

1 2 3 4 5 na

Applies self-awareness and self-regulation to manage the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse clients and constituencies

1 2 3 4 5 na

Comments:

Competency 3: Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice

Applies her/his understanding of social, economic, and environmental justice to advocate for human rights at the individual and system levels

1 2 3 4 5 na

Engages in practices that advance social, economic, and environmental justice 1 2 3 4 5 na

Comments:

Competency 4: Engage in Practice-informed Research and Research-informed Practice

Uses practice experience and theory to inform scientific inquiry and research 1 2 3 4 5 na

Applies critical thinking to engage in analysis of quantitative and qualitative research meth- ods and research findings

1 2 3 4 5 na

Uses and translates research evidence to inform and improve practice, policy, and service delivery

1 2 3 4 5 na

Comments:

Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.

CHAPTER 2: Social Group Work and Social Work Practice 64

Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice

Identifies social policy at the local, state, and federal level that affects well-being, service delivery, and access to social services

1 2 3 4 5 na

Assesses how social welfare and economic policies affect the delivery of and access to social services

1 2 3 4 5 na

Applies critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice

1 2 3 4 5 na

Comments:

Competency 6: Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities

Applies knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environ- ment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks to engage with clients and constituencies

1 2 3 4 5 na

Uses empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to effectively engage diverse clients and constituencies

1 2 3 4 na

Comments:

Competency 7: Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities

Collects and organizes data and applies critical thinking to interpret information from clients and constituencies

1 2 3 4 5 na

Applies knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in the analysis of assessment data from clients and constituencies

1 2 3 4 5 na

Develops mutually agreed-on intervention goals and objectives based on the critical assess- ment of strengths, needs, and challenges within clients and constituencies

1 2 3 4 5 na

Selects appropriate intervention strategies based on the assessment, research knowledge, and values and preferences of clients and constituencies

1 3 3 4 5 na

Comments:

65 Group Exercises

Competency 8: Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities

Critically chooses and implements interventions to achieve practice goals and enhance capacities of clients and constituencies

1 2 3 4 5 na

Applies knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in interventions with clients and constituencies

1 2 3 4 5 na

Uses interprofessional collaboration as appropriate to achieve beneficial practice outcomes

1 2 3 4 5 na

Negotiates, mediates, and advocates with and on behalf of diverse clients and constituencies

1 2 3 4 5 na

Facilitates effective transitions and endings that advance mutually agreed-on goals 1 2 3 4 5 na

Comments:

Competency 9: Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities

Selects and uses appropriate methods for evaluation of outcomes 1 2 3 4 5 na

Applies knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in the evaluation of outcomes

1 2 3 4 5 na

Critically analyzes, monitors, and evaluates intervention and program processes and outcomes

1 2 3 4 5 na

Applies evaluation findings to improve practice effectiveness at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels

1 2 3 4 5 na

Comments:

Overall Evaluation at MIDTERM:

Please check one of the following at the midterm evaluation. At the final evaluation do NOT complete this section.

■ This intern is excelling in field placement by performing above expectations for interns.

■ This intern is meeting the expectations of a field placement intern.

■ This intern is functioning somewhat below the expectations of a field placement intern. There is a question whether this intern will be ready for beginning-level social work practice by the end of placement.

■ This intern is functioning below the expectations of a field placement intern. There is considerable concern that this intern will not be ready for beginning-level social work practice by the end of placement. This intern should perhaps be encouraged to pursue another major.

Comments/elaboration:

CHAPTER 2: Social Group Work and Social Work Practice 66

FINAL OVERALL EVALUATION:

Please check one of the following at the final evaluation. At the midterm evaluation do NOT complete this section.

■ This intern has excelled in field placement by performing above expectations for interns. If an appropriate position were open at this agency for a beginning-level social worker, this intern would be considered among the top candidates for this position.

■ This intern has met the expectations of the field placement. This intern is ready for beginning-level social work practice.

■ This intern is not yet ready for beginning-level social work practice.

■ This intern is not yet ready for beginning-level social work practice, has demonstrated serious problems in performance, and perhaps should be encouraged to pursue another major.

Comments/elaboration:

Signature of Agency Field Instructor

Agency Date

The following section should be completed by the intern:

My agency supervisor and faculty supervisor have discussed this evaluation with me, and I have received a copy. My agreement or disagreement follows:

■ I agree with the evaluation

■ I do not agree with the evaluation

Intern’s Signature

Date

■ If the intern disagrees with the evaluation, she/he should state that disagreement in writing and submit a copy to both the agency supervisor and the faculty supervisor. The disagreement should be specific and should relate to the items in the evaluation.

NOTE TO FACULTY This exercise may be very valuable in obtaining assessment information for reaffirmation of accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of the CSWE.

EXERCISE D: Social Work Value Issues GOAL: To clarify your values in regard to a number of prominent issues in social work.

Step 1. The leader explains the purpose of this exercise, indicating that social workers need to be aware of their personal and professional values so that they know when they should take a neutral position in working with clients and when they should sell or enforce a particular set of values for clients.

Step 2. The leader distributes the following questionnaire to students and indicates that their responses will remain anonymous. The questionnaire uses the following scale: (1) Definitely not, (2) Probably not, (3) Probably yes, and (4) Definitely yes.

VALUES QUESTIONNAIRE 1. Would you marry someone of a different race?

1 2 3 4 2. If you were going to adopt a child, would you adopt a child of a different race?

1 2 3 4

EP 1b

67 Group Exercises

Are you in favor of a woman becoming president of the United States? 1 2 3 4

Do you believe busing should be used to attempt to achieve racial integration in schools? 1 2 3 4

Do you support affirmative action programs that assert that certain minority groups and women should be given preference in hiring over white males? 1 2 3 4

Do you believe a father who commits incest with his 10-year-old daughter should be placed in jail? 1 2 3 4

Do you believe prostitution should be legalized? 1 2 3 4

If you or your partner were pregnant and in a situation where it would be very difficult to raise a child, would you seriously consider an abortion? 1 2 3 4

Do you support a constitutional amendment to make abortions illegal? 1 2 3 4

If you are a female, would you be willing to be a surrogate mother? If you are male, would you be willing to have your wife or future wife become a surrogate mother? 1 2 3 4

Do you believe the death penalty should be used for certain crimes? 1 2 3 4

Do you believe the United States should support an extensive program to develop the capacity to clone human beings? 1 2 3 4

Do you support artificial insemination for humans? 1 2 3 4

Do you believe people should retain their virginity until they marry? 1 2 3 4

If a candidate for president of the United States were a Buddhist, would you be less apt to vote for him or her? 1 2 3 4

If you are married, would you seriously consider having an extramarital affair? 1 2 3 4

Do you believe persons with a profound intellectual disability who will never be able to function enough to sit up should be kept alive indefinitely at taxpayers’ expense? 1 2 3 4

Do you believe marijuana should be legalized? 1 2 3 4

Would you be upset if a son or daughter of yours were gay/lesbian? 1 2 3 4

Do you believe you could objectively counsel someone who had brutally raped four women? 1 2 3 4

Do you think people should limit the size of their families to two children? 1 2 3 4

Do you favor a law to limit families to two children? 1 2 3 4

Do you think a person who is gay should be allowed to teach in elementary and secondary schools? 1 2 3 4

CHAPTER 2: Social Group Work and Social Work Practice 68

Do you approve of a young couple trying out marriage by living together before actually getting married? 1 2 3 4

Would you be in favor of a group home for drug addicts in your neighborhood? 1 2 3 4

Do you think the government should help support day care centers for working mothers? 1 2 3 4

In case of war, do you think women in the military service should take part in active combat? 1 2 3 4

Do you think the United States should build more nuclear power plants to generate electricity? 1 2 3 4

Would you encourage your son to have premarital sex? 1 2 3 4

Would you encourage your daughter to have premarital sex? 1 2 3 4

When you become an older person and unable to care for your needs, would you be willing to be placed in a nursing home? 1 2 3 4

Do you support physician-assisted suicide when the victim is terminally ill and in intense pain? 1 2 3 4

Would you consider marrying someone who is divorced and has two children? (Assume you are single in answering this question.) 1 2 3 4

Do you believe you would enjoy being a social worker at a group home for persons with an intellectual disability? 1 2 3 4

Do you believe the legal drinking age should be less than 21 years? 1 2 3 4

Would you marry someone who is of a different religion than you? 1 2 3 4

Do you believe there are circumstances that justify a person taking his or her own life? 1 2 3 4

Would you divorce your spouse if you found out he or she had an extramarital affair? 1 2 3 4

Would you allow a child of yours to play frequently with a child who has AIDS? 1 2 3 4

Do you believe most welfare recipients are able-bodied loafers? 1 2 3 4

Do you believe you would be comfortable in hugging a person who has AIDS? 1 2 3 4

Do you believe you would be comfortable rooming with a person who has AIDS? 1 2 3 4

Do you think social workers should inform a client’s current sexual partners that the client is HIV positive if the client refuses to do so? 1 2 3 4

Step 3. The leader collects the questionnaires so that anonymity is assured and lists the question numbers on the blackboard. After tallying the results (with the help of volunteers), the leader seeks to open a discussion. For example, if most of the students indicate that they would not marry someone of a different race, the leader asks, “Does this suggest that most of you may have some racial prejudices?”

69 Group Exercises

EXERCISE E: Olga and Igor GOALS: To identify some of your values, to see that your values often differ markedly from those held by others, and to see that it is often difficult to accept someone else’s values.

Step 1. The leader explains the goals of the exercise. The class forms into subgroups of four or five persons. Each subgroup rates the five characters in the following story. A number 1 rating is given to the “best” character, that person who displays the most desirable behaviors in this situation. A number 5 rating is given to the person who displays the most objectionable behaviors. The story is read aloud two times.

