Have you noticed how a newcomer joins a new team? His behavior is cautious, his statements are neat, he prefers to coordinate his actions with the leadership, and contacts with new colleagues are most often limited to by one of the people around him. Usually, a new employee intuitively selects a colleague who is distinguished by his benevolence, patience and willingness to help and suggest the right line of behavior during adaptation, which is necessary in the process of group interaction. Life in a team is subject to certain laws, which this material is dedicated to.
Group: Leader
Let's start with the terminology and define the concept of group processes. These are the changing signs of a group as a process related to relations in society, namely: leadership (leadership), the stages of formation and growth of a group, group pressure syndrome, etc.
In the course of its development, the team successively passes through a complex of processes affecting each individual in the context of his role in the community.
Out of the whole set of group processes, the significance of the group leader is the highest. His focus is on the direction of the movement of the collective, the determining system of values, and the main collective measures taken in the community. All these points relate to the topic of leadership, which initially represents the dominance-submission polarity in any association of entities. However, in a broad context, this concept includes psychological approaches to the formation and management of a group.
Collective turnover
It is necessary to distinguish the types of group processes in groups of newly formed and long-functioning. In the second case, there is a constant movement due to changes in the staff list: layoffs and receptions in the organization change its composition both quantitatively and qualitatively.
When leaving the team, the employee most often completely “nullifies” his relations with his colleagues, leaving a vacuum in his place. A new person, coming to an already existing group in the place of the departed, faces a number of issues, the solution of which can go in two ways.
- Adopting existing rules, meeting expectations of the environment, matching the style of interaction with colleagues and working methods with the manner of the previous employee.
- Denial of established patterns of relationships both vertically and horizontally, the introduction of their own approach to work and contacts.
In the end, it all comes down to a dilemma: a conflict (hidden or explicit) or a syndrome of group pressure on the subject and, in the future, his submission to the group.
System stability
The standard behavior of a new team member is based on the desire to be accepted by the group. Therefore, the subject is gradually studying the norms and their maximum permissible violations established in the community. Having become acquainted with the orders, a person tries to act in accordance with them. Most often this happens if a beginner values his status and place in the team in which he has long wanted to work. Then the individual makes every effort to become “part of the ship, part of the team” as soon as possible and, making a decision, takes into account the opinion of other members of the group. This type of behavior is called conformal and is based on the subordination of personality to group pressure, which is an important part of group processes.
Way of dissonance
The polar way of behavior is independent, in which a person is guided by his own opinion and is resistant to the factor of group pressure.
And in the event that the subject's attitudes somehow contradict the surrounding reality, then the scenario for him is to change the surrounding reality in some part of it, which is connected with the conflict. And its development can already go according to different scenarios, in which the leadership style in this team plays an important role.
As for conformity, its level can be determined in a situation of open conflict. If the subject chooses the “like everyone else” position, even if the group’s opinion is clearly erroneous, this indicates either the absence of a “core personality” or the presence of hidden motivation with far-reaching plans.
On unity and disunity
Suppose that several new employees are joining the existing team at once. This is tantamount to creating a new group. In this case, the question arises of the consent of the new arrivals with the attitudes, norms and guidelines that were formed earlier in the formation of the community. Only in the case of the unification of personalities on the basis of common goals and objectives, as well as the principles of their embodiment, can we talk about group cohesion. An important factor here is a stable emotional interaction.
There is some difference between related concepts: group cohesion and group compatibility. In the context of group processes, the expression "group cohesion" means that this association of individuals strives for common goals, based on a value system shared by all members of the community.
As for group compatibility, it implies close interaction between team members based on personal and business qualities. It is simpler to say that this is a successful solution to the personnel issue.
It should be noted that these two concepts can complement each other and sometimes it is impossible to clearly distinguish between them.
On the three phases of group development
The topic of group cohesion is closely related to the process of group activity. The formation of unity begins with the creation of emotional bonds between members of the collective; the beginning of the second stage can be considered a combination of goals and methods for their achievement on the basis of a unifying kind of activity.
On this stretch of the path, emotional coincidence fades into the background; a sign of entering the third stage will be the unification of personalities on the basis of a common value system, the level of which is determined by such concepts as: attitude to the world, living beings, spiritual development, personal mission and calling.
Unifying idea
The processes of group dynamics are best monitored during the study of the association of individuals from the very beginning to the realization of the goal or idea that was the reason for the formation of this team. In the process of moving to the end point, the community undergoes transformations that objectively reflect the stage of its development: birth, activity, growth, decline or stagnation, rollback, decline or disintegration. All these processes are actively influenced by the leadership style and the personality of the leader.
