Effective Leadership and Group Dynamics - Coursework Example

Student’s Name Class name Course Date Effective Leadership and Group Dynamics Executive Summary Even though there has been a substantial amount of research done on the topic of leadership in the modern world, the question on what is required for one to be an effective leader still remains uncertain (Adair, 61). Often time’s intelligent leaders are not able to balance between their work responsibilities and other environmental demands of their general lives. Does one require emotional intelligence, specific personal traits or cognitive intelligence? All these remains questions that are not yet fully answered by modern research on the topic of effective leadership. Most of the research that has been done on this topic focus more on emotional intelligence and leadership and on how people should respond to it for effective transition and transformation of an organization, but it is yet to examine the objective indices of leadership and their performance. The term leadership has several meanings since it is a journey that does not have an end for anyone who intends to inspire and motivate other people in the society. The concept of leadership is most common in organizational settings because most of these set ups have managers who coordinate activities between members of different levels and ranking in organization. A leader in modern firms often overseas the quality and performance of different groups of people in a workplace and this is where the understanding of the ideology of group dynamics and leadership is crucial. Introduction This paper will focus on the impact of different dimensions of leadership and on how it can be utilized to foster sustainable growth in an organization. It goes further to explicate the importance of good leadership and how it impacts an organization through effective management of its group dynamics (Hutchin, 57). The inspiration emanates from the ideology or the belief that often times effective leaders ensure that their subordinates believe in their ability to lead them and in the process this attracts very positive change in the organization. It is crucial for people to believe in their leaders since this is one of the only ways in which success management can be achieved in an organization. Through effective implementation of emotional intelligence, leaders believe in themselves and in the process also believe that they can lead people under their management to successful accomplishment of the goals and objectives of the organization. When leaders give motivation to people working under their authority, they do their tasks effectively and in the process this gives both parties confidence in carrying their responsibility. One of the most important attributes of a leader who needs to depict effective performance at work, is possessing emotional intelligence and having empathy since this helps the leader to clearly understand the emotional reactions of members they are leading. These reactions often differs in relation to the gender of the employees and this means that a leader ought to understand and show care to members that they are leading through listening to how they share their mind. In this process, social skills such as communication is very key because it enables one to have a relationship with others within the office and create a common ground of discussion of issues that affects both the organization and individuals within a given set up. There are different components of emotional intelligence that ensures there are benefits in impactful leadership and these are; self-awareness, empathy, social skills, motivation and self-management. Group Dynamic Leadership Any organization that focuses having effective performance ensures that it trains more leaders through employing the leadership transparency technique. Through this technique, group members do not only respect their leaders, but they also take responsibilities of leaders and this contributes to high performance in an organization. The main concept of group dynamics involves studying the relationship and interaction of people within groups that develop. Group dynamics is the effects of the roles and behaviors of group members and how it affects the group as a unit (Bussmann, 91). A leader In a group plays a huge role in how the group communicates. A strong leader brings out the best in a group as their communication is better, they have a great sense of direction and focus on the right priorities. A good leader also helps the people have better communication in the group. Leaders need to understand how group dynamics affect the performance of their subordinates. The main objectives of group dynamics are to attain a certain goal in an activity carried out by a group of people (Remmerswaal, 53). Employees need to work as a team to achieve something together and this means that every member in the group ought to participate to make this achievable. Through open communication in group dynamics, leaders are able get positive feedbacks from the members. And this becomes easy for them to tackle any issues affecting the group members. Most successful leaders achieve their results through giving attention to the issues affecting its members not only as individuals, but as a whole group. When issues affecting the group are ignored by the leader, other informal means of communication springs up and this could lead to the failure of an organization. When there are several questions that crop up among members, it is wise for a leader to listen to them and try to find a possible solution to these questions. Leaders should ensure that there is effective communication