Two primitive societies are separated by a turbulent river full of people-eating piranhas. An earlier civilized society (which left the area decades ago) built a bridge connecting the societies. Olga lives in Caribou Society and is very much in love with, and engaged to, Igor, who lives in Moose Society. Both societies are highly opposed to premarital sex. Both Olga and Igor are still virgins. Six days before the wedding a monsoon destroys the bridge. Olga and Igor are on separate sides. Both believe there is no way for them to get across or to ever see each other again. Both are distraught.

The night before the scheduled wedding, Blackbeard the sailor visits Caribou Society. Olga asks Blackbeard to give her a ride across. Blackbeard says OK, on the condition that Olga goes to bed with him in his boat as they are crossing. Olga definitely doesn’t want to do this. But she fears she’ll never marry Igor, or even see him again. Olga deliberates about it for 4½ hours. She asks a long-time friend, Solomon, for advice. Solomon says, “It’s your problem. You have to decide. There is nothing I can do to help. I don’t like the idea of your marrying anyone in Moose Society anyway.”

Olga finally says “yes” to Blackbeard. When they get across, Igor is in ecstasy over seeing Olga. Olga kisses and hugs him and then starts to cry. Burdened with guilt, she confesses that she had to go to bed with Blackbeard as the price for getting across. Igor is outraged. He feels Olga has been tainted. He tells Olga he cannot marry her and that he never wants to see her again. Olga runs to Samson, a mutual friend. Olga tells her story to Samson, and Samson rushes to find Igor. Upon finding Igor, Samson punches him out and knocks him silly. Olga looks on and laughs during the fight.

Step 2. The subgroups arrive at a consensus for rating the characters from one to five.

Step 3. The names of the characters are written on the blackboard (Olga, Igor, Solomon, Samson, and Blackbeard) and a representative from each subgroup writes the subgroup’s ranking next to each name.

Step 4. Someone from each subgroup describes the reasons for their rankings. The differences in rankings are then discussed, especially how the values expressed for the rankings differed sub- stantially among the subgroups. The leader might conclude by stating that it is important to iden- tify our values in order to keep our personal value judgments in check when we deal with clients.

EXERCISE F: Genie and the Magic Lantern GOAL: To identify what you really want at the present time.

Step 1. The leader explains the purpose of the exercise and asks the students to imagine the follow- ing: “Let’s assume when you go home tonight there will be a magic lantern. After you rub the lan- tern, a genie will appear and will give you the three things you want most in life now. These things can be anything you want, tangible or intangible. Please list these three things on a sheet of paper.”

Step 2. The group forms a circle, and volunteers share what they wrote.

Step 3. After a number of examples, the leader summarizes what appear to be trends in what respondents want most in life at the present time. The class discusses how the respondents’ lives would change if their wishes were fulfilled. The exercise ends with students discussing what they learned.

CHAPTER 2: Social Group Work and Social Work Practice 70

EXERCISE G: Pregnancy and Tragedy GOAL: To examine a number of values through making decisions about a value vignette.

Step 1. The leader explains the goal of the exercise and asks students to form subgroups of five per- sons. The subgroups are informed that their task is to rank the following characters as to who is most and least responsible for Lucy’s death. The rankings are 1, most responsible, to 6, least responsible. The following story should be read twice.

Lucy is 18 years old, white, and an attractive college freshman. She believes strongly in racial equality, even though her parents have told her on several occasions that they are opposed to interracial dating and marriage. In her courses, Lucy meets Kent, an African American and a college sophomore, and they begin dating.

Lucy becomes pregnant. After a long, agonizing view of the alternatives, both Lucy and Kent decide it would be best to seek an abortion. Neither Lucy nor Kent has the money to obtain an abortion from an abortion clinic or from a hospital.

Lucy goes home with the hope of asking her parents for the necessary funds. She begins by telling her mother that she is dating Kent, that Kent is African American, and that they have become sexually involved. Her mother immediately becomes upset and calls in Lucy’s father. Both parents angrily tell Lucy she must stop seeing Kent or they will no longer pay her college bills. Lucy is not able to inform her parents she is pregnant.

Lucy is distraught. She returns to college. The next day Lucy hears of a person who will perform the abortion at half price. Kent goes along with her to the abortion- ist who, it turns out, is quite unskilled and unsanitary. Lucy begins hemorrhaging on the table; Kent rushes her to the hospital, but it is too late, and Lucy dies. The hospital administrator tells Kent that Lucy is the third person who has been admitted to this hospital for hemorrhaging after being treated by this abortionist (the other two lived). The hospital administrator adds that it’s about time someone informs the police.

Step 2. The subgroups arrive at a ranking for who is most to least responsible for Lucy’s death: __________ Lucy __________ Kent __________ Lucy’s father __________ Lucy’s mother __________ The abortionist __________ The hospital administrator

Step 3. The names of the characters are written on the blackboard, and a representative from each subgroup writes the subgroup’s ranking on the blackboard. Each subgroup then provides the rea- sons for its ranking. A discussion of the values underlying the rankings by these subgroups follows.

EP 1b

Competency Notes

EP 8a Critically choose and implement interventions to achieve practice goals and enhance capacities of clients and constituencies. (pp. 36–39)

Roles assumed by social workers include enabler, broker, advocate, empowerer, activist, mediator, negotiator, educator, initiator, coordinator, researcher, group facilitator, and public speaker. Exercise 2.2 allows students to examine their interest in becoming involved in these various social work roles.

EP 7b Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in the analysis of assessment data from clients and constituencies. (pp. 40–44)

The medical model and the ecological model are two contrasting models in conceptualizing the problems and challenges faced by clients. Exercise 2.3 gives students an introduction to using the medical model.

71 Key Terms and Concepts

EP 8b Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in interventions with clients and constituencies.

EP 9b Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in the evaluation of outcomes. (p. 47)

The problem-solving approach provides a framework for analyzing challenges faced by clients and then intervening and evaluating interventions with clients. Exercise 2.6 allows stu- dents to apply the problem-solving approach. The systems perspective is an essential perspective for intervening with clients.

EP 8b Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment,and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in interventions with clients and constituencies. (pp. 51–55)

This material conceptualizes the activities performed by social workers as social casework, case management, group work, group treatment, family treatment, community organization, policy analysis, and administration.

EP 1a through EP 9d All the competencies and behaviors of 2015 EPAS. (pp. 55–59) This section reprints the knowledge, skills, values, and cognitive and affective processes needed for social work practice, as stated in 2015 EPAS.

EP 8b Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in interventions with clients and constituencies. (pp. 60–61)

This exercise is designed to assist students in being creative in developing options to improve services to vulnerable populations.

EP 1a through EP 9d All the competencies and behaviors of 2015 EPAS. (pp. 62–66) This exercise is designed to have field supervisors assess the extent to which their students have attained the knowledge, skills, and values for social work practice, as stated in 2015 EPAS.

EP 1b Use reflection and self-regulation to manage personal values and maintain professionalism in practice situations. (pp. 66–68)

This exercise is designed to help students clarify their values in regard to a number of prominent issues in social work.

EP 1b Use reflection and self-regulation to manage personal values and maintain professionalism in practice situations. (p. 70)

This exercise is designed to have students examine a number of their personal values.

Key Terms and Concepts

Administration Advocate Broker Case Managers Community Organization Consultant Coordinator Ecological Approach Empowerment

Enabler Generalist Practice Helper Therapy Homeostasis Macro Macro Practice Management Mental Illnesses Mezzo

Micro Patients Person-in-Family Planner Planning Policy Developer Policy Development Program Developer Program Development

Reform Approach Relationship Social Planning Social Worker Supervisor Wholeness

LEARNING OBJECTIVES Is the statement “He’s a born leader” valid, or is leadership a learned characteristic rather than an inherited trait? This chapter will help prepare students to:

LO 1 Describe five major approaches to leadership.

LO 2 Identify effective group leadership functions, roles, and techniques.

LO 3 Understand that the use of power is a necessary component of group functioning.

LO 4 Describe five bases of power in groups, and identify the different consequences of using these bases.

LO 5 Understand the effects of unequal power in groups.

LO 6 Comprehend how to start and lead a group.

LO 7 Understand strengths- based leadership.

Group Dynamics: Leadership Leadership occurs whenever one person in a group influences other members to help the group reach its goals. Because all group members influence each other at vari- ous times, each individual exerts leadership. However, a difference exists between being a designated leader—a president or chairperson—and engaging in leadership behavior. A designated leader has certain responsibilities, such as calling meetings and leading discus- sions, whereas leadership refers to influential behavior in general.

LO 1 Describe Five Major Approaches to Leadership

APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP Five major approaches to leadership theory—trait, position, leadership style, distributed functions, and servant leadership—are summarized in the follow- ing sections.

The Trait Approach Aristotle observed: “From the hour of their birth some are marked for subju- gation, and others for

command.” This trait approach to leadership, which has existed for centuries, assumes that leaders have inherent personal

characteris- tics, or traits, that distinguish them from followers. This approach asserts that leaders are born, not made, and

emerge naturally instead of being trained. It has also been called the “great man” or “great woman” theory of leadership.

According to Krech, Crutchfield, and Ballachey, who reviewed research stud- ies on leadership traits, a leader needs to be

perceived as (1) a member of the group he or she is attempting to lead, (2) embodying to a special degree the norms and

values central to the group, (3) the most qualified group member to accomplish the task at hand, and (4) fitting members’

expectations about how he or she should behave and what functions he or she should serve.1

Some research on personality traits indicates that leaders tend to be better adjusted and more dominant, extroverted,

“masculine,” and interper- sonally sensitive than their followers. Other traits, such as intelligence, enthu- siasm,

dominance, self-confidence, and egalitarianism, have also been found to characterize leaders.2 Although potential leaders

tend to have more posi- tive attributes than other group members, they cannot be so successful that members perceive

them as “different.” For example, Davis and Hare found that “B” students were the campus leaders, whereas the more

intelligent “A” students were considered “grinds” who occasionally were treated as outcasts for being “curve wreckers.”3

Also, the member who talks most has been found to win most decisions and so becomes the leader, unless he or she talks

too much and antagonizes other group members.4

EP 7b EP 8b

Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review

has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning

reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.

