In the high-performing organization – the organization of the twenty-first century – organizational goals and personal needs are met at one and the same time. The organizational culture is one of respect, responsibility and opportunity. Personal needs are met through the organization’s achievements.

This vision of organization as a dynamic, creative environment, can only be a reality when it is driven by people-centred processes. Perhaps the most fundamental of these is the ability to work effectively in small groups. The functioning of work teams — their ability to set goals, establish priorities and resolve task-related problems, is critical to organizational effectiveness. Equally important,...

. .. gone to a meeting that started late, or had already begun, when you thought you were on time?

. .. arrived at the wrong place, or on the wrong day?

. . . sat through the first session of a meeting, and then realized you shouldn’t even be there?

You, as a group leader, can help your members avoid such frustrating experiences by doing some careful planning before your group meets for the first time.

The following section will help you learn about:

How to decide on who should attend your group meetings;

How to assess group members’...

AS WE NOTED IN THE INTRODUCTION, this manual’s organizing framework is a combination of group development and leadership theory. Before we begin describing the phases, and the leadership behaviours which are most facilitative in each, it may be useful to understand some of the basic principles underlying the concept of “group development”.

Research (see “print resources” at the end of this section for references) has demonstrated that groups experience predictable phases of development, much the same as individuals do in their growth, whether they are together for three days, one week, one month, or several years.

These phases cannot be...

Did the group which you described sound anything like this?...

The group has been working together for several weeks or months. Things have been rolling along. The members now feel comfortable with each other, and everyone is clear about the task at hand (or so you thought!). Recently, though, there’s been tension in the ranks. Members can’t seem to agree on anything without lengthy discussions, often resulting in no decision. People have started skipping meetings, and those who come, often arrive late. They’ve even started complaining about how you run the meetings, making side comments about “getting nowhere” while you’re...

Although the Storming Phase of group development described in the previous chapter is fraught with discomfort and indecision, eventually the tide breaks. As issues are surfaced and discussed, and the group begins to trust that the facilitator will indeed allow members to take more control, they begin to relax with the process. “Norms”, or standards of operating, are redefined by the group. They may look very different from those originally proposed during the Forming Phase.

Members may decide that from now on their meetings will last only two hours, instead of three, and that the chair will be rotated, rather...