Leadership Lecture 4

A lot of work in organizations is done in groups or teams

Eventhough new organizational forms exist, team work is not becoming increasingly important

Groups are affected by the social psychology of interaction

Basic Distinctions are for example Task vs. Specific task

Basic Distinction: open.ended vs. specific task

A Basic Issue is for expample that task and process are aligned

Inherent tension between individual and group is not a basic issue

Group size matters: less than 10 most effective

There is a need for right mix of skills and diversity

The Extended Tuckmann (1965) Model is about Group Development

The Extended Tuckmann Model has 6 Phases

Storming: conflict as different ideas of acceptable behavior collide and a hierarchy is established

Adjourning: Group marks its end, often with social ritual

Where roles are very formal and well-defined, there no storming and performing is immediate

Groups may never reach the performing stage, if conflicts are never resolved

Groups still mourn, even tough norms habe not been created

Individuals habitually fall into the same role whatever group they may be in

Functional groups do not require that individual habits map on to group requirements

All Memeber roles (eg. Yes-sayer, No-sayer) can have value

Key to functionality is balance

Attribution: Assumptions are made which force group members into roles that they are not suited to

Splitting: People split the world into good and bad, as a result of self-trained behavior

Projection - the effect of splitting which leads individuals to deny any "bad" in themselves and ascribe it to others

Introjecton is the opposite of projection, but not an effect of splitting

Eg of Inrojection: Followers see themselves as worthless and leaders as perfect

Psychological Investment : individuals work in groups/teams they engage in a group dynamic

Engagement in a group dynamic always happens consciously

Taking of roles reflects anxiety about what would be the consequence of not doing so

a common group problem is : Groupthink

Individual judgment is lost beaches group becomes infatuated with its own norms - still this is not a common group problem

Risk handling is a common group problem

Risk handling: Group decision are normally distrusted and individual decisions cluster around high and low risk propositions

Freeloading is not a common group problem

Freeloading: Individuals make a less than full contribution to group effort

Handling difference: groups with varied cultural background find it hard to reach group norms

Handling difference: with groups with varied cultural background reach a group norm, they can still not outperform homogenous groups

Too limited coordination is not a problem of working virtually

Sense of surveillance is a difficulty of working virtually

Successful work in groups requires some self-awareness

because trust is required for a successful work, limits are posed to virtual forms of group work