73 Describe Five Major Approaches to Leadership

Two postulated leadership traits that have received considerable attention are charisma and Machiavellianism. We will

take a brief look at each of these traits.

Charisma Charisma has been defined as “an extraordinary power, as of working miracles.”5 Johnson and Johnson give the

following definition of a charismatic leader:

The charismatic leader must have a sense of mission, a belief in the social-change move- ment he or she leads, and confidence in oneself as the chosen instrument to lead the move- ment to its destination. The leader must appear extremely

self-confident in order to inspire others with the faith that the movement he or she leads will, without fail, prevail and ulti-

mately reduce their distress.6

Some charismatic leaders appear to inspire their followers to love and be fully committed to them. Other charismatic

leaders offer their followers the hope and promise of deliverance from distress.

Charisma has not been precisely defined, and its components have not been fully iden- tified. The qualities and

characteristics that each charismatic leader has will differ somewhat from those of other charismatic leaders. The following

leaders all have been referred to as charismatic, yet they differed substantially in personality characteristics: John F.

Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Julius Caesar, General George Patton, Confucius, Gandhi, and Winston Churchill.

One flaw with the charisma approach to leadership is that people who are viewed as having charisma tend to express this

quality in a variety of ways. A second flaw is that many people do well as leaders without being viewed as having charisma.

For example, many group therapists are effective in leading groups even though they are not viewed as charismatic.

Machiavellianism Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) was an Italian statesman who advo- cated cunning, deceit, and duplicity

as political methods rulers should use for increasing their power and control. Machiavelli was not the originator of such an approach; earlier theorists conceptualized leadership in terms of manipulation for self-enhancement. How- ever, the term

Machiavellianism has become associated with the notion that politics is amoral and that any means should be used to

achieve political power. Machiavellian leader- ship is based on the concepts that people (1) are basically fallible, gullible,

untrustworthy, and weak; (2) are impersonal objects; and (3) should be manipulated so that the leader can achieve his

goals.

Christie and Geis conclude that Machiavellian leaders have four characteristics:

They have little emotional involvement in interpersonal relationships—it is easier to manipulate others if “followers” are viewed as impersonal objects.

They are not concerned about conventional morality; they take a utilitarian view (what they can get out of it) rather than a moral view of their interactions with others.

They have a fairly accurate perception of the needs of their followers, which facilitates their capacity to manipulate them.

They have a low degree of ideological commitment; they focus on manipulating oth- ers for personal benefit, rather than on achieving long-term ideological goals.7

It should be noted that some Machiavellian leaders have considerable charisma, but they use their charisma to manipulate their followers.

Although a few leaders may have Machiavellian characteristics, most do not. Today very few groups would function effectively or efficiently with Machiavellian leaders.

In recent years the trait theory of leadership has declined in popularity, partly because research results have raised questions about its validity. For example, different leadership positions often require different leadership traits. The characteristics of a good leader in the military differ markedly from those of a good group therapy leader. Moreover, traits found in leaders have also been found in followers. Although qualities such as high intelligence and a well-adjusted personality may have some correlation with leadership, many highly

CHAPTER 3: Group Dynamics: Leadership74

intelligent people never get top leadership positions, and some highly intelligent leaders (Adolf Hitler, for example) have been emotionally unstable. The best rule for leader selec- tion involves choosing individuals with the necessary skills, qualities, and motivation to help a group accomplish its goals.

The Position Approach In most large organizations, there are several levels of leadership, such as president, vice president, manager, supervisor, and foreman. The position approach defines leadership in terms of the authority of a particular position. It focuses on studying the behavior, training, and personal background of leaders in high-level positions.

Studies using the position approach, however, have revealed little consistency in how people assume leadership positions. Obviously, some individuals may become leaders with little related training (in family businesses, for example), whereas others spend years devel- oping their skills. Also, individuals in different leadership positions have been found to

EXERCISE 3.1 The Charismatic Leader

GOAL: This exercise is designed to assist you in identifying charismatic people and understanding the various characteristics that lead a person to be charismatic.

Write the names of three people you identify as being charismatic. These may be presidents, political leaders, religious leaders, teachers, acquaintances, and so on. For each person you identify, list the characteristics that cause this person (in your view) to be charismatic.

For the three people you wrote about, identify the charismatic characteristics that all three individuals appear to have in common.

Do any of these people have unique charismatic characteristics (that is, characteristics that are not held by the other two)? If “yes,” identify the person and describe his or her unique characteristics.

75 Describe Five Major Approaches to Leadership

display a variety of appropriate behaviors. For example, a drill sergeant in basic military training is not expected to be empathetic, but a sensitivity group leader is. It is difficult to compile a list of leadership traits by using this approach. Not surprisingly, the position approach has shown that what constitutes leadership behavior depends upon the particular requirements of the position.

Another problem with the position approach is that it is difficult to define which behavior of a designated leader is leadership behavior and which is not. Certainly not all of the behavior of a designated authority figure is leadership behavior. For instance, an inex- perienced individual in a position of authority can mask incompetence with an authoritar- ian attitude. Also, the leadership behavior among group members who are not designated leaders is difficult for the position approach to explain because this approach focuses its attention on designated leaders.

The Leadership-Style Approach Because researchers on the trait and the position approaches were turning out contradictory results, Lewin, Lippitt, and White focused on examining leadership styles. Their research uncovered three: authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire.8

Authoritarian Leaders These types of leaders, who have more absolute power than democratic leaders, set goals and policies, dictate the activities of the members, and develop major plans. The leader alone is the purveyor of rewards and punishments and knows the succession of future steps in the group’s activities. Authoritarian leadership is generally efficient and decisive. One of the hazards, however, is that group members may respond out of necessity and not because of commitment to group goals. The authoritarian leader who anticipates approval from subordinates may be surprised to find that backbiting and bickering are common in the group. Unsuccessful authoritarian leadership is apt to gener- ate factionalism, behind-the-scenes jockeying for position among members, and a decline in morale.

EXERCISE 3.2 Machiavellian Leaders

GOAL: This exercise is designed to assist you in understanding the characteristics of Machiavellian leaders.

Some authorities view Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, and Saddam Hussein as Machiavellian leaders. Identify three people you view as Machiavellian leaders. (These people may include one or more of the leaders just mentioned.) For each person you list, write the characteristics he or she had (or has) that are Machiavellian in nature.

CHAPTER 3: Group Dynamics: Leadership76

Democratic Leaders In contrast, democratic leaders seek the maximum involvement and participation of every member in

all decisions affecting the group and attempt to spread responsibility rather than concentrate it. Democratic leadership

can lead to slow decision making and confusion, but it is frequently more effective because of the strong cooperation that

emerges from group participation. Interpersonal hostilities between members, dissatisfactions with the leader, and concern

for personal advancement all become issues that are discussed and acted upon. With democratic leadership, the pri- vate

complaining that is kept behind the scenes in the authoritarian approach usually becomes public. When this occurs, such

conflicts can be more openly and readily con- fronted and dealt with. Once this public conflict has been resolved in a

democratic group, however, a strong personal commitment usually develops, which motivates members to implement

group decisions rather than to subvert them. The potential for sabotage in an authoritarian group is high, and therein lies

the major advantage of the democratic style. The democratic leader knows that mistakes are inevitable and the group will

suffer from them, but he or she must learn to stand back and allow the democratic process to continue without

interference.

Depending on the situation, authoritarian or democratic leadership may be more effective, assuming members’

expectations about appropriate behavior for each situation are met.9 When group members anticipate a democratic style,

as they do in educational set- tings or discussion groups, the democratic style is utilized well. When members anticipate

forceful leadership from their superiors, as in industry or the military, individuals accept a more authoritarian form of

leadership.

Laissez-Faire Leaders These leaders participate very little, and group members are generally left to function (or flounder)

with little input. Group members seldom function well under a laissez-faire style, which may be effective only when the

members are commit- ted to a course of action, have the resources to implement it, and need minimal leadership to reach

their goals. For example, laissez-faire leadership may work well in a college depart- ment in which the faculty members are

competent, conscientious, and responsible and have the resources to meet their objectives.

The Distributed-Functions Approach Because different leadership styles are required in different situations (even within

the same group), research in recent years has focused more on how leadership functions are distributed. The distributed-

functions approach disagrees with the “great person,” or trait, theory of leadership and asserts that every member of a

group will be a leader at times by taking actions that serve group functions. Leadership is defined as the perfor- mance of

acts that help the group maintain itself and reach its goals. Leadership func- tions include setting goals, selecting and

implementing tasks, and providing resources to accomplish group goals while maintaining the group’s cohesion and

satisfying the needs of individual members. The functional approach involves determining what tasks, or functions, are

essential to achieve group goals and how different group members should participate.

With this approach, the demands of leadership are viewed as being specific to a par- ticular group in a particular

situation. For example, cracking a joke may be a useful leader- ship tactic in certain situations if it relieves tension. But

when other members are revealing intense personal information in therapy, humor may be a counterproductive and

therefore inappropriate leadership behavior.

Many individuals who fear taking a leadership role are uncertain about leadership functions and feel they lack the proper

qualities of a leader. Amazingly, even the most fearful and anxious students have already taken on many leadership roles,

and nearly everyone has assumed leadership responsibilities by adolescence. Functional leadership involves a learned set of skills that anyone with certain minimal capabilities can acquire. Responsible membership is the same thing as responsible leadership because both maintain the group’s cohesion and accomplish its goals. Because people can be taught

77 Describe Five Major Approaches to Leadership

leadership skills and behaviors, the implication of this theory is that nearly everyone can be taught to be an effective leader.

Servant Leadership Approach Servant leadership is an approach to leadership that was initially developed by Robert K.

Greenleaf.10 A servant leader is someone who looks to the needs of the group. The servant leader is working with the

members to solve problems and asks himself or herself how he or she can help and promote their personal development.

The servant leader places the main focus on the members, as he or she believes that content and motivated members are

best able to reach their goals. In contrast to an autocratic style of leadership, in which the autocratic leader makes most of

the decisions, decision-making responsibilities are shared with the members in the servant leadership style. The highest

EXERCISE 3.3 Authoritarian, Democratic, and Laissez-Faire Leaders

GOAL: This exercise is designed to help you understand these three types of leadership styles.

