1. What makes a Group • A collection of people can be viewed as a working group or a TEAM when it has many of the following features: • Two or more people who are regularly part of the group • A Group Consciousness - the people think of themselves as a group • A shared sense of purpose - the members of the group have the same task/goals or interests • The group is Interdependent - the people in the group need each other if they are to achieve the task/goal • The group Interacts - the people in the group communicate with one another, influence one other and react to one other • The group can act as a whole - it is a unified collection of people

2. Participation Matters! • Disfunctional Group: • Functioning Group:

3. Developing the Group • “Forming” • The anxious stage - people getting to know each other, worrying about what’s expected of them and how they should behave. An uncertain time. • “Storming” • Familiarity sets in and maybe conflict emerges between sub-groups. The leader may be challenged as individuals react against his/her attempts to direct them. A tricky time! • “Norming” • The group settles down - it begins to harmonize. Group cohesion is evident and norms emerge. Mutual support develops and it’s clear that this is a functioning group - a Team. • “Performing” • The group becomes flexible in the way individuals perform tasks - the team is capable of dealing with complex problems.

4. People and teams - completing the Task • Initiator - Contributor: • Suggests things and tries to see new ways forward. • Information Seeker: • Checks things out and tries to verify peoples ideas by getting facts. • Information Giver: • Offers facts or words of wisdom based on his/her past experiences • Elaborator: • Develops points further - clears things up. Tries to make things clearer to the team. • Co-ordinator: • Pulls things together - illustrates the links between different ideas discussed by the team. • Energiser: • Gets the team going again when things slow down. Stimulates the team • Recorder: • Keeps a record of team decisions - acts as the team’s memory

5. People and teams - helping the Group • Encourager: • Praises, agrees with and accepts the contribution of others. • Harmoniser: • Acts as go-between in disputes between team members - tries to reconcile. • Compromiser: • In a situation of conflict, this person attempts to relieve things by compromising. • Gatekeeper - Expediter: • Keeps communication going - in a meeting this is the chairperson. • Standard Setter: • A “watch dog” who checks that the team is “playing by the book” or who sets standards for the team. • Observer: • Has a watching brief for the whole group - reports back on group performance • Follower: • Goes along with the team, serving it loyally and never questioning.

6. People and teams - Individuals who “mess up” • Aggressor: • Spoilt child who acts like a bully - defies authority and is envious. • Blocker: • Always looking on the negative side - disagrees without reason. Every group of teachers has one! • Recognition-Seeker: • ME...ME...ME - tries to manufacture situations to show him/her in a good light. Ego problem! • Playboy: • The teams not for him/her - he/she is far too busy doing something else of much greater importance. Ego problem again! • Dominator: • The “big-head” of the group - always trying to have control. Ego problem - needs reducing! • Help-seeker: • Seeks attention by continuously claiming he/she can’t cope when this is obviously not true. Ego problem ........

7. Task Indivi-dual Group The needs of Groups • Every group has three overlapping needs and the leader of a group must balance these needs: • The needs of the TASK • The needs of the GROUP • The needs of the INDIVIDUAL • Each need is important to the functioning of the team:

8. What is Leadership? • The broad functions of leadership might be seen as: • Initiating - keeping/getting things going • Regulating - monitoring the pace of the group’s efforts • Informing - feeding back information to the group • Supporting - being responsive to the needs of the group and being open to suggestions • Evaluating - helping the group to review progress, qualify success and assess how well it works as a team • The importance of each function will vary according to the “age” of the team. • Leadership involves getting the group to work together as a team so as to achieve a common goal. A leader needs to direct but also needs to ask. • Leaders need to be Democratic.

9. A Leader’s main Responsibilities • A Leader must remember that his/her main duties are to: • Firstly define the Task • Secondly build the Team • Thirdly look after the Individual • The Leader must work towards: Achieving the Task Building and maintaining the Team Developing the Individual