In our group, there is no obvious leader, each one of us at some point, discovered our own capacity for leadership. However, this was never giving direct orders to one another, rather it worked based on democracy. We are all very good listeners for what is needed in the moment, and expressed ideas such that they occur as opportunity for others. In my past group work experience, there will always be one person who acted as the leader for most part of the project, what separate us from that is that each one of us are leaders individually.
Our group is relatively more task-oriented but also maintaining a good balance of social roles. Fortunately, there is no individualistic or hindering role existing in our group. Moses is a very good contributor of opinions and ideas when it comes to work, he often provide out-of-the-box information and give input to the project. On the social side, being a very comical person, he is also the harmonizer of the group in the way that he lightens up the atmosphere through humor. Joycelin, on the other hand, has a serious side, she have been a great summarizer, she is very clear about what we want to achieve for the final product of our group report, so she could see the big picture and always recommend appropriate direction for us to work on. Tricia, in my opinion, is a great standard setter and compromiser, she was exceptional at correcting the careless mistakes we have made in the report, and her gentle personality allowed her to help the group to find agreement most of the time. Lastly, my role is initiator and organizer. As I felt that my personal strength was in keeping the group organized around a time-managed schedule, and also setting a foundation for the actual report. With each of us having separate leadership qualities we were able to push and support one another to achieve balance in different areas. Because of this, there was no issue of power struggle within the group, as there were no high or low in status.
Throughout the duration of the group report, each of us has very tight schedules and many academic papers to juggle. Hence, we did not manage to meet the first arbitrary deadline set for our first draft. But instead of judging or coming down hard on each other, we communicated to one another and showed empathy and support to those who have pressing issues at hand.
Leaders are meant to bring up loyal followers who can assume the lead if they are called to do so. A major driving force for leadership is a mutually agreed upon goal. This allows a smoother relationship between all parties involved because they are all working towards the same outcome. Leadership is not a position; it is a way one conducts himself. With that being said, there are times when a leader needs to function as a follower. A leader must be able to adjust accordingly to different situations, and be whatever is called for in the moment. Leaders and Followers feed off of each
The leader by its meaning is one who goes first and leads by example and then the other will followed him after being motivated. The above diagram can be explain as; with the three combinations, the person or the leader will influence the other people or the follower to achieve the purpose or goal. In order to achieve the goal, the leader must have a deep rooted commitment to the goal that he will strive to achieve even if nobody follows him (Wong, 2007). The follower also can influence the leader in order to achieve the goal.
In my own experience leadership is not just about one person telling others what to do; it’s about more than just giving orders. It is about getting a group of people to work together towards a common goal with more than just the goal in mind. It is also not just about setting goals for the group but also setting personal goals for the individual, guiding and supporting them all
A leader is described as a person who guides others and has authority and influence over others. They work to influence others into meeting certain goals. There is no right or wrong definition of a leader and there is no recipe that ensures effective leadership. Successful leaders have a good balance of vision, influence, and power. Leaders gain their authority from their ability to influence others to get the work done; because of this, anyone has the potential to be a leader. (Finkelman. 2012, p15)
In order to evaluate my role within the group, it is important to identify what makes a group. A group must firstly consist of more than three members, “Two members have personal relationships; with three or more there is a change in quality” of the personal relationship. (Bion 1961, p26) The group must have a common purpose or a goal in order to succeed. Having now completed my group work task, I can look back and reflect upon the process that my group went through to get to the presentation end point.