Nothing arises from nothing, including the unification of people. To do this, you need at least the first word, as in the Bible. And he pronounces it, as a rule, the one who has formulated an idea that needs to be translated into practice. This is the transition of unrelated individuals into the community.
Small group development
Group processes in a small group (no more than 7 people) develop when certain conditions are met.
- Availability of available space where you can gather interested parties and conduct a preliminary discussion of the project.
- Creation of an emotional atmosphere conducive to communication and discussion of issues, which will allow people to reveal their personal qualities in an informal setting.
- The time limits within which the formation of contacts should be sufficient for the stable development of the group.
- Determining the number of participants in the implementation of the project.
- Defining the goals and objectives of the created group, taking into account the fact that they should become priorities for each participant. To form an organization, spontaneity is not commonplace: such associations arise with predetermined goals.
- Collective interaction, which is the basis for achieving goals, requires the implementation of established rules, organization and interchangeability. This is achieved with certain qualifications.
- An important component of the group development process is the formation of attitudes and norms that operate within the boundaries of this association. Compliance with the rules implies a framework that defines the behavior of group members in interacting with each other and in the performance of their functional duties. From this moment, the group becomes one.
- Formation of the organizational structure of the team. It is based on the concept of the status of each member of the group, correlated with other subjects of the association. Status intersects with the category of role, within which the personality interacts with the environment in the system of an organized group.
Goal Settings
If a group is created to achieve a specific goal, then the goal must meet certain criteria.
- The first condition is compliance with time limits, which means a thoroughly stated result that has a clear implementation date. This gives the process certainty and completeness, and therefore the stability of the implementation process.
- The parameters of the goal should be clearly defined and not misunderstand. And they are communicated to each interested participant.
- To achieve this goal, the necessary and sufficient condition will be the means of achievement provided, that is, the tools.
Acceptance of responsibility
Each subject of collective activity is responsible for its results. The effectiveness of the work depends on how much its goals and objectives correspond to the internal attitudes of the person taking part in their implementation. And it depends on how much each member of the team participates in the process of making a group decision.
- In the process of achieving the goal, everyone involved in its implementation should have a moral or material bonus that makes the project attractive to him. It is necessary to interest people.
- In the process of activity, the performer is required to demonstrate the qualities necessary to achieve the result, as well as to demonstrate the skills and qualifications available in his arsenal. In the event of their absence or insufficiency, it is assumed that there is a willingness to develop these skills or a decision to acquire the necessary knowledge.
Formal and Informal Leadership
Nobody has canceled moral satisfaction, but the heads of enterprises significantly underestimate it. However, studies have shown that it is this factor that affects group cohesion, and in direct proportion. It remains to understand how to achieve this element of labor activity.
- The leader is not only the one who gives out instructions and demands their implementation. This is a person whose character determines the degree of emotional comfort in the group, as well as its cohesion.
- An effective leadership style is collegial, when the process of making a group decision does not take place formally. In this case, each participant in the discussion is ready to take responsibility for its implementation and is personally interested in the best completion of the task.
- The consequence of this managerial approach is the atmosphere of psychological comfort, increased self-esteem, interest of group members in achieving results, lack of uncertainty and independent decisions. Such a team is very effective.
Rivalry or collaboration
If a collaboration style based on cooperation is formed in a group, this significantly increases the level of cohesion for many reasons.
- A benevolent relationship to each other contributes to the mutual assistance and suppression of conflict situations before they grow.
- People openly share information, communicate freely and naturally. In a competitive struggle, such manifestations are not welcomed because of concerns about the lost profit from the "surrendered" information.
- Cohesion based on the above factors can play a positive role when competing with other communities.
Thus, cooperation is a powerful factor in advancing a group to success, where achieving one equals the success of the entire group.
Formation of the "elbow feeling"
It is no secret that the focus of the educational process on identifying individual abilities deprives young people of the opportunity to think in collective categories.
The group educational process, which is gaining popularity in educational institutions in recent years, allows young men and women, leaving the walls of a school or university, to perfectly realize themselves in a group format. The principles of this learning style are based on the same factors as teamwork. The emphasis in this method is not only on the development of intelligence, but also on the ability to withstand group pressure, provide support, share knowledge and skills.
And in this format, the process of making a group decision becomes an act of creativity and cooperation.