Page 233 - Effective group discussion theory and practice by Adams, Katherine H. Brilhart, John K. Galanes, Gloria J

216 Chapter 8

too much? Too little? Were the members allowed to digress too often? Not
enough? Did the members seem to enjoy the discussion? Periodic review of
the value of group meetings, followed by leaders and members making the
necessary adjustments, can improve group productivity. 20
2. Determine the most important changes to be made at the next meeting and
adjust behavior accordingly.
After examining all the areas in which you could improve the group meeting,
concentrate on improving the two or three that are most potentially harmful to
the group. If one or two members monopolized the floor, plan ways to curtail
their participation. If someone seemed upset, touch base by calling or e-mailing
that member. Maureen said: “Last week, we got through only half the items on
our agenda. This week, I’m going to pay more attention to our time, and I’ll be
stepping in more often to help us stick to one issue at a time. I’d appreciate your
help with this, too.”

Leading Discussions in Virtual Groups Leading virtual teams is challenging, but not
impossible. One area you do not want to fall down in is the running of meetings—
central to the dynamics of virtual teams and often cited as a problem teams have with
their leaders. You start by being familiar with the technological tools that work well
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for virtual groups. Teleconferencing is the most used tool for virtual meetings. Next,
set the rules for use of the teleconference platform, including rules of instant messag-
ing and chats, if they are used. Members appreciate, especially in this medium, the
early establishment and modeling of guidelines and expectations, especially for
respectful interaction. A general expectation is that contributions during meetings
22
will be equitable. Leaders can use their own checklists to monitor who has spoken
and ask members directly for their input. If a virtual meeting involves some members
actually together in the same space and others at different location, the ones further
from the co-present members need to feel a part of the discussion. Virtual leaders
should also look out for members “checking out” of the discussion, which is easy to
do in virtual meetings.
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Virtual leaders, themselves, need to monitor their own communication. They
have to show patience listening in virtual communication to avoid interrupting or
dominating. It can be tempting to cut off someone during the lag time in transmission
of messages that can occur in asynchronous communication and in some forms of
videoconferencing. The nonverbal signals in virtual communication have to be read
carefully—silence in an e-mail or a nonresponse to a comment can mean all sorts of
things. Promptness in checking with the meaning of a message in computer-mediated
communication is key.
Instant messaging and chats are popular in virtual groups. Instant messaging
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should only be used for short messages and not the “go to” medium for detailed
material. It does not provide a recorded history of the meeting but is useful for sales
meetings, for instance, because members can talk to each other during the negotia-
tions. Chats do allow for discussions to be recorded and members prefer
them because they are more “social” than e-mail and can promote more distributed
discussion.

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