Identify someone who used an authoritarian style in leading a group. State what the leader did that led you to conclude his or her style was authoritarian. Also state what the reactions of the other group members were to this authoritarian style.

Identify someone who used a democratic style in leading a group. State what the leader did that led you to conclude his or her style was democratic. Also state what the reactions of the other group members were to this democratic style.

Identify someone who used a laissez-faire style in leading a group. State what the leader did that led you to conclude his or her style was laissez-faire. Also state what the reactions of the other group members were to this laissez-faire style.

CHAPTER 3: Group Dynamics: Leadership78

priority of a servant leader is to support, encourage, and enable members to unfold their full potential and abilities. (A highly competent teacher probably uses many of the con- cepts of a servant leader.)

Larry C. Spears has identified the following 10 concepts that characterize a servant leader:

● Listening: A servant leader is motivated to listen to members, is supportive of their opinions, and validates their concerns. The servant leader not only attends to verbal- ized concerns, but also to what is “unspoken.”

● Empathy: A servant leader seeks to understand and empathize with the members. The members are viewed as people who need respect and appreciation in order to facilitate personal development; and the more that members develop, the more suc- cessful and productive they are apt to become.

● Healing: A servant leader seeks to help members solve their issues and conflicts in relationships, as he or she wants to encourage and support the personal development of each member. Such “healing” is postulated to lead to a working environment in the group that is dynamic, fun, and free of the fear of failure.

● Awareness: A servant leader seeks to have a high level of self-awareness and to be perceptive of what the members are thinking and feeling. He or she also seeks to be aware of the interpersonal relationships in the group.

● Persuasion: A servant leader does not try to coerce members into compliance with what he or she wants, but instead seeks to convince members to share decision- making responsibilities.

● Conceptualization: A servant leader thinks beyond day-to-day realities by concep- tualizing long-term goals and strategies for reaching those goals. He or she has a personal vision that incorporates what is in the best interests of all members of the group.

● Foresight: A servant leader has the capacity to foresee the likely outcome of possible implementation strategies. (This characteristic is closely related to conceptualization.)

● Stewardship: A servant leader not only seeks to facilitate the personal development and productivity of the group, but also realizes that he or she has an obligation to

EXERCISE 3.4 Applying the Distributed-Functions Approach

GOAL: This exercise is designed to show you that you have already taken on leadership functions in a group.

The distributed-functions approach asserts that every member of a group will be a leader at times by taking actions that serve group functions. Identify a group that you are currently in or that you were a member of in the past. Describe the actions you took that were useful to the group. (When you made positive contributions to this group, you were taking on leadership responsibilities.)

79 Describe Five Major Approaches to Leadership

do what is best for the greater society. Openness and persuasion are more important than control.

● Commitment to the growth of people: A servant leader focuses on nurturing the professional, personal, and spiritual growth of members. He or she seeks to validate the ideas of all the members and involves them in decision making.

● Building community: A servant leader not only seeks to develop a productive and contented group, but also seeks to build a strong community. It is postulated that members will have considerable growth with this style of leadership, which will lead these members to add to the development of the communities in which they live.11

Servant leadership is a lifelong journey that includes self-discovery, a desire to serve others, and a commitment to developing the group members that one works with. Servant leaders are humble, caring, visionary, empowering, relational, competent, good stewards, and community builders. They put others first, are skilled communicators, are compassion- ate collaborators, are systems thinkers, and are ethical. Instead of a top-down hierarchical style, servant leaders emphasize trust, collaboration, empathy, and ethical use of power. Servant leaders do not seek to increase their own power, but seek to lead by better serving others.

Servant leadership not only facilitates the personal development of group mem- bers, but has the potential to influence the broader society in a positive way. Group members tend to be attracted to this style of leadership and tend to be happier

and more productive. (Servant leadership is not only an effective approach to leading a group, but is also an effective

management style for a supervisor to use in supervising employees. Managers who empower and respect their staff tend to

get better perfor- mance in return.)

Will servant leadership work well in all groups? Undoubtedly not! Certain settings probably require a more forceful form of leadership—such as in the military or in a prison setting.

EXERCISE 3.5 Servant Leaders

GOAL: This exercise is designed to help you understand the servant leadership approach. Identify someone who used the servant leadership approach in leading a group. Perhaps the person was a teacher or a member of the clergy. State what the leader did that led you to conclude his or her style was servant leadership. Also state what the reactions of the other group members were to this style.

CHAPTER 3: Group Dynamics: Leadership80

LO 2 Identify Effective Group Leadership Functions, Roles, and Techniques

LEADERSHIP ROLES Task and Maintenance Roles Through considerable research on problem-solving groups, Bales has identified two specific leadership functions: the task specialist and the social/emotional, or group maintenance, specialist.12 All groups, whether organized for therapeutic reasons, prob- lem solving, or other purposes, rely on members performing task roles and group main- tenance roles satisfactorily. Task roles are those needed to accomplish specific goals set by the group.

Task roles refer to the actions of individuals that help move the project, discussion, decision, or task along. These roles include:

Initiating: Proposing tasks of goals, defining a group problem, suggesting a procedure of ideas for getting the task accomplished, defining the task, and seeking to pro- vide a structure for the meeting.

Information of Opinion Seeking: Requesting facts, seeking relevant information about a question or concern, asking for suggestions or ideas or opinions, and collecting data.

Clarifying: Interpreting or reflecting ideas and suggestions, clarifying conclu- sions, indicating alternatives and issues to be considered by the group, giving examples, defining terms, asking for clarification or an example, building on the ideas of others, and developing half-stated ideas into fully developed possibilities.

Summarizing: Pulling together related ideas, restating suggestions after the group has discussed them, offering a decision or conclusion for the group to accept or reject, and restating the decisions or action plans of the discussion.

Consensus Testing: Checking with the group to see how much agreement has been reached and how ready the group members are to consider a decision or plan of action.

Maintenance roles refer to the actions of individuals which preserve or strengthen social/emotional bonds with the group. These roles include:

Encouraging: Being friendly and warm and responsive to others, accepting others and their contributions, encouraging others to contribute, praising others for their contributions, and pointing out the progress and accomplishments of the group.

Harmonizing: Attempting to reconcile disagreements, reducing tension, and getting members to explore their differences and find common ground in their opinions.

Expressing Group Feelings: Sensing and verbalizing feelings, mood, and tensions in the group and sharing one’s own feelings with other group members.

Fostering Communication: Helping to keep communication open, facilitating the par- ticipation of others, suggesting procedures that permit sharing remarks, asking others for their opinion, being sensitive and perceptive of the nonverbal signals of members who want to participate, and asking others for their input when one member is monopolizing the conversation.

Compromising: When someone is disagreeing with you, seek to find a compromise that will “work” for you and the other member; when the group is stuck, offer suggestions for getting unstuck; encourage the group to figure out a compromise when disagreement arise; and help the group define its ground rules that will facilitate handling disagreements. 13

Each of the foregoing task and maintenance functions may be required periodically within a group, and effective group members (and leaders) are sensitive to these needs.

EP 8b

81 Identify Effective Group Leadership Functions, Roles, and Techniques

A task leader emerges in many groups because he or she has the best ideas and does the most to guide discussions.

Because this person concentrates on a task and generally plays an aggressive role in moving the group toward the goal,

hostility is apt to arise and the task leader may be disliked. Concurrently, a second leader may emerge: a social/ emotional

specialist who concentrates on group harmony and resolves tensions and conflicts within the group. In groups with an

official leader, the leader is expected to be both the task specialist and the social/emotional specialist. In groups without an

official leader, these two functions are generally assumed by two different emergent leaders. When social/emotional group

maintenance needs are met, a group will continually improve its task effectiveness. However, when maintenance needs are

ignored, a group’s task effectiveness deteriorates.

Hersey and Blanchard have developed a situational theory of leadership that points out when leaders should focus on task

behaviors, on maintenance behaviors, or on both.14 In essence, the theory asserts that when members have low maturity in

terms of accomplishing a specific task, the leader should engage in high-task behaviors and low-maintenance behaviors.

Hersey and Blanchard refer to this situation as telling—the leader’s behavior is most effective when the leader defines the

roles of members and tells them how, when, and where to do needed tasks. The task maturity of members increases as

their experience and understanding of the task increase. For moderately mature members, the leader should engage in

high-task behaviors and high-mainte- nance behaviors. This combination of behaviors is referred to as selling. The leader

should not only provide clear directions about role and task responsibilities, but also use maintenance behaviors to get the

members to “buy into” the decisions that have to be made.

Hersey and Blanchard also assert that when the group members’ commitment to the task increases, so does their maturity.

When members are committed to accomplishing the task and have the ability and knowledge to complete the task, the leader should engage in low-task behaviors and high-maintenance behaviors. This is referred to as participating. Finally,

for groups in which members are both willing and able to take responsibility for directing their own task behavior, the

leader should engage in low-task and low-maintenance behaviors; this is referred to as delegating. Delegating allows members considerable auton- omy in completing the task.

Other Roles The designated group leader has a special obligation to assume, or to assist others in assum- ing, timely and

appropriate task and maintenance roles. Each leader is also responsible for a variety of functions, which range from setting

initial policies to planning for termination. To meet the needs and particular developmental stage of a group, a leader may

be required to assume any of the previously described roles in addition to these:

Executive: Coordinates the activities of a group. Policy Maker: Establishes group goals and policies. Planner: Decides the

means by which the group shall achieve its goals. Expert: Offers a ready source of information and skills. External Group

Representative: Serves as official spokesperson. Controller of Internal Relations: Controls the group structure and in-group

relations. Purveyor of Rewards and Punishments: Promotes, demotes, and assigns pleasant or

unpleasant tasks. Arbitrator and Mediator: Acts as both judge and conciliator and has the power to

reduce or increase factionalism within the group. Exemplar: Serves as a model of behavior for other members. Ideologist:

Serves as the source of group beliefs and values. Scapegoat: Serves as the target for members’ frustrations and

disappointments.

has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning

reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.

