Emotions in Group Interactions
When most people are in any type of group setting they or someone else may feel as if they are in control of the situation, but are they? I'm afraid that the answer is no. Instead the "hidden dynamic" is in control; formerly know to the rest of the world as emotions. These emotions which play a big role in all communication transactions are the biggest, but most frequently looked past part of verbal, and in some cases, non-verbal communication within groups. In work, as well as in our personal lives, "we can no longer succeed without taking down the walls of our emotions that often separate us in groups settings" (Ralston, 2).
By walls, I am referring to the suppression of our emotions or walling off our emotions in the effort to spare the group of how we really feel. But what happens when we try to send our emotions underground? To cut a long story short, "they go underground and become a powerful invisible force" (Ralston, 7) and later become a fuel for action whether they are created by positive or negative feelings. In other words, because progress in groups demand levels of collaboration and teamwork, our emotions play an innate role which sparks the amount of, or lack of enthusiasm toward the group.
With all this talk about groups, what or who exactly makes up a group? According to Turner and Giles in their publication of Intergroup Behavior, a group is:
"a social unit that consists of a number of individuals (1) who, at a given time, have role and status relationships with one another, stabilized in some degree and (2) who possess a set of values or norms regulating the attitude and behavior of individual members, at least in the matters of consequences to them. Shared a...
... middle of paper ...
...arn to better understand the fundamental nature of our emotions, "we see that our emotions are like the elements of nature--sometimes raw, violent, changing, and unpredictable; other times pleasant, warm, inviting, and steady" (Ralston, 29). And as we learn to better understand our emotions, we will ultimately realize they effect us interpersonally everyday. And since our ability to integrate change is highly dependent on the amount of our emotional buy-in, the effectiveness of our teams/groups can be made stronger and/or weaker by the existence or lack of trust which is overall derived through our emotions.
Bibliography:
Ralston, Faith. Hidden Dynamics in Groups. USA: American Management Association, 1995. Pp 2, 7-10, 29.
Turner, John C. and Howard Giles. Intergroup Behavior. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press, 1981. Pg 3.
This case study tells us that the varied perceptions of every individual in a team will give rise to communication barriers (perceptual barriers). Fear, opportunism and mistrust also stops us from communicating effectively with our co-workers (emotional barriers). Knowlton Roberts is collaborative team leader and hardworking man. He is insecure and he generally don’t reveal those insecurities with his boss or team. Dr. Harold is the Director of research and supervisor of Roberts’s team. He has very high expectations of his group and he is not attentive to his team. Rankle is a new comer who is brilliant, aggressive, opportunist and not a team player.
Izumi, Yutaka and Frank Hammonds. "Changing Ethnic/Racial Stereotypes: The Roles of Individuals and Groups." Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal (2007): 845-852.
Leadership is an important element in the functioning of group interactions toward an organized goal. Leadership has been defined in many different ways by sociologists and social psychologists alike, numbering too many to discuss here. The most common element found in these definitions is "that leadership involves a process of influence between a leader and followers to attain group, organizational, or societal goals" (Hollander, 1985). In small group interactions, leadership is usually an assigned status, with the "followers" designating, both consciously and subconsciously, someone as a leader. This is a person who, according to the group members, is believed to have those characteristics which are most suited to accomplish the task and objectives of the group (Bales and Slater, 1955). Much of the available early research that I was able to attain focused on leadership and the concept of leadership in terms of political situations. When viewed from a political standpoint, the study of leadership pertains to the analysis of relationships between those who possess power and those who don't possess power (power will be discussed in det...
Turman, P. (October 25, 2000f). Group Cohesiveness and Conflict: Group Communication [Lecture] Cedar Falls, IA. University of Northern Iowa, Communication Studies Department.
