Leadership in Group Process
Jane M. Downey, M.Ed.
What is a Leader?
If you are a leader someone is following you in some way. Therefore, when we
talk about leaders we must also delve into the tricky topic of groups or the
people who follow.
We all want to be leaders these days, or so we think, because our popular
culture tells us that is our preference. The word leader implies possession of a
degree of power, a measure of autonomy and creativity or freedom.
This discussion of leadership will address the following Leadership Skills:
1. Visioning and Clarity of Focus
2. Matching project priorities to Vision
3. Emotional Intelligence
4. Communication Skills
5. Managing Risk and Fear
6. Strength to make Decisions
7. Motivational and Coaching Skills
8. Team Management Skills including Facilitation
9. Matching Leadership Styles with Team Styles
10. Ability to Enable Team Processes
“Authentic leaders have absorbed the fundamental fact of existence--that you
can’t get around life’s inherent contradictions. The leadership mind is
spacious. It has ample room for the ambiguities of the world, for conflicting
feelings and for feelings and contradictory ideas…I believe the central
leadership attribute is the ability to manage polarity.”
--Peter Kostenbaum as quoted in Fast Company, March 2000.
1. Visioning and Clarity of Focus
A good leader has a clear picture of future results and aligns organizational
strategy with this vision. A leader must be intimately familiar with the end
destination—something that Stephen Covey refers to as “Keep the End in
Mind”. Without a roadmap, a concept of the future, or a belief in new
opportunities, the energy for momentum and growth will not only be lost, but
it will be dissipated on activities that do not generate the desired
organizational outcome. It is a leader’s responsibility to set a vision, and then
keep the vision in focus at the same time often holding disparate events
together.
Visioning is a process that should be done on a macro level and then fine-tuned
into smaller goals and objectives for each group and organizational activity.
Individuals, as leaders, should develop their own personal mission and vision
and work diligently to make sure that their goals match intrinsically with those
of the organization they serve. There is great power in harnessing a view of
the future and turning it into reality.
2. Matching project priorities to Vision
Understanding that many projects, desired outcomes and resources are in
competition within the organization, an effective leader will keep the vision in
sight and use it as the litmus test for making and establishing priorities. If an
organization is well aware of the activities targeted for the most support,
internal conflict is reduced because priorities have been established through
clear guidelines. This creation of clear structure is an essential element of
managing groups. It also allows the leader to delegate authority and
responsibility through effective communication of the overarching
organizational goals.
3. Emotional Intelligence and The Fight-Flight Response
Daniel Goleman introduced the concept of Emotional Intelligence in his best
selling book. An effective leader understands him/herself and has a great
degree of understanding of human behavior. On an internal level this
translates into the ability to communicate clearly, to regulate internal
responses to a perceived threat, and to maintain strength and focus in a crisis.
In short, a emotionally intelligent leader is knowledgeable about the
fight/flight response and makes sure his rational and cognitive brain functions
are engaged before he acts or responds.
Here are the specific aspects of the fight/flight response:
Ø Something happens that makes you uncomfortable (It can be as small as a past
memory)
Ø You perceive that you are under attack (You may not even be conscious of this)
Ø Your brain signals the release of ACTH
Ø Your adrenals release cortisol
Ø Cortisol increases the release of amino acids including homocysteine from the
skeletal muscle and fatty acids from adipose tissue.
Ø These amino acids are absorbed by the liver and converted to glucose, which
are subsequently secreted into the blood to be used for energy by certain
tissues such as brain cells and red blood cells.
Ø The fatty acids released from the adipose tissue are used for energy by skeletal
muscle, thus sparing the available glucose for use by the brain.
Ø Insulin levels rise
Ø Your heart rate elevates and your blood vessels constrict
Ø Digestion shuts down and blood flow is diverted
Ø Your breathing becomes shallow to take in more oxygen for a physical response
This physiological response sounds great if you need to make a run for it. If
you don’t engage in physical action, you will have an abundance of insulin,
glucose, fatty acids and neuropeptides generated in your body with no
immediate physical release. This can greatly contribute to disease over the
long term, if you sustain these levels due to repeated stresses.