CHAPTER 3: Group Dynamics: Leadership82

LO 3 Understand that the Use of Power Is a Necessary Component of Group Functioning

POWER AND I N F L U E N C E I N GROUPS Although the use of power in human interactions is often viewed negatively, it is, in fact, a normal part of relationships because people are frequently influencing and being influ- enced by one another. The terms power and influence will be used interchangeably in this chapter. Both terms refer to the capacity of an individual to motivate others to carry out cer- tain actions or to behave in a particular way. Earlier in this chapter, leadership was defined as one member of a group influencing other members to achieve group goals and promote group maintenance. In an effective group, each member at times takes a leadership role by performing task and maintenance functions. Task functions move the group forward; maintenance functions improve the social/emotional atmosphere of the group.

In making decisions, group members present their views and opinions in an effort to influence group members. For example, some members attempt to incorporate their per- sonal goals into the group’s goals or to promote the strategies for action they want imple- mented. Members influence each other to commit their time and resources to the group.

EXERCISE 3.6 Your Task and Maintenance Contributions to a Group

GOAL: This exercise is designed to assist you in understanding your task and maintenance contributions to a group.

Identify a group you are currently participating in or have participated with in the past. Briefly describe this group, including its goals.

Review the list of task roles and then describe your task contributions to this group.

Review the list of maintenance roles and then describe your maintenance contributions to this group.

83 Describe Five Bases of Power in Groups, and Identify the Different Consequences of Using These Bases

Controversies are usually settled through mutual influence, as members seek acceptable compromises or solutions. The use of power is indeed a necessary component of effective group functioning, and it is natural and generally desirable for every member to influence other members in the pursuit of both personal and group goals.

Every group member has a need to control what happens in a group because people join groups to attain personal goals they cannot achieve individually. If members do not exert power, their chances of achieving their personal goals are small, and they are apt to become apathetic and disengage themselves from the group.

When group members are cooperating, power is asserted in the same direction, and members encourage each other to put forth greater effort, as they would on a sports team. However, when members are competitive or have incompatible goals, their assertions of power conflict. Republican and Democratic congressional representatives, for example, are constantly competing with each other, and their efforts to influence frequently clash.

Group members in conflict sometimes resort to manipulation; that is, they influence others for their own purpose or profit. Often, this manipulation is dishonest or unfair, for it involves the use of power for one’s own benefit at the expense of other members. When people say they do not want to have power over others, they usually mean they do not want to manipulate others. If group members feel coerced by threats or discover they are manipulated in other ways, they usually react with anger, distrust, resentment, and retail- action.

Manipulation, then, is a destructive kind of power because it decreases cooperation and can cause serious maintenance problems. “Influencing with integrity” is in contrast to manipulation. In a group, influencing with integrity involves seeking to influence the group in a direction that is in the group’s best interests.

An effective group member is skillful in influencing others in a positive way. The amount of power a member has depends on how valuable his or her resources are. If a member has vital resources that are also available to others, that member will have less power. Interestingly, it is not a person’s actual resources that determine power; instead, it is the perception of the other group members as to the value of a member’s resources. It is possible to have vital resources but little power if these resources are ignored or unknown. It is also possible to have great power but few vital resources if members exaggerate the importance of such resources.

LO 4 Describe Five Bases of Power in Groups, and Identify the Different Consequences of Using These Bases

POWER BASES I N GROUPS French and Raven have developed a framework for understanding the extent to which one group member influences another by identifying five bases of power: reward, coercive, legitimate, referent, and expert.15 This framework allows group members to analyze the source of their power and offers suggestions on when, and when not, to use their power to influence others.

Reward Power Rewards include such things as promotions, pay increases, days off, and praise. Reward power is based on B’s (one member’s) perception that A (another member or the entire group) has the capacity to dispense rewards or remove negative consequences in response to B’s behavior. This power will be greater if the group members value the reward and believe they cannot get it from anyone else.

Group members will usually work hard for someone who has high reward power and will communicate effectively with him or her. Reward power can backfire, however, if group members feel they are being conned or bribed. If reward power is used by A in a conflict situation with В, В is apt to feel he is being bribed and controlled, and may eventually refuse to cooperate.

EP 7b EP 8b

CHAPTER 3: Group Dynamics: Leadership84

Coercive Power The ability to fire a worker who falls below a given level of production is a common example of coercive power, which is based on B’s perceptions that A can dispense punishments or remove positive consequences. Coercive power stems from the expectation on the part of В that he will be punished by A if he fails to conform to the required standards set by A. The dis- tinction between reward and coercive power is important. French and Raven note that reward power will tend to increase the attraction of В toward A, whereas coercive power will decrease this attraction. If coercive power is used by A to attempt to settle a conflict, it often increases B’s hostility, resentment, and anger. Threats often lead to aggression and counterthreats; for example, military threats often increase conflict between rival countries. Coercive power may exacerbate conflict by leading both A and В to distrust each other and to retaliate against each other. Therefore, whenever possible, coercive power should not be used to settle conflicts.

Legitimate Power Legitimate power is directly related to an internalized value or norm and is probably the most complex of the five power bases. Legitimate power is based on the perception by В that A has a legitimate right to prescribe what constitutes proper behavior for him or her and that В has an obligation to accept this influence. Cultural values constitute one com- mon basis for legitimate power and include intelligence, age, caste, and physical charac- teristics as factors determining power.

For example, in some cultures the aged are highly respected and are granted the right to prescribe behavior for others. The legitimate power inherent in a formal organization is generally determined by a relationship between posi- tions rather than between people. A supervisor in a factory, for instance, has the inherent right to assign work. A third basis for legitimate power is a legitimizing agent, for example, an election. The election process legitimizes a person’s right to a position that already had a legitimate range of power associated with it.

The limits of legitimate power are generally specified at the time that power is assigned (for example, in a job description). The attempted use of power outside of this range will decrease the legitimate power of the authority figure and decrease his or her attractiveness and influence.

Referent Power Referent power occurs when one individual, A, influences another, B, as a result of identifi- cation. Identification in this context means either a feeling of oneness with A or a desire for an identity such as A’s. The stronger the identification of В with A, the greater the attraction to A and the greater the referent power of A.

Verbalization of referent power is “I am like A, and therefore I will believe or behave as A does,” or “I want to be like A, and I will be more like A if I believe or behave as A does.” In ambiguous situations (that is, situations where there are no objective right or wrong beliefs or opinions), В will seek to evaluate his or her thoughts, beliefs, and values in terms of what A thinks, believes, and values. In ambigu- ous situations, B is apt to adopt the thoughts, beliefs, and values of the individual or group with which B identifies. French and Raven note that В is often not consciously aware of the referent power that A exerts.

Expert Power Accepting a physician’s advice in medical matters is a common example of expert influ- ence, which is based on the perception that a person has knowledge or expertise that is the source of power. Another example would be accepting a counselor’s suggestions. Experts can influence В (the responder) only if В thinks that A (the expert) has the right answer and В trusts A. The range of expert power is more limited than that of referent power because the expert is seen as having superior knowledge or ability only in specific areas.

French and Raven note that the attempted exertion of expert power outside the perceived range will reduce that power because confidence in the expert seems to be undermined.

French and Raven theorize that for all five types, the stronger the basis of power, the greater the power. Referent power is thought to have the broadest range. Any attempt to use power outside the prescribed range is hypothesized to reduce the power.

85 Describe Five Bases of Power in Groups, and Identify the Different Consequences of Using These Bases

EXERCISE 3.7 The Power Bases in This Class

GOAL: This exercise is designed to assist you in understanding and applying the power bases that were developed by French and Raven.

This class can be reviewed as being a group. For each of the listed power bases, answer the following: Who in this class has this power base? Have these people engaged in actions that demonstrated this power base? If “yes,” write down these actions.

Reward Power:

Coercive Power:

Legitimate Power:

Referent Power:

Expert Power:

CHAPTER 3: Group Dynamics: Leadership86

LO 5 Understand the Effects of Unequal Power in Groups

EFFECTS OF UNEQUAL POWER The effectiveness of a group is improved when power is based upon expertise and compe- tence and is relatively equal among members. Members are more committed to implement- ing decisions when they feel they have had a fair say in making a decision. If a group is dominated by a few powerful members, the low-power members are likely to feel less com- mitted to carrying out the decisions they perceive as being made by the powerful members. When power is relatively balanced, however, the members are generally more cooperative with each other.

Unequal power often leads to distrust between the high- and low-power members. The low-power members fear they will be manipulated and are reluctant to share their thoughts completely with the high-power members because they believe that if they express views in opposition to the views of the high-power members, they are apt to receive fewer rewards and may be coerced. High-power members avoid revealing weaknesses because they fear the low-power members may come to think they are undeserving of their power and seek to grasp it. The problem-solving capacity of groups is generally increased when members have fairly equal power or when the group has flexible and gradually changing power patterns that tend to equalize influence among group members.

Power based on authority or popularity can dramatically reduce the problem-solving capacities of groups when the tasks require expertise and competence. High-power people generally believe that low-power people really do like them because they see themselves as benevolent. They generally believe that low-power people communicate honestly with them and do not hide valuable information from them. When low-power members express dissatisfaction, however, high-power people frequently are not benevolent. Instead, they perceive that the low-power people are “making waves” and “not appreciating what is being done for them.” In such situations high-power people may withhold rewards and use threats and coercion. These reactions usually intensify the conflict and polarize the two sides.

When threatened, high-power people may maintain power by instituting rules or norms that legitimize their power and make it illegal to change the status quo.16 After the South lost the Civil War, for example, the White power structure in the South sought to maintain its power by keeping schools, restaurants, and public restrooms segregated. Pro- cesses were established that prevented many Black people from voting, and few were hired for high-status positions. Numerous state and local laws were enacted to legitimize this segregation.

