In part 1 of Integrated Model Of Group Dynamics (IMGD) I shared first two stages of the model. Which are Dependency and Inclusion and Counter-dependency and Fight.
New readers please go back to the part 1 and the old users lets start from where we stopped.
Today we look at the remaining 3 stages of IMGD. We will start with Trust and Structure.
Trust and Structure
This is the 3rd stage of group development and I would like to pay extra attention to this stage. I have written some key points and in my opinion these points best explain this stage. These key points are for the general purpose and leaders and members both gets benefited from these.
- Members of group that successfully work through conflicts and differences of opinion (stage 2) establish a commitment and trust in one another, mutual dependency.
- The need to mark territories and their own position or unique skills are shifted into the background.
- And the need to focus on the task comes to the fore.
- Communication becomes open and task oriented.
- This third stage of the group’s development is characterized by mature negotiation on tasks and roles, organisation and methods for completion of tasks.
This is a stage where group trusts in each other and the more focus is now on the task at hand. All the skills are being focused on the development of the work. Communication is much better in this stage and everybody is doing on what he is suppose to be doing in a clam and cooperative environment.
Many groups never reach this stage, particularly if they are working within an organisation which inappropriately emphasizes competition within and between groups. To achieve the openness that characterizes this stage, you need forward-thinking leadership both within the group and within the organisation in which it is active.
Now lets see about some key points on the members specific roles in the group in this stage. Members start off by:
- Increasing clarity on the objectives to be attained by the group
- Adapting roles and tasks so as to fit in with the tasks and objectives of the group.
- Dealing with conflicts as they arise.
- Demonstrating synergy, i.e. That they have discovered that cooperation with in the group often has better results that individual work.
- Demanding consensus solutions, i.e. Collective solutions
- Asking for suggestions, listening, evaluating, reacting to and implementing them if they are suitable.
- Showing satisfaction because they believe all conflicts have been resolved.
- Openly passing on to one another ideas, feelings, views and feedback.
- Showing that they are happy with their roles within the group and with the group’s activities.
- Demonstrating a great need for unity.
- Demonstrating the sense that ”we are invulnerable”.
- Initially belittling other groups – ”they are not so good as us”.
- Defending the group identity both internally and externally.
- Sometimes becoming more playful than interested in the task.
- Trying not to go back to the earlier stage ”counter-dependency and fight”.
- Showing warmth and consideration.
Performance and Productivity
Very few groups can be able to reach in this stage during the group work and finish the work.
- At this fourth stage the characteristic features are intensive.
- Group is becoming a high performing team.
- Energy can be focused on the task in hand.
- Increase of work is significantly increase at this stage both quantitative and qualitative.
- Work will become more creative and pleasurable.
- Everyone in the group now takes maximum responsibility for the task in hand.
As you can see this stage is like a super stage where any group wants to be. This stage can be achieved by going through very quickly with the first 3 stages or if your group is working together for some time now. It is seldom that any group can start their work from the stage 4. But this is not impossible and you might have seen such groups. Now lets see some of the roles that members can play or do to achieve this stage in a short period of time.Description of Performance and Productivity; members continue by:
- Being clear about tasks and objectives.
- Showing devotion to tasks and objectives.
- Being clear about their roles.
- Perceiving tasks as the responsibilities of the group, rather than as individual responsibilities.
- Perceiving conflicts as shared problems that are valuable and provide opportunities for further development.
- Using effective conflict management strategies.
- Using feedback as an instrument for development.
- Demonstrating a lot of trust in one another and providing each other with active support.
- Understanding and accepting role and roles of others within the group.
- Feeling a sense of security.
- No demand for ownership rights.
- Not being threatened or jealous of pairing or subgroups.
- Be-aware that it is possible to actively improve the group’s processes.
As you can see from the above points it is all about devotion and taking the work and prioritizing the work from any other issues. I can stress on feedback, conflict management strategies, not jealous of pairing or subgroups, active involvement in the group are some of the important key points to be used to achieve this stage.
The last stage after this is about saying good bye or moving on to the next work with the similar group, different group or may be some members of the group will be part of the new group. so some new members along with the old members of the previous group. What are you going to do in that case? Lets see what IMGD has for us to solve such situations.
Termination
This is a stage where you evaluate your work and conclude it. Evaluation is from the start till the end. As a process Facilitator our role at this stage is to evaluate the process during the whole group work. We do not deal with content so we are not going to talk about end results whether group finished the task with the desired solution or not. We are here to talk about the process starting from setting goal and going through each day. The climate of the group, conflicts and so on. Some issues such as
- How successful the group was,
- How well the group functioned.
are to be asked and answered by each member of the group. Group members also need to:
- Express emotional support for one another,
- Give and receive feedback from on another.
These are important things to do and work with so that members can leave the group and successfully play a part in the lives and work of future groups.
During the process of disbanding the group, a number of regressive behaviors may occur as a result of distress. A perception of being abandoned can also arise, which increases individual stress levels within the group. Group’s development level regresses and the group process goes back. This is the stage of the process that has to do with the disbandment. Termination is not entirely easy to handle, as people invest feelings in relationships and ending projects. Distress and distress reactions are other feelings that may need to be expressed by the members of the group.
Forward thinking leadership provides the opportunity for meeting individual needs and allows the needs for evaluating and feedback to be met.
- This facilitates the process of separating from the group.
This concludes our discussion on IMGD and I hope this will help you in your groups. You can see that which group stage you are in at the moment and from there you can now easily move to the better stage. In my next blog I will share about Effective membership and leadership in connection to the group dynamic model. So stay tuned for an exciting new blog on group dynamics. See you in the next post.
//Imran