77 Conclusion

Returning to Abe’s story from the beginning of this chapter, as a leader on the technology side of her team’s work, how might she share what she knows without overwhelming other team members? What type of leadership style would help Abe have a positive impact on her team’s success implementing the new software required for Financial Analysts?

Check Your Understanding

Glossary

Adjourning stage – members leave the group.
Autocratic leaders – set policies and make decisions primarily on their own, taking advantage of the power present in their title or status to set the agenda for the group.
Blocker – blocks attempts at consensus consistently.
Coordinator – brings ideas, information, and suggestions together.
Democratic leaders – facilitate group discussion and like to take input from all members before making a decision.
Dominator – dominates discussion, not allowing others to take their turn.
Elaborator – builds on ideas and provides examples.
Evaluator-critic – evaluates ideas and provides constructive criticism.
Forming stage – individual group members come to know each other.
Group – three or more individuals who affiliate, interact, or cooperate in a familial, social, or work context.
Group communication – the exchange of information with those who are alike culturally, linguistically, and/or geographically.
Group dynamics – involve the interactions and processes of a team and influence the degree to which members feel a part of the goal and mission.
Group norms  – customs, standards, and behavioral expectations that emerge as a group forms.
Group relationships – can be described in terms of status, power, control, as well as role, function, or viewpoint.
Initiator-coordinator – suggests new ideas of new ways of looking at the problem.
Joker or Clown – seeks attention through humour and distracts group members.
Laissez-faire leaders – take a “hands-off” approach, preferring to give group members freedom to reach and implement their own decisions.
Leadership – a complex of beliefs, communication patterns, and behaviors that influence the functioning of a group and move a group toward the completion of its task.
Norming stage – the group establishes norms, or informal rules, for behaviour and interaction.
Performing stage – the group accomplishes its mandate, fulfills its purpose, and reaches its goals.
Primary groups – meet most, if not all, of one’s needs.
Recorder – records ideas, examples, suggestions, and critiques.
Recognition seeker – relates discussion to their accomplishments; seeks attention.
Secondary groups – often include work groups, where the goal is to complete a task or solve a problem.
Special-Interest pleader – relates discussion to special interest or personal agenda.
Storming stage – a time of struggles as group members sort out their differences.
Teams – a form of a group normally dedicated to production or problem solving.

Additional Resources

National Research Council Canada. Management Competencies (including Teamwork and Communication) https://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/careers/behavioural_competencies/management_teamwork.html

Government of Canada: Teamwork and Cooperation https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/careers-cra/information-moved/cra-competencies-standardized-assessment-tools/canada-revenue-agency-competencies-april-2016/teamwork-cooperation.html

References

Segments of this chapter were taken from Communication in the Real World: An Introduction to Communication Studies an adapted work produced and distributed under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA) in 2013 by a publisher who has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution. This adapted edition is produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing through the eLearning Support Initiative. Retrieved from http://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/14-1-leadership-and-small-group-communication/

Diagrams and icons were created by 2018 contributors and eCampusOntario. Images come from pixabay.com where all images are in the public domain.

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