High-power people may also maintain their position by creating severe penalties for attempting to change the status quo. Blacks in the South were lynched for such offenses as seeking to be served in White restaurants. In addition, high-power members may seek to deter low-power members from rebelling by dispensing a variety of rewards to those low- power members who support the status quo.

Halle has observed that the greater a person’s power becomes, the less sufficient it seems because the requests and claims upon it increase faster than the capacity to fulfill them.17 For example, although the United States has become very powerful in the past 50 years, requests for domestic and military help from other countries have increased more rapidly than the country’s ability to fulfill them. The power of the United States thus seems insufficient.

How do low-power people relate to high-power people? There are a variety of strategies. One is to emphasize and exaggerate the degree to which high-power people like them, over- estimating their goodwill.18 Low-power people using this strategy direct much of their atten- tion and communication to high-power people, seeking to remain on good terms with them.

A second strategy for low-power people is to become apathetic and submissive. Authoritarian leadership often breeds this reaction. A third strategy is to become angry and rebel; rebellion sometimes leads to destructive violence.

Low-power people can use a variety of strategies to change the distribution of power.19 One is to endear themselves by frequently complimenting high-power people and agreeing with them. The hope is that high-power people will come to depend on them and reward them with

87 Understand the Effects of Unequal Power in Groups

more power. A second strategy is to develop personal resources and organizations so that they are less vulnerable to exploitation and less dependent upon high-power people. This strategy builds a separate power structure. A third strategy is to build coalitions with other parties. Right- to-life groups, for example, have formed a coalition with leaders in the Roman Catholic Church in an attempt to make abortions illegal. A fourth strategy is to use existing legal procedures to bring pressures for change. The civil rights movement has used the court system extensively to force the power structure to make changes. A fifth strategy involves low-power members orga- nizing and using confrontation techniques to force the power structure to change.

Perhaps the best known authority on using power confrontation techniques is Saul Alinsky.20 Alinsky and his associates organized many citizens’ groups to confront estab- lished power structures. For example, in the 1960s Alinsky was working with a citizens’ group known as the Woodlawn Organization in the inner city of Chicago. City authorities had made commitments to this organization to improve several conditions in the neigh- borhood. When it became clear the commitments would not be honored, however, the Woodlawn Organization sought ways to pressure the city into meeting its commitments. The proposed solution was to embarrass city officials by tying up all the lavatories at O’Hare, one of the world’s busiest airports. Alinsky describes this effort as follows:

An intelligence study was launched to learn how many sit-down toilets for both men and women, as well as stand-up urinals, there were in the entire O’Hare airport complex and how many men and women would be necessary for the nation’s first “shit-in.”

The consequences of this kind of action would be catastrophic in many ways. People would be desperate for a place to relieve themselves. One can see children yelling at their parents, “Mommy, I’ve got to go,” and desperate mothers surrendering, “All right—well, do it. Do it right here.” O’Hare would soon become a shambles. The whole scene would become unbe- lievable and the laughter and ridicule would be nationwide, it would probably get a front page story in the London Times. It would be a source of great mortification and embarrass- ment to the city administration. It might even create the kind of emergency in which planes would have to be held up while passengers got back aboard to use the plane’s toilet facilities.

The threat of this tactic was leaked (. . . there may be a Freudian slip here . . . so what?) back to the administration, and within 48 hours the Woodlawn Organization found itself in conference with the authorities who said they were certainly going to live up to their com- mitments and they could never understand where anyone got the idea that a promise made by Chicago’s City Hall would not be observed.21

Community change efforts through group projects are often enjoyable!

COLEADERSHIP OF A GROUP Advantages Coleadership has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages (and benefits) will first be described. During meetings of the group, coleaders can help each other in doing the tasks (described earlier) associated with leading a group. Between meetings, the coleaders can meet to discuss what went well at the last meeting and what needs to be improved; they then can discuss what may be done to make the next meeting even more constructive and effective. Such sharing will not only be beneficial to the group, but also is apt to facilitate the professional growth of both coleaders.

If an effective coleader is paired with an inexperienced leader who has leadership potential, the effective leader can mentor the inexperienced leader.

Coleadership provides two people to observe and attend to the dynamics taking place in a group. As a result, the nonverbal communication of the other group members is more apt to be accurately identified. (As an aside, it is best for coleaders to sit across from one another so that they can more closely observe the nonverbal communication of all the group members; if the coleaders sit next to each other, it is difficult to observe what is going on with group members to their immediate left and right.)

CHAPTER 3: Group Dynamics: Leadership88

Coleaders are also apt to be a source of support for one another. (We all know that in a group setting when we feel confident and supported, we are apt to be more effective in communicating and also in problem solving.) In addition, coleaders in group treatment settings can assist one another in role-plays, simulations, and solving the challenges being faced by the other group members. Also, if one leader becomes uncertain as to what to say or do about a particular issue that is being discussed, the other coleader is available to step in.

EXERCISE 3.8 Groups of Equal Power and Unequal Power

GOAL: This exercise is designed to help you understand the effects of equal power and unequal power among members in a group.

Describe a group that you participated in where group members had approximately the same amount of power.

Describe a group that you participated in where a few group members had most of the power and the rest of the members had very little power.

Which group were you most attracted to? What were the reasons for this attraction?

Review the section on the effects of unequal power. Describe how these research results are consistent or inconsistent with your experiences of being in a group of equal power and then in a group of unequal power.

89 Comprehend How to Start and Lead a Group

Disadvantages There are a few potential drawbacks to coleadership. Leadership of the group may finan- cially be more expensive—perhaps twice as expensive—as there may be two leaders who have to be paid by someone. Communication time between meetings between the two lead- ers may also incur a financial cost.

Conflict and tension between the coleaders, if it occurs, is apt to be detrimental to achieving the goals of the group, as well as to achieving the individual goals of the members. When the coleaders consistently pursue differing strategies or courses of action, the group will be dramatically delayed in achieving tasks, group goals, and individual goals.

Toseland and Rivas note:

Experience has shown that it is worse to have a coleader with whom one does not agree than to lead a group alone. Therefore, group workers should be cautious in choosing a coleader. Difficulties may arise when workers agree to colead a group without carefully considering whether they can work together effectively. Potential coleaders may want to examine each other’s styles while leading a group or during team meetings before agreeing to colead a group.22

Wright asserts that the decision to have coleaders should be based on the needs of the group members rather than on group facilitators’ preferences for individual or dual leader- ship.23 There are certainly situations that call for coleadership—for example, in a group of couples that have marital issues, it is often highly advantageous to have both a male and female leader in order to be representative of both male and female points of view.

LO 6 Comprehend How to Start and Lead a Group

GUIDELINES FOR FORMING AND LEADING A GROUP The theory of leadership emphasized in this chapter is the distributed-functions approach, which asserts that every group member takes on leadership responsibilities at various times, and every effective action by a member is simultaneously an effective leadership action. Being a designated leader is not that different from taking on leadership roles. This section will summarize a number of suggestions for how to form and lead a group effectively.

Homework The key to successful group leadership is extensive preparation. Even experienced leaders carefully prepare for each group and for each group session.

In planning for a new group, the following questions must be answered: What is the purpose or general goals of the group? How can these goals be achieved? What are the characteristics of the members? Do some members have unique individual goals or needs? What resources are needed to accomplish group goals? What is the agenda for the first meeting? What is the best way for members to suggest and decide on the specific goals of the group? Should an ice-breaker exercise be used? Which one? Should refreshments be provided? How should the chairs be arranged? What type of group atmosphere will best help the group accomplish its tasks? What is the best available meeting place? Why has the leader been selected? What do the members expect from the leader?

To plan the first meeting, a leader should view the group as a new member would view it. Here are a few questions a new member might have: What will be the goals of this group? Why am I joining? Will my personal goals be met? Will I feel comfortable? Will I be accepted? Will the other members be radically different in terms of backgrounds and interests? If I do not like this group, can I leave gracefully? Will other members respect what I have to say, or will they laugh and make fun of me? By considering such concerns, the leader can plan the first meeting to help other members feel comfortable and to clarify the goals and activities of the group.

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CHAPTER 3: Group Dynamics: Leadership90

Before the first meeting, it is absolutely essential that a leader identify the group’s needs and expectations as precisely as possible. A group whose leader and members disagree on goals cannot succeed.

There are a variety of ways to identify what the members want. The leader may have an opportunity to ask them before the first meeting. If that is not possible, the leader can at least talk to the organizer of the meeting about the group’s expectations.

The first meeting is always a good time to clarify the group’s goals. The leader also needs the answers to the following questions:

How many members are expected? 2. What are their characteristics: age, socioeconomic status, racial and ethnic back-

ground, gender, and educational/professional background? 3. How knowledgeable are the members about the topics the group will be dealing with? 4. What are the likely personal goals of the various members? 5. How motivated are the members to accomplish the purposes for which the group is

being formed? Voluntary membership usually indicates greater motivation. Indi- viduals who have been ordered by a court to participate in an alcohol rehabilitation program, for example, have little motivation and may even be hostile.

What values are the members likely to have? While being careful to avoid stereotyp- ing, a leader must understand, for example, that teenagers on juvenile probation will differ significantly from retired priests.

In planning a meeting, it is helpful for a leader to visualize how the meeting will go. For example, a leader may want to visualize the following first meeting:

The members will arrive at various times. I will be there early to greet them, intro- duce myself, assist them in feeling comfortable, and engage in small talk. Pos- sible topics that are apt to be of interest to these new members are _________, _________, and _________.

I will begin the meeting by introducing myself and the overall purpose of the group. I will use the following ice-breaker exercises for members to introduce themselves and get acquainted. 1 will ask the group to give me a list of four or five items they would like to know about the other members. Then the members will introduce themselves and respond to the items. I will also respond to the items and encour- age the members to ask questions about me and the group.

After the ice-breaker exercise, I will briefly state the overall purpose of the group and ask for questions. Possible questions are _________. My answers will be _________.

We will proceed to the agenda, which has been mailed to the members. During the discussion of each agenda point, the following questions may arise: _________. My answers are _________.