Now lets examine what happens to your “mind” when you perceive an attack.
That is, when your mind believes you are under threat, your body physically
responds to this threat by strengthening certain survival mechanisms which can
include: increased heart rate, dry mouth, shallow breathing, and the ability to
concentrate only on the threat. This is created by a surge of adrenaline so that
you can fight the threat.
It is our perception that triggers this response to both imagined and real
dangers. This physical response does not assist you unless the fear is real. (In
fact it very often makes your mind go blank. Have you ever had your mind go
blank during a public presentation or some other perceived stress? Why does
this happen?)
The Amygdala: Stress reactor
It is noteworthy that these stressful events are stored in an entirely different
area of the brain, known as the amygdala: our bodies are specially programmed
to remember events that are perceived to threaten our survival. Thus
amygdala arousals have a memory imprint that is stronger than normal
recollections. When the brain perceives such an event, the conscious mind is
bypassed and the amygdala instructs the body to prepare for a fight. This
means that, in effect, the brain has two memory systems; one for ordinary
facts and one for emotionally charged ones. When threatened, we want to
bypass the cognitive mind so we can react quickly.
We only need our current reality to mirror a small part of an old trauma, and
the crisis response is triggered. The more traumas you have experienced, the
easier to trigger a fight/flight response. When this response is activated we are
operating from a more primitive part of our brain. Who knows what your
original trauma may be. It could be embarrassment at show and tell in the first
grade or fear taught by our parents.
Whether it is a present day event or a memory, is now irrelevant. This
amygdala arousal creates difficulty when there is no threat. In the case of
arousal there is no use or release for this increased physical capacity and we
must learn to “turn off” the mechanism through relaxation techniques.
How do you stop your fight/flight stress response? Here are some ideas:
Stop:
§ Pause before you respond when under stress
§ Breathe deeply and calmly
§ Stretch gently
§ Take a Break: empty your mind so no stress is present
Relax:
§ Listen to soft, soothing music
§ Find a soothing environ
§ Sing your favorite song
§ Drink soothing herbal teas
Know yourself:
§ Talk with a friend, counselor, or loved one
§ Recognize and study your stress triggers
§ Practice your stressful situations so you “unlearn” your fear
§ Gather more information about your situation to dispel fear
4. Communication Skills
An effective leader needs an incredible amount of information to chart a
course for his/her organization. Many failures in decision-making are easily
tracked back to the failure of a leader to solicit the proper information, or the
failure of a group to accept information that may be difficult (bad news). The
process when a group makes a “bad” decision even though all of the necessary
facts and critical data are held by the group is known as “Group Think”. (This
is exactly what happened when NASA made the decision for the last launch of
the Space Shuttle Challenger. An engineer from Morton Thiokol had the
information that the freezing temperatures would put too much pressure on
the O-rings and the predicted launch temperature was much less that the Oring’s
specifications. Because of immense peer pressure, his only protest was to
say, “It is not on the right side of goodness” and the launch took place.)
An effective leader will listen to information that is difficult to hear and will
remain open to new possibilities. This creates circumstances ripe for
innovation. Facilitation skills also enable a good leader to bring forth processes
that allow groups to avoid the pitfalls of “group think,” primarily by allowing
contributions to be made without criticism. Additionally, leaders who are
attuned to innovation will generally permit—and even celebrate--minor failures
incurred on the road to innovation.
Very often in business we have to discuss issues with our team members or
other departments on which we may not agree. The best conflict resolution
results from discussing the issues, listening to the other party and providing
constructive feedback. Unfortunately, many of us have been trained to
criticize or provide judgment prematurely, rather than hearing multiple
alternative viewpoints.
Active Listening
Active listening means getting involved in your conversations. It means asking
questions that will encourage the other person to “engage”.
The necessary components of effective listening include:
§ Adopting a manner that is harmonious with the other person in
terms of pacing, volume and tone of voice.
§ Adjusting your body postures so the other person feels
comfortable
§ Maintaining i