A group is defined as people who share similar attitudes, interests and produce objective results. There are various groups. Sports group was the last group I participated in. Characteristically, it was a good group. Apart from having candid unity of purpose, group members also had equal freedom of contribution and listening. These typify qualities of a good group (Earley, 2001). Also, every member knew his/her roles and treated group objectives with utmost importance. Members used good communication skills. To attain the objectives, the group shared responsibilities. These considerations made it a good group.
The qualities I consider when choosing group members include his/her understanding, support and how best he/she feels ownership of goals of the group. Also, willingness to put group goals ahead is essential. The person should be an active listener, and bale to communicate honestly and effectively. He must be willing to develop trust. I believe I am a good group member. Good communication skills, trustworthiness, honesty, good listening and being able to work for consensus are some of my qualities. Also, I am both group focused and task focused.
W2 Discussion
I currently participate in a school group. The main goal of the group is to make our college more accessible for those people using wheelchairs. Also, we aim to reduce the level of biasness in service provision. I am in the group because I feel the importance of the group goals. Its mission and vision make me commit myself to it. I play the part of a facilitator in the group through listening, summarizing and maintaining balanced and open conversational flow. The group is indeed a good one due to existence of shared goal, developed climate of openness and trust, honest and open communication and its value of diversity.
I find hobby group interesting but the group is not a good one. It lacks elements of shared goals besides lacking sense of belonging. There is no openness and trust. I therefore recommend that they develop a shared goal, create trust and openness and not forgetting to providing environment for equal contribution.
W3 Discussion
Maintaining both task and social dimensions are important to group success. Social dimensions help create climate of trust, openness, honesty, open and honest communication of opinions and encouragement of members’ creativity. Task dimensions on the hand make the group members remain focused to group’s goals as well as their tasks. A group that does not spend time maintaining social bonds fails to reach a consensus. However, if the group becomes too socially oriented, task dimension may be lost due to unclear leadership and lack of task commitment to task by members. Therefore, to effectively balance both tasks, create room for listening, maintain balanced and open conversational flow while focusing on the topic of discussion.
Works Cited
Bacal & Associates. (2012). Understanding What Facilitators Really DO! Retrieved 5 April, 2012 from http://work911.com/articles/facil.htm
Earley, D. (2001). The 8 Habits of Effective Small Group Leaders. Touch Outreach Ministries.
