Group Leadership – An Emergent Process

I’ve been doing some interesting reading lately about the process of emerging as the leader of a group of people that you are working with.  In either your study or your work you will have had the opportunity to work as part of a small group to deliver assignments.  For some, the news that you have to work in a group situation isn’t received pleasantly.  You immediately check out the others in your group to see if you’ve got the consistent slacker who rarely turns up and never produces any work.  Others quite enjoy the challenge of group work and the enhanced outputs that come from working in an effective team.

Did you know that research has shown that groups working without a clearly defined leader are uniformly unsuccessful at their tasks (Geier, 1967)?  The leaderless groups in Geier’s study were defined by difficult relationships, wasted time and member frustration.  Members began skipping meetings rather than suffer more disharmony.  On the other hand, groups that do have a leader emerge and that develop stable roles for their members are usually successful (De Souza & Kline, 1995).

You may have noticed that in some work groups there are individuals that naturally assume the leadership role.  I was surprised to find out that there is actually a process that normally occurs when groups first get together that determines who will ultimately lead the team.  If you are interested in putting your leadership skills to the test or want to have some more influence over your work groups, the following defines some of the behaviours that a good leader would never display:

1. Do not show up late or miss important meetings
2. Good leaders are never uninformed about group issues
3. Never display apathy or a lack of interest through sluggish participation.  Interestingly, active participation in group discussion and work is a sign of commitment to the group, and commitment to the group and its goals is part of the leadership process (De Souza & Kline, 1995).
4. Do not attempt to dominate conversation during discussions
5. Never display poor listening skills
6. Express viewpoints in a way that is not rigid or inflexible
7. Do not bully other group members
8. Do not use offensive or abusive language

Interestingly, avoiding the above behaviours may not be all that is required to emerge as the leader of a group.  Generally, a process of elimination occurs in the minds of group members.  Initially, those who talk the most are perceived as potential leaders, while those who are quiet tend to leave the impression of indifference and non commitment.  Next, those who are uninformed, unintelligent or unskilled are eliminated from the leadership race.  Of those that are left, leadership style starts to become important.  Those that are bossy, dictatorial or irritating are now eliminated.

If there is still more than one person in the leadership line-up, things such as displaying effective listening, gathering group support or providing solutions to problems generally define the eventual leader.  Ultimately, if you want to become the leader of a group, you should follow these steps (Bormann, 1990):

1. Manifest conformity to the group’s norms, values and goals
2. Display proper motivation to lead
3. Avoid the behaviours listed above

If you’ve noticed that there are a handful of people that always tend to become leaders of small work groups – whether formally or informally, you might find that they negotiate the above process and come out in front each time.  Have a go at influencing this process the next time you become part of a new group and you may be surprised to find that the balance of power shifts in your direction.

 
References
Borrman, E. G. (1990). Small group communication: Theory and practice. New York: Harper & Row.

De Souza, G., & Kline, H. (1995). Emergent leadership in the group goal-setting process.  Small Group Research, 26, 475-496.

Geier, J. (1967). A trait approach in the study of leadership in small groups. Journal of Communication, 17, 316-323.

Rothwell, J., D. (2007). In Mixed Company: Communicating in Small Groups and Teams. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

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