The kind of group atmosphere I will seek to create is democratic and egalitarian. Such an atmosphere is best suited for encouraging members to become committed to the group goals and to contribute their time and resources. I will create this atmosphere by arranging the chairs in a circle, by drawing out through questions those who are silent, by using humor, and by making sure I do not dominate the conversation.

I will end the meeting by summarizing what has been covered and the decisions that have been made. We will set a time for the next meeting. I will finally ask if any- one has any additional comments or questions. Throughout the meeting I will seek to establish a positive atmosphere, partly by complimenting the members on the contributions they make.

If a group has met more than once, the leader needs to review the following kinds of ques- tions: Have the overall goals been decided upon and clarified? If not, what needs to be done in this clarification process? Is the group making adequate progress in accomplishing its goals? If not, what are the obstacles that must be overcome? Is the group taking the most effective course

91 Comprehend How to Start and Lead a Group

of action to reach its goals? What is the agenda for the next meeting? What activities should be planned? Will successful completion of these activities move the group toward accomplishing its overall goals? If not, which other activities will? Is each member sufficiently motivated to help the group accomplish its goals? If not, why? What might be done to stimulate their interest?

Planning a Session In planning a session, the leader must keep the group’s overall goals—as well as those for that session—in mind. (For material on how to set group goals, see Chapter 4.) To be effec- tive, the leader must know exactly what should be accomplished in each session and make sure that all the items on the agenda contribute to the goals. Here is a checklist that may help leaders plan successful group sessions. An effective leader will do the following:

Select relevant content. The material should not only be relevant to the specific goals for the session but also to the backgrounds and interests of the participants. Time- management advice for college students, for example, probably will

be different from that for business executives. Time-saving tips for students will likely focus on improv- ing study habits;

business executives will be more interested in how to manage time in an office setting. An excellent way to evaluate possible

material is to define precisely how it will be valuable to members of the group. The leader should ask: “If a group member

wants to know why he or she should know this, can I give a valid reason?” If that question cannot be answered precisely,

the material should be discarded and replaced with more relevant material.

Use examples. Examples help illustrate key concepts and stimulate the participants. People tend to remember examples

more readily than statistics or concepts. Vivid case histories that illustrate the drastic effects of spouse abuse, for instance,

will be remembered much longer than statistics on the extent of spouse abuse.

Present materials in a logical order. It is generally desirable to begin by summarizing the agenda items for the session.

Ideally, one topic should blend into the next. Group exercises should be used in conjunction with related theoretical

material.

Plan the time. Once the content of a session is selected and organized, the time each segment requires should be estimated.

Accurate estimates will help determine whether planned material and activities are appropriate for the allotted time. A

good leader also knows what material can be deleted if time is running short and what can be added if the session

progresses more rapidly than planned. Substitute activities must also be available to replace speakers who fail to appear or

films that fail to arrive.

Be flexible. A variety of unexpected events may make it desirable to change the agenda during a session. Interpersonal

conflict between members may take consider- able time, or it may become clear that subjects related to the group’s overall purpose are more valuable for the group to focus on than the prepared agenda.

Change the pace. People pay attention longer if there is an occasional change of pace. Long lectures or discussions can become boring. Group exercises, films, guest speakers, breaks, debates, and other activities will help vary the tempo of a meeting or session. In group therapy, one way to change the pace is to move from one member’s problems to those of another. Lectures can be more stimulating if the instructor:

● speaks extemporaneously instead of reading material ● walks around the room occasionally, rather than standing or sitting in one place ● draws out participants by asking questions

An excellent way to learn how to give more stimulating presentations is to observe the non- verbal and verbal communication patterns of dynamic speakers. It is critical to use appro- priate transitions so that the topics blend into one another smoothly.

Relaxing Before You Start a Meeting Before beginning a meeting, the leader is likely to be nervous about how the session may go. Some anxiety, in fact, is helpful because it increases alertness, and that will make the leader

CHAPTER 3: Group Dynamics: Leadership92

more attentive, producing a better meeting. Too much anxiety, however, reduces effective- ness. Relaxation techniques that can alleviate excessive anxiety are described in Chapter 11. They are highly recommended and include walking, jogging, listening to music, meditat- ing, and being alone to clear the mind. Effective group leaders generally learn they can reduce their level of anxiety through using one or more relaxation techniques. Practice in leading groups also builds confidence and reduces anxiety.

Cues upon Entering the Meeting Room It is essential that a leader be on time, but arriving early is better because it allows the leader to see that materials, seating arrangements, refreshments, and any other needs are in place as planned. The leader will also have an opportunity to observe the members before the group begins. He or she can gain information about the interests of the participants from their age, gender, clothes and personal appearance, conversation, and interaction with one another. An effective leader observes such cues and uses them to create an initial bond with the participants. For example, this author was asked to give a workshop on suicide preven- tion to a high school class. Upon arriving, I was informed by the teacher that one of the students in the class had recently committed suicide. Instead of beginning with my planned presentation, I asked each student to write down, anonymously, one or two concerns or questions that they had about suicide. We then had a lively discussion based on their ques- tions and concerns. Such a discussion was probably more valuable than the formal presen- tation (which I never gave) because it focused on their specific questions and concerns.

Seating Arrangements Seating is important for several reasons. It can affect who talks to whom and influence leadership roles and, as a result, affect group cohesion and morale. In most groups mem- bers should have eye contact with one another. The group leader must be able to make eye contact with everyone to obtain nonverbal feedback on what the members are thinking and feeling.

A circle is ideal for generating discussion, encouraging a sense of equal status for each member, and promoting group openness and cohesion. The traditional classroom arrange- ment, on the other hand, has the effect of placing the leader in a position of authority. It also tends to inhibit communication because members can easily make eye contact only with other members seated nearby.

Tables have advantages and disadvantages. They provide a place to write and to put work materials, and some members feel more comfortable at a table because they can lean on it. But tables restrict movement and may serve as barriers between people.

The leader should thus carefully consider the use of tables. In business meetings or other “working” sessions, for example, tables are necessary. In therapy groups, however, tables are seldom used. When work surfaces and written communication are required, small tables in a circle can be an effective arrangement.

The shape of the tables can also influence the way group members interact. If the table is rectangular, the leader traditionally sits at one end, becomes the head of the table and the “authority,” tends to do more talking, and has a greater influence on the discussion than other group members. A round or square table, however, establishes a more egalitarian atmosphere. The “head of the table” effect can also be reduced by placing two rectangular tables together to make a square.

In new groups, or even established ones, members are likely to sit next to friends. If it is important for everyone in the group to interact, the leader may want to ask people to sit next to individuals they do not know. People are most apt to talk to others sitting at right angles to them and then to those next to them. Those sitting directly across receive less communication, and those sitting anywhere else are even less likely to be addressed.

Introductions The leader’s credentials should be summarized at the first meeting to give the group a sense of confidence that the leader can fulfill the expectations of the members. If the leader is

93 Comprehend How to Start and Lead a Group

being introduced, a concise summary of the leader’s credentials for the expected role is desir- able. If the leader is introducing himself or herself, the important credentials should be summarized in an informative but modest way. The summary should be made in a way that helps create the desired atmosphere—whether it be formal or informal, fun or serious, or whatever. An excellent way to handle the introductions in many groups is to use an ice- breaker exercise, as described in Chapter 1.

It is highly desirable for the leader to learn the names of all group members as quickly as possible. This requires extra attention, and name tags can help everyone be more comfortable sooner. Members appreciate being called by name because it affirms their importance.

If the group is small, the members can introduce themselves individually, perhaps using an ice breaker. In addition to the usual personal information, it is helpful for members to state their expectations for the group as they introduce themselves. This helps uncover hidden agendas that are incompatible with the goals of the group. If a stated expectation is beyond the scope of the group, the leader should tactfully point this out to avoid later frustration or dissatisfaction.

Clarifying Roles The leader of a group should be clear as to his or her roles and responsibilities. If they are unclear, the leader may want to discuss them with the group. One way of doing this is for the group to select goals and then make decisions about the tasks and responsibilities that each member will have in working toward the goals of the group. In most situations it is clearly a mistake for the leader to do the bulk of the work. Generally, the group will be most productive if all members make substantial contributions. The more members contribute to a group, the more likely they are to feel a part of the group. Such positive feelings will benefit everyone.

Even if the leader is certain of the appropriate roles, others may be confused or may have different expectations. If there is any doubt, the leader should explain the roles clearly. If group members indicate different expectations, the group should then make decisions about who will do what.

In explaining his or her role, the leader should be modest about personal skills and resources, attempting to come across as a knowledgeable person rather than as an authority figure who has all the answers. The leader must also be prepared to explain the reasoning behind exercises and other actions or activities. The leader’s role will vary from group to group and from situation to situation.

Agenda Most meetings are more effective if the leader provides an agenda several days before- hand. Ideally, all members of the group should have an opportunity to suggest items for the agenda. The agenda should be briefly reviewed at the start of the meeting to give each member a chance to suggest additions, deletions, or other changes. In some meetings it may be appropriate for the group to discuss, and perhaps vote on, the suggested changes in the agenda.

Additional Guidelines for Leading a Group This section briefly summarizes additional suggestions for effectively leading a group. Future chapters will expand on the following guidelines:

Understand that leadership is a shared responsibility. Every member will take on leadership roles at times. Designated leaders should not seek to dominate a group or believe they are responsible for directing the group in all of its task and maintenance functions. In fact, productivity and group cohesion are substantially increased when everyone contributes.

Use decision-making procedures best suited for the issues facing a particular group. (See Chapter 6 for a discussion of a variety of decision-making procedures and their consequences.)

CHAPTER 3: Group Dynamics: Leadership94

Use a problem-solving approach to handle the issues and problems facing the group. (See Chapter 6 for a summary of how to use the problem-solving approach.)

Create a cooperative atmosphere rather than a competitive one. (See Chapter 4.) 5. View controversy and conflict as natural and desirable for resolving issues and arriv-

ing at good decisions. In resolving conflicts, seek to use a no-lose, problem-solving approach rather than a win–lose approach. (See Chapter 6.)