Particularly, two members within my group began to emerge as leaders due to their knowledge, skills, as well as experience working with our chosen population. Although I always view them as ‘experts’ in this topic, our group became less focused on our goals and more concerned about the ‘power struggle’ between our two leaders, before we could reach any consensus. Essentially, our group had two authoritarians butting heads and trying to take lead throughout the beginning of the group process. Thus, the other members or ‘followers’ contribution, like mine, seem to not matter unless they adhered to either leaders’ opinions without question. According to Stringer (2014), “Leadership… Is defined according to its function of facilitating organizational and operational processes, rather than defining and controlling them” (p. 31). The researcher further states that active participation is the key to encourage and motivate group members to invest their time and energy to shape the quality of the group's production. Therefore, our group needed to find ways for all members to have a chance to participate fully and apply their individual strengths, in order to enhance our group’s
I like the fact that the teacher pointed out that leadership can be found everywhere. Leaders don't necessarily exist only in a company where there are a lot of people following you. “Everyone has the potential and possibility to be a leader”. They could be the best at inspiring others, or best at solving problems or dealing with criticism. By and large we all have the necessities to lead and I find, during the group discussions, that the difference and uniqueness of us that give us our own perspective to view and do things. Leadership is also about understanding and combining many different talents and to make them work together to create the best result. There are many kinds of leaders out there, and so many leadership styles. Yet I think we shouldn’t categorised ourselves into one or identify our superiors into one. Why? Because I think it is crucial to be flexible and adapt to which way to lead according to the situations For example, the Democratic style maybe the most popular and most effective, yet it is proved to be counter-productive in urgent occasions requiring instant and firm decisions from one person only, and that is the
Leadership can take many different forms, depending on the person and the situation in which it is needed. Collaborative leadership is a leadership style in which a leader brings together a large group of people, with a variety of backgrounds, to make a productive decision and act upon it. According to Chrislip and Larson (1994):
Leadership can be shown through any person in any type of situation. In a classroom discussion, on the playing field, or in public a sign of a leader is evident. A person is born a leader. Certain humans know what to do when the time calls for it. Many people in positions can be entitled a leader such as basketball players. Even a famous movie star can be given this title. These people are not true leaders. True leaders are the belaboring teachers and the intellectual speakers. These are the people who show that leadership is an action, not a position.
Leadership is found not just at work but all around us. In any situation, leaders take a step forward and take charge of the situation. It can be at home, at work or at any other place. Leaders are never born, they become leaders because they have the credibility and people would love to follow them.
In a team-oriented setting, everyone contributes to how well the group succeeds overall. You work with fellow members of the group to complete the work that needs to be done. Having the right people in the correct roles is an important factor in measuring the success of a team, where you are united with the other members to complete the main goals. Every group is made up of definite strengths and weaknesses. Our team's 3-5 major strengths necessary to work accordingly consist of Informer, Summarizer, Orienter, Piggy-Backer, and Encourager. One of our strengths as a team is that we get input from everyone involved. Every member of our team is a leader in some way. Part of being a good leader is knowing how important it is to receive the best ideas from each member of their team. We attend group meetings where we discuss any challenges, issues, and problems. At these meetings, we often exchange ideas or brainstorm new ones with each other and come up with the best and most creative team solutions as potential answers to those perceived problems.
I’m tired, a little stressed and disappointed with some of the group members this week. This has been the most challenging time in group so far. Everything is usually fine, but something is off this week. Although, we have group chats, our group cohesion is off. After, deciding to do the outline one way, we ended up doing it another way. That was cool until individuals brought the confusion. One person thought this way, the other thought that way. It was a mess. Our group dynamics were all over the place. The impact this had on me was very negative. With your help Mrs. Evans, we eventually decided to keep the outline simple. The other group members picked their duties, while mine were assigned to me. It did not bother me that I was assigned duties. Actually, my absence from the meeting helped to decide what I was to do. When it comes to the norming and forming of this group, I find myself at a loss for words. The norming process is off. There is less cohesion than usual; we have not been as effect this week. Also, relationships do not seem to be strengthening. This makes me angry because it affects us all. Unlike the norming stage, the forming stage is pretty solid. All of us are comfortable (in my opinion) giving our opinions, and we understand what is required of us. There is no need to form rules they are already in place. In my opinion, some of the members did not follow the rules. I for one broke a rule.
Throughout this term, my fellow classmates and I have had a chance to participate in a group project with two or three of our peers. The general topic was a vivid problem in a industry. Our class had a very wide and diverse sets of topics: from Styrofoam, to industrial hacking, to corruption in an influential international organization like FIFA, and so many more. Our group decided to develop a project named “Outsourcing and the price we pay for brands”. The name itselves is somewhat self-explanatory, however the problem is so much more complicated and interesting. In this paper, many struggles and concerns, of the group and of my my own, will be unfolded as I reflect the progress of this project.
...rks. In a word, the MA experience was considered to be a bridge that combines the student learning with working skills, it would be of great help for my future career.
The following is a report on the procedure and method of conducting a group assignment. The purpose of this report is to give a firsthand experience on the goals achieved in producing a summary report within a group. The topic chosen by the group is entitled "Language and Meaning" (Appendix A).