Emotions are frequent companions in our lives. They come and go, and constantly change like the weather. They generate powerful chemicals that create positive and negative feelings, which have a powerful effect on leadership. Some emotions can either facilitate leadership, while others can detract from successful leadership. This course, Emotionally Intelligent Leadership, has truly opened my eyes to the affects that emotions have on being an effective leader. Peter Salovey and John Mayer defined emotional intelligence as “the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s feelings and emotions to use the information to guide one’s thinking and actions” (p. 5). This definition in itself states that emotions, whether it be ones own emotions or those of others, is the underlying factor that directs the actions of a leader. Therefore, throughout the progression (advancement) of this course, I have learned the importance of the development of emotional intelligence for being an effective leader, and because of this I plan on developing the capacities that contribute to being an emotionally intelligent leader for my own success, now and in the future.
According to social psychologists a group is composed of more than two individuals who depend and interact with each other in some manner (Lessing). Examples of groups include a class, a football team, a cult etc. Groups normally have various similar features including: norms that determine the right behavior, roles assigned to individuals, which determine what responsibilities and behaviors people should undertake, a communication structure and a power structure, which determines how much influence and authority group members have. For example, a class has norms, like the time people should arrive in class. The role of the professor includes teaching, administering exams and inviting discussions. The ro...
(2013) called, resonance. Resonance is when a leader is attuned to people 's feelings and move them in a positive emotional direction (p. 20). When leaders create resonance they become in sync with those they are leading and the emotions those people feel is the glue that holds them together as a team (p. 20). However, when leaders are not in tune and out of touch with the feelings of the people they lead, they instead create dissonance (p. 19). Dissonant leaders create a lack of harmony and people feel conflict emotionally. Dissonance discourages people and burns them out. The toxic environments that dissonance produces doesn’t just exist in the group or workplace but is carried by the people throughout the rest of their interactions (pp. 21-22). How much a leader has developed their emotional intelligence is seen through how they lead and if they produce resonance or
Gilovich, T., & Gilovich, T. (2013). Chapter 12/ Groups. In Social psychology. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.
Groups are an essential component of society as they allow individuals to affiliate themselves with certain people, typically those who are most similar to themselves. Groups also provide social support and a greater sense of belonging for the individual, which is not provided by crowds. Due to the significance of groups, it is important that groups are maintained in organized structures that encourages group harmony and group cohesion. It is essentially the leader’s task to maintain these ideals since the leader has authority over the members of the group.
According to Toseland and Rivas (2005), group dynamics are “the forces that result from the interactions of group members” (p. 64). These forces refer to either the negative or positive influences towards meeting members’ socioemotional needs as well as goal attainment within a group (Toseland & Rivas, 2005), like within my class work group experience. Some of dynamics that continue to emerge and develop in my group is the effective interaction patterns and strong group cohesion, which has generated positive outcomes and group achievement thus far.
A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives (Robbins & Judge, 2009). At some point in all of our careers, we will be tasked with working within a group setting. This discussion board will focus on conformity and deviant workplace behavior, and how each can negatively affect the outcome of working within a group setting.
Rosen, L. D., Cheever, N. A., Cummings, C., & Felt, J. (2008). The impact of emotionality and
There is one major difference between a group and a team: accountability. Group members are accountable to each other, but each member is individually held responsible for their own performance. In a team, all members share accountability as a unit. "A team is a small group of people with complementary skills who work actively together to achieve a common purpose for which they hold themselves collectively accountable" (Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn, 2005). It is important for everyone that is a part of a high performance team to have the same purpose and goals. If the teammates have different goals or motives then it can make it difficult for the team to be effective. Everyone who is participating with the team should trust or learn to trust each other.
...adership Practices in Relation to Productivity and Morale." In D. Cartwright and A. Zander, Group Dynamics: Research and Theory, 2nd ed. (Elmsford, NY: Row, Paterson, 1960)
The distance learning environment creates a multitude of challenges that students or instructors do not have to deal with in a brick and mortar classroom. One controversial topic may be that people cannot express their emotions effectively online. Online environments are also complicated to have interactions and establish a presence. Is this really the case though? Is it challenging to show emotion online or have a presence; however, it is not impossible. These topics will be discussed in the following.