internally, there are no weaknesses in the communication systems, and that there are avenues and means of sharing knowledge and decisions in the group. Every group within an organization has its rules that should be followed by its members and these rules are also its norms. This encourages groups to have desirable behaviors that are consistent among its members. These group norms form group standards that provide structure and order of how things should be done in the group. Group dynamics ensures that there is a good relationship between employees in an organization since this also helps them to relate well with their leaders. Leadership in Group Dynamic Communication Group dynamics are relevant to both formal and informal groups. The characteristics that warrant it to be named as a group is that it contains 2 or more persons, the formal social structure, the common fate, they have common goals, have face to face interactions are interdependent, have self-definition as group members and each of the them can be recognized by the other group members (Martyn, 39). There are various processes or stages in the development of and evolution of a group. It is described as a dynamic process. It mainly occurs in five stages. Forming; this is where a group seeks a work assignment or other benefit. The members of the group here are involved in a busy activity. Storming; the group then forms dyads and triads. The members seek out familiar or similar individuals and begin sharing what they know. Performing; in this stage the group is now functioning fully and the group is now involved in a particular task. It may then redefine them and establish their goals. Adjourning; Temporary groups only have this stage where they decide it is time to disband. There are various types of groups which include; formal groups which are; command groups, task groups, functional groups, and informal groups which are;- interest groups, friendship groups and reference groups. Various factors may affect the behavior of a group whether it is normal or informal. For most companies, one of the most important qualities in which they require a leader to have is dynamic communication (Lussier, 47). This is mainly because most of the diversity of the people within many companies thus requiring one to have good dynamic communication. There is the old as well as the new generation both of which require different types of communication. If you are a good leader, you will be able to effectively communicate with your people due to your good master of group dynamic communication. One of the ways to determine this is for one to also be a good listener. Leaders who possess a dynamic communication style prove to be able to access proficiency to the masses. Dynamic communication also engages the listener in talks with the leaders. A leader can improve the group dynamic communication in various ways (Mintzberg 27). One of the ways is by knowing your team. Another factor that is critical within the concept of group dynamics is open communication between employees. This is an essential element of an effective group dynamics since it creates an opportunity for people to freely express their thoughts. It encourages self-disclosure which ensures that members are able to freely express themselves to more than one person within the group. As a leader a huge responsibility has been put on your shoulders to ensure that you discover your team, know their likes and dislikes, their characters and what they enjoy doing. This will improve how you communicate with them thus improving the group dynamic communication thereby resulting in better team work (Kottler, 73). For better group dynamic communication, it is much more preferable for you to take the bull by the horns and tackle problems quickly. If a member of the group develops a new behavior that negatively affects the group dynamics it is better to act as fast as possible and challenge it. Give that particular member feedback to show them of what effect their actions bring on then try and help them reform and change their behavior. Do not forget to define the roles and responsibilities of each member of the group in order to improve the group dynamic communication. This helps communicate better with the people as it can be written on a piece of pay and circulated around and then remind the people a lot. Improving communication has a backbone in breaking down the people’s barriers. This is done by many companies using a staff trip where they are able to do team building exercises. They help people understand each other better whether they are considered the black sheep of the group or the new colleagues. The Johari Window is a great exercise where one is able to learn many things they did not even know about themselves (Kottler, 81). It is a great lead by example exercise for you as a leader as you can share your aspirations with the group as well as the dreams you hope to achieve in future. Good communication is a key factor in improving group dynamics. It helps a leader understand it better as all forms of communication by your group. It helps people understand each other better. If you as a leader want to communicate something to your group, be open about it and let the people know about it earlier. This is the only way that you can be sure the information reaches them. For those much more outspoken they may render the quieter ones without opinions although this can be fixed using different methods which include; the Crawford’s Slip Writing method which help improve and develop their strong facilitation skills. Paying attention to changes in a group is one of the tasks a leader should undertake in order for them to improve group