Discussion 04: Group Leadership
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Now that we have considered the therapeutic processes that are available for group building and development to move a group towards its common goals. We will discuss the role of a group leader/ facilitator/ specialist who seeks to activate it. Certainly, every leader varies tremendously based on the type of groups they facilitate, the approach, intellectual and personality characteristics, and other factors. Yet we know that to become an effective leader, one could develop common sets of skills and characteristics. The roads can vary but the destination must be the same to ensure members have the best experiences in the group support.
Leading the group is different from individual support.
Listening & supporting in 1:1 setup and leading and supporting in the group set up is different. Because in group setup, you are not just one but sharing the space with a number of other members too who may be going through similar or different situations.
You will notice a level of anxiety among members. The anxiety of how they will share in the group, what if others will judge them or don’t understand, or what if they feel stuck in the middle of sharing, and so on. And, in an open group, when a new member joins in while a member is sharing, they might not feel comfortable as a new person joined and who do not know what sharer is going through.
In such situations as a leader, you would be managing and addressing the collective anxiety of the group. Acknowledging and supporting each member to feel comfortable and so the new member who joins in as well. Reminding them how they all are part of the group and each of them has valid struggles. So, as a leader, you are interacting with a bunch of members and ensuring they get support as well as providing support to each other.
Group dynamics can give insight into how the clients react in social situations outside of the group.
As a leader, you gain insights into how members could behave in the group setup. So, it is important, you make better choices while being a group leader:
How much leadership to exercise. Every group is different. Some members are more comfortable speaking up and sharing with each other while some groups would need gentle nudges to make them talk and seek and provide support. So, as a leader, you need to choose and decide how much leadership you need to exercise based on the group you participate in.
How to structure the group. You can structure the group i.e. how the group will function. Whether all interactions will be parallel or it will be turn-based setting so one share and others listen and process repeats.
When to intervene. Some like to sit back and listen and support the members as the chat goes while some leaders like to have tight control and decide how the chat will move. Every leader is different. And, interventions will vary based on groups too. If all members are supportive and comfortable discussing, a leader would let members discuss and support each other. While if some members join in with unacceptable behavior, the leader would need to take the lead and remind them to have appropriate behavior.
Personal Qualities of a Leader
Every leader has their own strengths and weaknesses and has a unique style to approach the group and lead it. But to be an effective group leader, it is important to have some common skills and traits like Constancy, Active Listening, Firm Identity, Confidence, Spontaneity, Integrity, Trust, Humor & Empathy.
You need to build your own firm identity in the group as there would be different leaders at different time periods. So, to build a healthy connection with the group members, it is important members know what kind of leader you are so they feel comfortable and have a sense of belonging when you present in the room. Moreover, be an empathetic leader who communicates with each member with respect and acceptance. Encourages them to discuss, share more, and take action. Compliments the members from time to time to keep them motivated and remind them their actions are getting noticed. Gently persuade them to speak more and take steps to progress and improve. And, provide support to all so everyone feels supported and has a sense of belonging.
As a leader, you are modeling and shaping the behavior of the room and group members. You would need to set an example and inspire group members to be like one and collectively have a modeled group support in the room. Your activity, participation, professionalism, and support determine how the group will be doing.
Discussion: How do you visualize ideal group support and group room as a group leader? What is one thing you need to make it happen?
Activity: Respond to at least two of your fellow trainees' comments with thoughts on their share.
After fulfilling the requirements of this post, please check out the next discussion here! Ensure to implement the learning from these discussions in the chat rooms to build and support the group. You must take part in the brainstorming/activities given in all of these discussions to successfully complete the program.
How do you visualize ideal group support and group room as a group leader? What is one thing you need to make it happen?
Ideal group in which- all respect each other if can empathy that will add more value.
Feel safe to share and active participate.
Even if shy participate or active one all have some positive takeaway from the discussion and would make them come back without hesitation.
I prefer to more structure group discussion like we have SC or group discussion session.
As group dynamic every time even in the same room after one discussion change so I would change leadership according to the audience.
If many old members than facilitating the group goes perfect and many new than guiding them is required or strict sometime when there is inappropriate behaviour seem happening often.
Use of ice breaker -when needed.
What I need to happen?
I would emphasize more to make audience remember to be kind, non judgement with each other. Like banner showing that message. Or when we welcome the member (hello XYZ sharing circle is going on or we are having group discussion on xyz topic.. we believe in respecting and supportive environment) sorry I am not good with word.
If members are on common ground conflict would be less and it would be safe environment.
I would special thanks to most active member or participate so they keep contributing more in future.
Be more trained to handle someone new entry start sharing personal thought in middle of share or get agitate or conflict arise.
I like the point I read in 7cups resource guide that visiting the same room often might help to know people more and even understanding for that room. As we have different room for specific topic.
@blindHeart12
Thanking the members who actively gave encouraging words to others is a great idea. It would encourage them to keep being supportive.
@VictoriaLove7
Thank you for appreciation.
Best of luck for your course.
