Leadership:The Individual & The Group

Presented by Phillip Penna, MA

Coordinator

Ontario Environment Network

http://www.oen.ca - oen@oen.ca

tel: 705-840-2888

fax: 705-840-5862

Leadership:The Individual & The Group

• The presentation is based on the work of Pierre M. Turquet & Wilfred Bion’s “Theory of Group Development”

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

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

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

The Group Leader• The Leader must look externally to guide the

group’s 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

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

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

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

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/Flightc) Pairing d) Oneness

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

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

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

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

BA Groups: Oneness

“Members 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)

(Italics are mine)

BA Groups: Leadership

- Leadership is personified- Leadership is “mythical” in nature- BA Groups are self-contained- BA Groups appear spontaneously

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

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

BA Groups:More 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

BA Groups are:- Full of energy- Very cohesive- Its structure aids this cohesiveness to continueExamples of BA Groups are:a) Dependency: ______ b) Fight/Flight: ______ c) Pairing: ______d) Oneness: ______

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 group’s BA to guard against BA group behaviour

- group performance depends on each member’s awareness of his/her BA preference and a willingness to direct energy toward maintaining a SWG stance

A SWG is “Sophisticated” by:

a) the way it uses leadership

b) the way it protects the skills of the group

c) its use of predictions

d) the way it makes use of (that is, mobilizes) the relevant BA Group(s) for the implementation of their Primary Task

How This Applies to a Network

• Be aware of your group’s BA preference

• Groups need to be willing to direct energy toward maintaining a Network that’s 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

Leadership:The 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/103PREB.pdf

Leadership:The Individual & The Group

Presented by Phillip Penna, MA

Coordinator

Ontario Environment Network

http://www.oen.ca - oen@oen.ca

tel: 705-840-2888

fax: 705-840-5862