dynamic communication (Perras, 49). Some of the things you should look out for are unanimous ideas, groupthink and bullying. Decide to use different new ways in order to encourage your group to bring forth their ideas thereby increasing the group dynamic communication. For a leader, good dynamic communication is crucial for their survival within any company or firm. Without positive communication between a leader and his team, the team’s effectiveness is very low. Communication styles are different mainly due to group dynamics. A leader has to learn how to communicate well with their team in order to improve the group dynamics. Company culture is a big hinge upon which a leader should lean on in order for them to achieve great success in group dynamic communication. Openness that allows everyone to express their ideas in an organization is essential since through this, individuals get the freedom to implement new ideas that they believe can contribute to the growth of the organization. A leader should be able to respect each and every individual in a group. It is a factor contributing to effective group dynamic communication (Hutchin, 111). One should not put standards or hierarchy in others in such a manner that others will feel undermined. Every person must feel that their ideas will be valued just as much as anyone else’s whether they are just low-ranking employees or executives and managers. Business Etiquette is another key factor considered to influence communication in group dynamics. There are various factors that can contribute to a group’s poor dynamics. These may include; • Poor Leadership When a team does not have a leader who is able to withstand any form of weathering and can take charge. A team like this is normally shown by the discipline they can command. • Excessive deference to authority Some people just do not want to follow authority. As a leader you should be able to make your team strong enough and as disciplined as possible. • Blocking A team normally has different kinds of people and there are those who want it to fail so they block the flow of communication. They include the following people; The aggressor who simply disagrees with everything anyone suggests, the negator who critics everyone else’s ideas, the withdrawer who does not want to participate in any discussions whatsoever, the recognition seeker whose only mission is to be noticed and the joker whose only task is throwing jokes around. • Group Thinking This majorly occurs when people place a desire for consensus above their desire to reach the right decision. This is something that pulls people away from fully exploring alternative solutions. As a leader this is a characteristic you should definitely discourage within your group as it drags a team behind. • Free Riding Some team members are completely uncooperative and leave all tasks for others to complete. They are known as free riders. They may work hard on their own but just loaf in group settings. As a leader discourage this kind of behavior. • Evaluation Apprehension Perception is a strong a motivator as any for whichever team. When someone feels that they will be judged too much they withdraw their opinions and thus this is known as evaluation apprehension (Newman, 52). This is something you as a leader should strive to fight. It encourages effective social control, member responsibilities, and effective working environment for members and open communication between members among other factors. Conclusion In conclusion, there are different types of leadership from authoritarian to democratic leadership. The most effective form of leadership in group dynamics is democratic leadership since it encourages member’s participation in decision making which eventually yields to the success of an organization. It also ensures that there is employee satisfaction of how things are done in the organization since they take responsibility of every action taken. A leader should always put in mind that watching over his team and observing their every move is part of his responsibility. Leadership is also about teaching through example since this makes it easy to tell your subordinate what to do and how to do it. Work Cited Adair, John E. John Adair's 100 Greatest Ideas for Effective Leadership. Chichester: Capstone Pub, 2011. Print. Bussmann, Uwe, and Silvia Schweighofer. Group Dynamics: The Nature of Groups As Well As Dynamics of Informal Groups and Dysfunctions. , 2014. Web. Hutchin, Ted. The Right Choice: Using Theory of Constraints for Effective Leadership. Portland, Or: Productivity, 2012. Print. Kottler, Jeffrey A, and Matt Englar-Carlson. Learning Group Leadership: An Experiential Approach. , 2015. Print. Lussier, Robert N, and Christopher F. Achua. Effective Leadership. Mason, Ohio: South-Western, 2012. Print. Mintzberg, Henry. Leadership Insight: 15 Unique Perspectives on Effective Leadership. Place of publication not identified: Harvard Business Review, 2010. Print. Newman, Jeffrey H. The Leadership Matrix: Elements of Effective Leadership. New York: Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, 2012. Print. Newman, Martyn. Emotional Capitalists: The New Leaders ; Essential Strategies for Building Your Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Success. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Print. Perras, Raymond, Marcel Bellefeuille, Bruno Lindia, and Julie Bellefeuille. 10 Discussions for Effective Leadership: 10 Ways to Exceed Your Expectations As a Leader. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2012. Print. Remmerswaal, Jan. Group Dynamics: An Introduction. , 2015. Print. Effective Leadership. Pan Macmillan, 2010. Print. Read More