Leadership: The Individual & The Group Presented by Phillip

1
LeadershipThe Individual The Group

• Presented by Phillip Penna, MA
• Coordinator
• Ontario Environment Network
• http//www.oen.ca - oen_at_oen.ca
• tel [phone]
• fax [phone]

2
LeadershipThe Individual The Group

• The presentation is based on the work of Pierre
  M. Turquet Wilfred Bions Theory of Group
  Development

3
Questions we hope to address 1. What groups do
to stay functional, healthy successful2. How
to identify barriers and how to overcome them3.
How to facilitate and utilize the creativity of
each member of the group4. The role of
leadership in the group in accomplishing all of
the above
4
The Group Defined

• Group size 8-12 (maximum 16) persons
• A Small Group must have a Primary Task
• It must carry the Primary Task (PT) out

5
The Group Structure

• Structure and PT are internally linked
• There exists a boundary between the group and its
  surrounding environment
• There will be control mechanisms to guide
  assist transactions through the boundary
• The fundamental aspect of Leadership is Boundary
  Control

6
The Group Leader

• The Leader must look externally to guide the
  groups interactions with surrounding environment
• They must also look internally to guide assist
  the internal interactions of the group
• By looking both internally and externally, the
  leader is able to maintain Boundary Control

7
The Group Two States of Existence

• Within every group, two distinct States exist and
  operate at the same time, they are
• Sophisticated Working Group the manifest level
  of group performance
• Basic Assumption Group unconscious defenses
  against anxiety or unpleasantness

8
Sophisticated Working Group- Predetermined,
consciously accepted PT- Members are aware of
the PT and are able to define it- The group is
able to re-define the task- The group is highly
self-aware- Determines skills in group
evaluates them against the PT- Thus leadership
and support roles shift depending upon the
demands of the task
9
Sophisticated Working Group- Is marked by
freedom- Members respect and accept one
another- Responsibility is collective, with
members aware of their roles and
responsibilities- Members use dialogue and
reflection to transfer knowledge and enhance
learning- Work is structured and organized- Its
structure is related to the PT
10
Basic Assumption Groups- PT arises from within
the group and is pursued solely for the members
satisfaction- Time boundaries vanish as if
time was unlimited- Critical dialogue
reflection is avoided / discouraged- Result is a
breakdown of group effectiveness- 4 Kinds of
BA Groups a) Dependency b) Fight/Flight c)
Pairing d) Oneness
11
BA Groups Dependence- Feelings, thoughts and
actions directed toward making someone the sole
leader of the group- Members look to leader for
all solutions, structure, etc.-Insistence on
simplistic solutions
12
BA Groups Dependence (cont.)- Members sabotage
leader by providing partial or inadequate
information- Members demonstrate disappointment
and hostility toward leader- Leader may be
expelled from group or demoted - Group seeks
out new leader
13
BA Groups Fight/Flight- Group behaves as if
its purpose is to fight or flee a real or
imaginary enemy- Member refuse to critically
evaluate themselves- Members are singled out
and scapegoated- Weaknesses (as perceived by
the group) are not tolerated
14
BA Groups Pairing- Members rely on a pair
within the group for all creative effort- Great
interest in creative process- Hopeful
expressions of anticipation / use of cliches-
Solutions or leaders generated by the pair are
sabotaged or destroyed by the group
15
BA Groups OnenessMembers seek to join in a
powerful union with an omnipotent force,
unobtainably high, to surrender self for passive
participation, and thereby feel existence,
well-being, and wholeness. (Turquet) (Itali
cs are mine)
16
BA Groups Leadership- Leadership is
personified- Leadership is mythical in
nature- BA Groups are self-contained- BA Groups
appear spontaneously
17
BA Groups The Individual - Little
skill assessment tasks and social roles of
individuals defined by the group (this leads to a
de-skilling of members)- Individuals exist
solely for the group- Leaving can be dreadful-
Consolation comes from the undoubting nature of
rightness of the group
18
BA Groups Observable Behaviors- Long silence
in which something is expected from a leader or
other group member- Hypothesis offered by one
member and contradicted or shot down by
another- Search for something believed to be
hidden and waiting to be discovered- Members
seeking approval of leader or alliances with
other members
19
BA GroupsMore Observable Behaviors- Strong
feelings of love, hate, comradeship- Projection
of strong feelings, beliefs or behaviors on other
group members- Scapegoating- Member expelled
or voluntary leaving of group
20
BA Groups are- Full of energy- Very cohesive-
Its structure aids this cohesiveness to
continueExamples of BA Groups area)
Dependency ______ b) Fight/Flight ______ c)
Pairing ______d) Oneness ______
21
Only a SWG can constructively use the elements of
BA Group behavior. How?- by recognizing that
the BA state is always present in a group
functions as a defense against anxiety,
individual group members identify and make
explicit the groups BA to guard against BA group
behaviour- group performance depends on each
members awareness of his/her BA preference and a
willingness to direct energy toward maintaining a
SWG stance
22
A SWG is Sophisticated bya) the way it uses
leadershipb) the way it protects the skills of
the groupc) its use of predictionsd) the way
it makes use of (that is, mobilizes) the relevant
BA Group(s) for the implementation of their
Primary Task
23
How This Applies to a Network

• Be aware of your groups BA preference
• Groups need to be willing to direct energy toward
  maintaining a Network thats a SWG
• Need to identify the Primary Task of/for the
  Network
• Predict what model is going to work (PT and
  Structure are linked)
• Mobilize the relevant BA Group(s) for the
  implementation of the Primary Task

24
LeadershipThe Individual The Group

• Presentation References
• Pierre M. Turquet, "Leadership The Individual
  and the Group," Analysis of Groups, Coleman and
  Geller, Ed., San Francisco Jossey-Bass
  Publishers, 1974, pp.349-371
• Group Development Theory, Wilfred Ruprecht
  Bion, http//www.odnetwork.org/conf2004/followup/1
  03PREB.pdf

25
LeadershipThe Individual The Group

• Presented by Phillip Penna, MA
• Coordinator
• Ontario Environment Network
• http//www.oen.ca - oen_at_oen.ca
• tel [phone]
• fax [phone]