Professional Year Program

EAW3 Professional Performance

Session 1

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 REFLECTIVE JOURNALS
1. You will keep a reflective journal.
2. Every week you will write a one page summary of what was
your main learning from the workshop is and what this means
that you may do differently in the future.
3. Starting in Week2, a photocopy of your journal entry will be
handed in at the start of each workshop.
4. The one page journal entry will contain:
 Your name, and workshop number and date at the top
 A paragraph that clearly describes your key learning from the workshop
 Observations and insights about what you may do differently in the future as a
result of this learning
 Timetable and outcomes on these improvements you have proposed
 At least one citation from the literature that you regard as relevant to the
workshop content.

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 Aims of this session
 Identify the reasons why people join and leave groups
 Explain the dynamics of roles and norms within groups
 Identify different phases or stages of group
development
 Explain the strengths and weaknesses of work teams
 Identify different types of meetings
 Explain the use of formal meeting procedures
 Explain the role of the meeting chairperson
 Manage conflict in groups and meetings

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 What is a group?
 Group
◦ Two or more interacting and interdependent individuals
who come together to achieve specific goals

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 Some features of groups
• Groups feature a number of people who:
– know each others’ names
–share common interests
–interact together
–call themselves a group
–are regarded by others as a group.

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 Group Development
Tuckman’s (1965) model identified five
phases of group development:
◦ Forming
◦ Storming
◦ Norming
◦ Performing
◦ Mourning

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 Stages of group development
1. Forming
• Getting to know you, ice-breaking stage
• Attempt to identify just what tasks they
should be working on
• Begin to develop a sense of the group’s
independence
• Task (job-oriented) and socio-emotional
(interpersonal) roles may be unclear

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 Stages of group development
2. Storming
• Conflicts over leadership, control and
influence — ‘who’s in charge?’
• Misunderstandings about:
• Role and style behaviour and norms
• Conflicting goals
• Poor feedback and listening
• Ineffective group decision-making
• Problem-solving processes

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 Stages of group development
3. Norming
• Formal and informal norms emerge
• Cohesion begins to develop
• Opinions are now stated more readily
and are received in a less defensive
manner

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 Stages of group development
4. Performing
• Balance of rules (norms) and roles
emerge
• Synergy develops via positive role-
playing
• Optimal mix of task (job-oriented) and
socio-emotional (interpersonal) roles
• Destructive role-playing under control
• Begins to produce solutions to the
problems it is focusing on
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 Stages of group development
5. Adjourning
• Reaches closure on tasks
• Members may leave for a variety of
reasons
• Destructive role-playing may become
more prevalent

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 What are the major concepts of group behaviour?

 Role
◦ Behaviour patterns expected of someone who occupies a
given position in a social unit
 Norms
◦ Standards or expectations that are accepted and shared
by a group’s members
 Status
◦ A prestige grading, position, or rank within a group

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 Does group size affect behaviour?

 Large Groups
◦ Good for gaining diverse input
 Small Groups
◦ Typically faster at implementation
 Social Loafing
◦ The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when
working collectively than when working individually

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 Are cohesive groups more effective?

 Group

Cohesiveness
◦ The degree to which
group members are
attracted to one another
and share the group’s
goals

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Group cohesiveness and productivity

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 Communicating in informal and
formal groups
In modern organisations:
• informal groups are formed spontaneously

to accommodate people’s interests.

• formal groups are established by authority
to accomplish organisational goals.

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 Groups as teams
• According to Lumsden (2004), a group is
a team when there is:
–an atmosphere of shared responsibility
–an identity
–an agreed goal
–diversity of members’ contributions.
(cont.)

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 Groups as teams (CONT.)

–interconnected efforts of the members

–shared leadership
–mutual support
–commitment of members
–a larger system in which the team
operates.

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 Are work groups and work teams the same?

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 What factors make a team effective?
 Adequate resources
◦ The team’s ability is reduced without adequate resources
 Team leadership and structure
◦ All members contribute in the work
 Trust
◦ Team members must trust each
 Performance evaluation and reward system
◦ Members have to be accountable both individually and
jointly

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 Communication patterns in
groups and teams
• Develop according to:
– group/team structure
– the status and kinds of members
– the leadership style
– the nature of the group/team task.
• Communication patterns should support
both task and relationship needs.
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 Group Communication Structures

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 Group or Team Norms
• Group norms are social standards of behavior in
groups or teams.
• Group norms may be:
–implicit (not stated or hidden); and/or
–explicit (discussed specifically or open).
• Breaking group norms can cause conflict in a
group or team.
(cont.)

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 (CONT.)
Group or Team Norms
• Monitor the norms and reach agreement on
suitable norms for the group/team work.
• Norms for working in a supportive group/team
include:
– appropriate team meeting norms
– personal norms
– communication norms
– social norms
– work norms.

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 Informal meetings
• Meeting structures
• Meeting phases
• Meeting skills
• Role of the chairperson in informal
meetings

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 Formal meetings

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 Formal meetings
• Examples include boards, annual general meetings,
body corporate meetings.
– emphasis on democratic discussion and debate
and adherence to rules and regulations, ensuring
fair play and proper recording of decisions
– expertise is required in the detail of procedure
and more self-control and care in participation.

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 Advantages of formal meetings
• The process can be more orderly as speakers
must go through the chairperson.
• Speakers normally speak only once, so must be
well prepared.
• Speakers may not be interrupted except on a
point of order determined by procedures.
(cont.)

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 Advantages of formal meetings
(CONT.)

• Speakers address the chairperson not each other.

• Members can object and the chairperson deals with
the matter.
• Discussion and decisions are recorded by a
secretary in the minutes.
• Decisions can be made by voting and the vote is
recorded.

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 Achieving professional goals
through groups and teams
• Effective group work requires:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rOg4WfNDfM
– building trust
– using open communication
– sharing leadership
– managing conflict
– being creative, adaptable and flexible.

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 Team building-hinderances

GOOD BEHAVIOUR BAD BEHAVIOUR (G Maasen van den Brink Oct

2013)

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?
q=Good+Teamwork+and+Bad+Teamwork&&view=detail&mid=1ABA
807A97455D3FC5571ABA807A97455D3FC557&&FORM=VRDGAR

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 Team-building hinderances
• Attacking others by criticizing or blaming.
• Blocking by rejecting ideas in a stubborn
way or for personal reasons.
• Not taking things seriously.

(cont.)

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 Team-building hinderances (CONT.)

• Dominating by interrupting and excessive

talking.
• Diverting by digressing and avoiding the
subject.
• Withdrawing by being uninvolved.
• Special pleading by lobbying for special
interests.

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 Leadership
Group or team leaders should:
– Encourage contribution
– Define and clarify the problem
– Help formulate questions to be investigated
– Summarise and focus the group
– Be open to fresh perspectives
(cont.)

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 Leadership (CONT.)

– Keep track of ideas

– Encourage open dialogue
– Deal constructively with conflict
– Create supportive atmosphere
– Recognise achievements.

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 Conflict management
• Become aware of how conflict can occur; look
for verbal and non-verbal signs.
• Provide constructive feedback.
• Use the twelve skills of conflict resolution.
• Treat others with respect.
• Listen carefully and with empathy.
• State your own point of view assertively.
• Recognise that saving face can be a very
important issue.
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