In this topic, I was very keen on understanding these two things and I set out to find the answers for scientific articles.
- is a leader needed in a group?
- what style of leading is the best way?
First one must ask themselves, what are the roles in a group? It is an interpersonal need to feel part of a group or community, to “belong” and to feel valued and an essential member (McKenna & Green, 2002; Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Brewer, 1991). Four fundamental roles can be seen in efficient, smaller groups, which are leader/facilitator, arbitrator/monitor, notetaker/time keeper, and devil’s advocate (Group Roles, N.A.).
- Leader/Facilitator
- Communicates what are we doing, how we do it and what is the goal
- Makes sure that the work is done
- Arbitrator/Monitor
- Makes sure everyone’s voice is heard
- The cheerleader of the group
- Notetaker/Time Keeper
- Plans the agenda
- Makes sure that all topics of meetings have time that they deserve
- Devil’s Advocate
- Makes sure that something is not overlooked
- Keeps an open-mind to problems, possibilities, and opposing ideas.
A leader is a person of the group that best embodies goals, values and attitudes of the group and its purpose (McKenna & Green, 2002). Research has shown that group members are aware of the subtle differences of the leaders, who closely “represent the group” and the followers, who do so to a lesser degree (Hogg, 1993).
In new groups, those who are most familiar with the topic at hand or most comfortable expressing their view that is inline with the group members can be seen as a leader. In addition to embodying the group, the leaders behavior influences the behaviors of the other group members (McKenna & Green, 2002).The leaders have more influence than others, not because they are actually exerting influence, but because the other members of the group perceive them as having more influence over “the followers” of the group (McKenna & Green, 2002).
Kurt Lewin (1939) was the first to identify three different styles of leadership:
- authoritarian,
- democratic
- and laissez-faire.
Authoritarian leadership, also known as autocratic leadership, focuses on individual control over all decisions and little input from the group members. It can be thought of as a dictatorship and these leaders make choices based on their own ideas. Autocratic leadership can be beneficial sometimes when decisions need to be made fast.
Lewin’s study found that the democratic leadership, also known as participative leadership, is generally the most efficient. Democratic leaders offer guidance to other group members but also participate in the group. Group members feel engaged, creative and as part of the process with a democratic leader, who still has the final say in the decision-making.
The laisser-faire leadership is delegative, which was shown to be least productive. Delegative leaders offer little or no guidance and the rest of the group starts to make demands to the leader and are less cooperative. This style can be effective if the group consists of experts in the field.
Summary
Based on this brief review of the role of leadership in a group, it could be said that leaders and followers exist in every group, yet they are not always appointed as leaders but can still be perceived as ones. Furthermore, democratic leadership style, where the leaders offer guidance but also participate in the group work, is the most efficient way and makes the group members feeling valuable and needed.
References
Group Roles: Maximizing Group Performance. Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo. Available at: https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/developing-assignments/group-work/group-roles-maximizing-group-performance#:~:text=There%20are%20four%20fundamental%20roles,students%20(see%20notes%20below).
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497–529.
Brewer, M. B. (1991). The social self: On being the same and different at the same time. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 475–482.
Hogg, M. A. (1993). Group cohesiveness: A critical review and some new directions. European Review of Social Psychology, 4, 85–111.
Lewin, K. (1939). Field theory and experiment in social psychology: Concepts and methods. American journal of sociology, 44(6), 868-896.
McKenna, K. Y. A., & Green, A. S. (2002). Virtual group dynamics. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 6(1), 116–127. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2699.6.1.116