For the lsr it comes down to
1 welcoming , supportive ans working toward a commen goal
2 every ones knows. What the lsr is used for, rules and abbreviations of lsr
3 people not forming groups but more willing. To talk to any one.
More cs to be there when. Listeners need help with the member chats.
group leader
someone is professional caring outgoing willing to help out when things. Go back. And some one willing to. Keep room supportive.
we need sessions on what the lsr is set for. , rules and abbreviations for lsr. Also lsr needs more cs.
Discussion: How do you visualize ideal group support and group room as a group leader? What is one thing you need to make it happen?
Ideal group support is where all community members interact supportively with each other in the chatrooms and follow the guidelines set for the chatrooms. In that setup, the community becomes high warmth and also high expectation. For that to happen, group leaders need to be role models in the chatrooms at all times.
An ideal group is one that is welcoming to everyone and that is open for anyone to share or ask questions they might now know. The leader of this type of group should be inclusive of everyone no matter what background or level they're at and constantly strive to maintain a healthy environment in the room.
Discussion: How do you visualize ideal group support and group room as a group leader? What is one thing you need to make happen?
I visualize the ideal group room would be one where everyone would feel comfortable interacting with one another. Some of the interactions may include sharing, providing support, or simply just hanging out. It should be a judgment-free, respectful, and supportive environment. One thing I will need to achieve this would be teamwork. I will need to communicate with participants what the current expectations are. Gather their feedback. Discuss with the teams involved and make adjustments based on the feedback received and updates for the future.
@ASilentObserver
Heyo!
I think being in a group room as a leader, it will be my primary duty to welcome everyone and make them feel inclusive. Helping them feel at ease is very important, since it will increase their participation and make the room vibrant. Reminding them of rules and encouraging them to ask queries from time to time helps members get a clear idea of what's going on in the chat. Most tend to be clueless when they join a new room in the middle of an ongoing conversation.
To make all this happen, giving personal nudges to participants (eg- by calling out their usernames) will help them out and prompt them to actively partake in the chat.
Thank you and have a nice day (:
How do you visualize ideal group support and group room as a group leader? What is one thing you need to make it happen?
A way that I visualize ideal group support is by making sure that everyone get's supported and can be open. When the community feels they can be open about what is going on, it allows them to feel supported. For me in general, I make this happen by being open but also being there as a mod to redirect the chat if need be to make it a supportive chat as well.
@ASilentObserver
Discussion: How do you visualize ideal group support and group room as a group leader? What is one thing you need to make it happen?
I visualise an ideal group support room to have all participants encourage each other, be respect towards each other, inspire one another, abide by the rules of the room, appreciate and accept all members from different backgrounds, learn from each other, be compassionate, understanding and patient. But, i dont expect it to happen just like that. For example, for patience and compassion to be established, we must go through a rollercoaster to finally realise what is an appropriate action and way of thinking or we could learn from others or past experiences. The one thing i want possible is to see everyone being compassionate towards each other despite the ups and downs
@ASilentObserver
How do you visualize ideal group support and group room as a group leader?
In an ideal group support setting members feel comfortable and encouraged to talk with each other in a truthful manner.
What is one thing you need to make it happen?
Not all people joining a group feel safe to open up and to connect. The task of a group leader is to find commonalities to build group cohesion, make them feel that joining a group can actually be helpful to them and a place where they can feel understood and learn from other people’s experiences. In my view the key of a good group is the feeling of belonging and safety.
Disagreements are almost inevitable in groups, so for a leader it is crucial to know when to intervene and with how much authority in order to avoid a tense atmosphere and ensure everyone stays as relaxed as possible in the room.
How do you visualize ideal group support and group room as a group leader? What is one thing you need to make happen?
The most important thing for me that all participants in the room understand and share the purpose of the specific room. Under such conditions I would love to see mutual respect towards each other and each other needs, willingness to give same as to receive support (this is starting to be a dream room). I visualise the ideal room with an easily accessible guide and well-informed participants who are willing to promote the set tradition, dynamic of the room. It would be amazing if the room would provide the magical feeling of belonging, even if for 5 min while participants in the room only for that time. If this room is a community room, I would like it to host few discussions during the day, to let people not only share as we have LS for that but to be honestly supported, educated about that particular issue.
What I need to make that happen - to learn, obtain skills so I would be able to organise the room according to this model. It would be amazing to have a team that would cover 24h presence of the listener/team member in the room. New rules, Guidelines for team members, listeners (obligatory review of rules by newcomers); simplified, clear rules so they would be possible to grasp and remember on the go. The guidance for the team on how we implement and introduce rules during the 24h. I would be happy to prepare a list of Ice breakers, ready scenarios, scripts for the team to a specific room (Relationships support,Anxiety etc) to ensure quality. Schedule for at least 3 discussions within 24 h (for those rooms which are opened 1 per week) and open calendar for guest hosts. I would be glad to build some connection net, where members would be motivated to be active in a specific room, I would need time to consider options on how to make it possible.