Generally, seek to confront members who are hostile or disruptive (Chapter 4). 7. Use appropriate self-disclosure (Chapter 5). 8. Seek to create an atmosphere of open and honest communication. (See Chapter 5

for ways to improve verbal communication and be an active listener and for ways to improve nonverbal communication.)

Provide stimulating, relevant content and exercises that illustrate the concepts and help members try out suggested new behaviors. In an assertiveness group, for exam- ple, theoretical material on how to be more assertive should be followed by practice in being more assertive. (The chapters in this text use this format.)

Give attention to how to end a session. A few minutes before the session is scheduled to conclude, or when the group has exhausted the subject, a brief summary emphasizing the major points to be remembered leaves the group with a sense of achievement and signals the end of the session. Additional ways to end a session are described in Chapter 14.

Leaders are not born. They are made—through training, practice, and experience. By learning how to lead groups effectively, individuals become more aware of themselves, grow as people, become more self-confident, feel good about themselves, develop highly marketable skills, learn to improve interpersonal relationships, and help themselves and others accomplish important tasks. Everyone reading this text has the potential to become an effective group leader. This chapter has sought to demystify leadership by describing what an effective leader does and is. It is now up to you to further develop your capacities in being a leader. You can do it!

STANDARDS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE WITH GROUPS As the name suggests, the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, Inc. (AASWG) is an international professional organization that seeks to promote and advance social work practice with groups. Its offices are incorporated in New York. This organization has formulated the standards for social work practice with groups presented in Figure 3.1.

Purpose

These standards represent the perspective of the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, Inc. on the value and knowledge and skill essential for professionally sound and effective social work practice with groups and are intended to serve as a guide to social work practice with groups.

Introduction

The Standards focus on central distinguishing concepts of social work with groups and highlight the unique perspective that social group workers bring to practice. By design, the standards are general rather than specific and descriptive rather than prescriptive. They are applicable to a wide range of groups encountered by social group workers in a variety of practice settings. These groups include, among others, treatment, support, psychoeducational, task, and community-action groups. The Standards draw heavily on the Code of Ethics from the National Association of Social Work (the United States), group theory from the social sciences, knowledge of individuals and the environment, the historical roots of social group work practice, current practice with groups, and practice research. Thus, they are based on practice wisdom, theories of group work practice, and empirical evidence. They emphasize the

FIGURE 3.1 Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups (formulated by the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups)

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95 Comprehend How to Start and Lead a Group

understanding and use of group processes and the ways members help one another to accomplish the purposes of the group. The role of the worker, as articulated in the standards, reflects the values of the social work profession generally, as well as the unique features associated with social work with groups.

Section I: Core Values and Knowledge

The group worker should understand the history of group work and the evolving visions of group workers as they faced the chal- lenges posed by each historical era. During this evolution, the following values emerged as the ones that are essential to the prac- tice of group work.

Core Values

Respect for persons and their autonomy In view of the quality of persons, people are to be treated with respect and dignity. In group deliberations no one person should be more privileged in a group than other persons, not a worker, a group member, nor the agency director; in a group this occurs when a worker helps each member to appreciate the contributions of the other members so that everyone’s ideas are heard and considered. This principle is stated while recognizing that the worker, by virtue of his or her position in the agency and his or her expertise, is likely to have a great deal of influence. This requires the worker to use his or her influence prudently and transparently.

A major implication of this principle is a respect for and a high value placed on diversity in all of its dimensions, such as culture, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical and mental abilities, and age.

The creation of a socially just society The group offers an opportunity to live and practice the democratic principles of equality and autonomy, and the worker should use his or her knowledge and skills to further this. The worker should be mindful of the quest for a society that is just and democratically organized, one that ensures that the basic human needs of all its members are met. This value is pre- sented to the group whenever this is appropriate and reinforced when members articulate it.

В. Core Knowledge

There are special areas of knowledge that enable group workers to more ably serve the group. This includes knowledge of the history and mission of our profession as it impacts group work with poor people, minorities, and other disenfranchised people. Understanding when group work is the practice of choice is important. The skills needed to carry out the professional mission emerge from our values and knowledge that requires specialized education.

Knowledge of individuals a. The nature of individual human growth and behavior, emphasizing a biopsychosocial perspective and a “person-in-

environment” view. The forces impacting the person and the group are important factors in group work assessment and intervention. This includes viewing the members in the context of the group and of the community.

The familial, social, political, and cultural contexts that influence members’ social identities, interactional styles, concerns, opportunities, and the attainment of their potentials.

The capacity of members to help one another and to change. d. The capacity of members to contribute to social change in the community and beyond the group. e. Competency-based assessment. f. The group worker places an emphasis on members’ strengths, in addition to their concerns. The worker also must under-

stand protective and risk factors that affect individuals’ need for services and their ability to act. g. The worker has an appreciation and understanding of such differences as those due to culture, ethnicity, gender, age,

physical and mental abilities, and sexual orientation among members and between members and himself or herself that may influence practice.

Knowledge of groups and small group behavior a. The worker understands that the group is an entity separate from the individual members. The group has its own dynam-

ics, culture, and other social conditions. b. The worker understands that the group consists of multiple helping relationships so that members can help one another

to achieve individual goals and pursue group goals. This is often referred to as “mutual aid.” c. The democratic process in groups occurs as the members evolve a sense of “ownership” of the group in which each mem-

ber’s contribution to the group is solicited and valued. d. The group can develop in such a way that members, individually and collectively, are empowered to act on their own

behalf as well as on behalf of the group.

(continued)

CHAPTER 3: Group Dynamics: Leadership96

FIGURE 3.1 (continued)

Groups can develop goals that members are committed to pursuing. These goals may be for either individual member growth, group development, and/or social change.

Group members as well as the group as a whole can seek changes in the social environment. g. The phases of group development influence change throughout the life of the group. h. Group processes and structures encompass all transactions that occur within the group and give meaningfulness to the

life of the group. These consist of such conditions as roles, norms, communications, the expression of affect, and the nature of interaction patterns. These shape and influence individual member behavior as well as the development of the group and also determine whether and how the group will accomplish its purposes. The members can come to under- stand how group processes and structures shape and influence both individual member behavior as well as the develop- ment of the group.

Groups are formed for different purposes and goals (for example, education, problem solving, task accomplishment, personal change, social action), and this influences what the worker does and how the group accomplishes its goals, as well as the nature of the contract between the worker and members, among the members, and between the group and the sponsoring organization.

Knowledge of the function of the group worker a. The worker promotes individual and group autonomy. b. The worker helps the group members to select means of achieving individual and group purposes. c. The worker’s assessments and interventions are characterized by flexibility, sensitivity, and creativity. d. The worker should have a clear understanding of the stages of group development and the related group character,

members’ behaviors and tasks, and worker tasks and skills that are specific to each stage. e. Practice should be based on currently available knowledge and research and represent contemporary practice principles. f. The worker has responsibility for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the success of the group in accomplish-

ing its objectives through personal observation, as well as collecting information in order to assess outcomes and processes. The worker seeks the involvement of its members in the process of evaluation. Specifically, this means that members should be involved in evaluation of outcomes throughout the life of the group. Workers should sys- tematically evaluate the achievement of goals. The worker should be knowledgeable about methods of evaluation of group work and ways of measuring or otherwise determining accomplishment of group and individual goals. The worker should use all available evidence regarding effectiveness of particular interventions for different kinds of groups.

g. The worker should maintain appropriate records of group processes and outcomes and ensure the confidentiality of these.

h. The worker should have commitment to supporting research on group work and to disseminating knowledge about effective practice through professional meetings, education, and scholarship.

The worker adheres to professional, ethical, and legal requirements generally associated with social work practice as well as those specifically associated with social work with groups. The worker seeks to prevent any action in the group that may harm any member.

j. Workers should have a commitment to engage in reflective practice in which they assess their own practice and seek supervision and/or consultation in order to enhance their practice.

Section II: Pregroup Phase: Planning, Recruitment, and New Group Formation

Tasks and Skills

The worker should identify aspirations and needs of potential group members as perceived by members, workers, and the agency.

The worker should obtain organizational support for and affirmation of the group. 3. The worker should select the group type, structure, processes, and size that will be appropriate for attaining the purposes of

the group. 4. The worker should reach out to and recruit potential group members. 5. The worker should obtain consent from potential members and relevant others as required by ethical guidelines and orga-

nizational requirements. 6. The worker should clarify potential group members’ goals and expectations of the group work service and use this informa-

tion to assess prospective members’ potential investments in the pursuit of group goals. The worker should help members specify these goals in terms that can lead to the determination of their attainment.

The worker should establish an appropriate meeting place and meeting time that will be conducive to members’ comfort, safety, and access to the group.

97 Comprehend How to Start and Lead a Group

The worker should prepare members for the group in ways that are appropriate. This will differ depending on the extent to which the group is intended to attain individual goals or to accomplish task purposes in the agency and community. The worker should be empathic in identifying members’ feelings and reactions to joining the group.

The worker should know how to select members for the group in relationship to principles of group composition, although this principle may not apply to some task groups in which other bodies determine the group’s membership.

The worker should develop a clear statement of group purpose that reflects member needs and agency mission and goals. This is often done cooperatively with the group members.

The worker should consider potential contextual, environmental, and societal impacts on the group. 12. The worker, as appropriate, should explain group purposes and processes to nonmembers such as other agency personnel,

relevant community entities, and parents or referring agencies in the case of groups promoting individual change. 13. The worker should determine issues of group content (what will go on during sessions) as well as the use of activities, sup-

plies needed, and resources. 14. The worker should identify methods that will be used to track group progress (for example, group progress notes, formal and

informal evaluations). 15. After each session, the worker should debrief and plan with the co-facilitator (if there is one) and arrange for consultation

and/or supervision on a regular basis. If there is a co-facilitator, they should consider together the implications of their simi- larities and differences with respect to such issues as approaches, styles, and communication.

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