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Our understanding of social process has developed
in the past century through the work of the
behavioral sciences. Psychologists, social
psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists
have provided a rich language of theory and
concepts with which we can identify features
and patterns in human interaction. For example,
from the study of group behavior we know that
groups progress through developmental stages.
Various writers describe this progression
in different terms, a popular version is Forming,
Storming, Norming, and Performing. Initially
when a group forms people are uncertain of
the part they will play in the group and unclear
what they are expected to do. There is considerable
anxiety in the new group although members
will defend themselves against this in various
ways (some will joke, others will withdraw
and some will be hostile). As a whole the
group is relatively passive and looks to the
leader for direction (dependency). In the
storming phase people begin to assert their
individuality and compete for control in the
group. Often there is conflict between individuals
and with the leader, hence the term "storming".
Norming is the stage when the conflicts subside
and the group negotiates the group norms within
which it is going to work. The final stage
in the model is performing when the group
understands its task and settles down to working
towards the goals of the group. Each
stage has its particular characteristics and
requires a different approach from the leader.
Consequently, a leader cannot expect a high-level
performance from a team until the team has
matured to the fourth phase of performing.
This may take only a few hours, or several
meetings depending on a variety of factors.
The skillful leader can speed up the process
of development, and, on the other hand, the
unaware leader can maintain the group stuck
in the forming stage and lose the advantages
of working with an effective team. Edgar
Shein (1989), developed an excellent synthesis
of theories relevant to leadership in organizations.
He makes an important distinction between
two major aspects of group interaction. -
content and process. Content covers the subject
matter or the task of the group. For example,
a group is discussing the issue of developing
a mass transit system for a rapidly developing
region. The content in this case is the ideas
and arguments that the group members are presenting
to the group. Process is about what is happening
between and to group members while the group
is working. Group process (sometimes referred
to as group dynamics) deal with such things
as participation, competition, influence,
decision-making, morale and conflict within
the group. In organizations when people work
together, typically little attention is paid
to process, even when it is a major factor
in a group’s ineffective performance.
Becoming aware of group process enables a
group leader (or a group member for that matter)
to identify group problems early and deal
with them more effectively. Our traditional
vocational education, by and large, prepares
us to work with the content of group activity.
For example, in a group project established
to introduce a new software program into the
company the accountant gives her attention
to learning about the software’s advantages
over the old system, and whose jobs will be
affected by the change. She understands that
her job is to put her expertise at the service
of the project. However, if the accountant
is also the project leader she will have more
effect on the success of the project if she
also pays attention to group process. By becoming
aware of group process and understanding the
meaning of these processes the leader is in
a stronger position to influence the group
in the service of the project’s goals.
Noticing that a member has been quiet in a
group for some time the leader can bring her
into the discussion. Being aware that the
discussion of alternative plans has gone on
long enough the leader proposes the group
should move on to making a decision and developing
a plan of action The purpose of group
process awareness and group work skill [a
subset of leadership skill] is to enable the
leader to more effectively serve the mission
of the group.
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