Page 234 - Effective group discussion theory and practice by Adams, Katherine H. Brilhart, John K. Galanes, Gloria J

Leading Small Groups: Practical Tips 217

Recap: A Quick Review

eaders are expected to lead the group’s discussions. To do so effectively, they
Lshould attend to the following:
1. In their opening remarks, leaders should make sure that members are introduced
to one another; review the group’s and the specific meeting’s purpose and goals;
make sure people have been identified to perform special functions, such as taking
minutes; have handouts distributed; make sure that ground rules and specific pro-
cedures, such as specialized techniques, have been explained and are followed;
and start the group off with a focused, substantive question.
2. In regulating and structuring discussions, the leader must decide how formally or
informally the group’s discussion should be, including whether parliamentary rules
or special rules for committees should apply; must keep the discussion moving
toward the goal, including by encouraging members to “park” off-topic items in a
“parking lot” for later discussion; provide internal summaries to help keep the group
together and provide smooth transitions; keep discussion moving along; and bring
the discussion to a definite close.
3. Leaders must equalize members’ opportunity to contribute by controlling long-
winded members and encouraging quieter members to speak up; by addressing
questions to the group as a whole; by not commenting after each member’s
remarks so that they don’t create a wheel network; by listening with genuine inter-
est; by asking the group for its opinions; and by staying neutral during arguments.
4. Leaders stimulate creative thinking by asking members to refrain from evaluating
items right away; using creativity-enhancing techniques, such as brainstorming; and
prodding the members to keep thinking about more alternatives and new areas of
thinking.
5. Leaders stimulate critical thinking by stopping the group from becoming solution-
minded too early, encouraging the critical evaluation of information, making
sure that factors such as criteria and assumptions have been discussed and
accepted, testing solutions before they are finally adopted, and working to prevent
groupthink.
6. Effective leaders evaluate their own and the group’s performance to determine how
the meeting could have been improved and what adjustments need to be made at
the next meeting.
7. In virtual groups, because of the increased possibility of misunderstanding, leaders
pay particular attention to whether members are following good communication
practices, which promote equitable and clear communication.

Developing the Group
Developing the group involves two fundamental processes: helping the group evolve
into an effective team and helping the individual members grow to their potentials so
that distributed leadership can work effectively. Few people start out knowing how to
be effective team members or leaders; this takes practice. As leader, you can help
develop the talent on your team.

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