Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 3 Effective Group Leadership Prepared by: Nathaniel N. Ivers, Wake Forest University

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3-2 Roadmap Definition of Leadership Leadership Styles Personal Qualities of Effective Leaders Knowledge and Skills Roles and Functions Co-Leaders Group Supervision

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3-3 Leadership Defined Disagreement exists about what a leader is. However, some common responsibilities of effective leadership, particularly with groups, can be distinguished: Envisioning goals Motivating people Achieving a workable unity in an appropriate and timely manner

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3-4 Group Leadership Styles Authoritarian Group Leaders Democratic Group Leaders Laissez-faire Group Leaders

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3-5 Authoritarian Group Leaders Envision themselves as experts Tend to be rigid and conventional in their beliefs (Cheng et al., 1998) Interpret, give advice, and generally direct the movement of the group Demand obedience and conformity from group members Theory X leaders

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3-6 Democratic Group Leaders Are more group-centered and less directive than authoritarian leaders Trust group participants to develop their own potential and that of other group members Serve as facilitators of the group process Cooperate, collaborate, and share responsibilities with the group Are more humanistically and phenomenologically oriented Are Theory Y Leaders (McGregor, 1960)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3-7 Laissez-faire Leaders Are leaders in name only Do not provide structure or direction of their groups, creating a group-centered perspective of operation Are considered Theory Z leaders (Ouchi, 1981)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3-8 Personal Qualities of Effective Group Leaders Poise Judgment Empathy Ego strength Freedom from excessive anxiety A desire to help people (Slavson, 1962)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3-9 Personal Qualities of Effective Group Leaders Tolerance of frustration Imagination Intuition Perceptiveness Ability to avoid self-preoccupation (Slavson, 1962)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Personal Qualities of Effective Group Leaders Courage Willingness to model Presence Goodwill and caring Belief in group process Openness (Corey et al., 2014)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Personal Qualities of Effective Group Leaders Nondefensiveness in coping with attacks Personal power Stamina Willingness to seek new experiences Self-awareness Humor Inventiveness (Corey et al., 2014)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Group Leader Knowledge Course work and experiential requirements Knowledge of specializations, theories, and research as well as skills Assessment of group members and social systems Planning and implementing group interventions Leadership and co-leadership Evaluation Ethical practice, best practice, and diversity- competent practice (ASGW, 2000)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Specific Group Skills Facilitating Protecting Blocking Linking Diagnosing Reality testing Modification Delegating Creativity Emotion regulation

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Group Leadership Roles and Functions Six essential roles and functions that a group leader must carry out: Group member selection pre-group preparation Positive leader-member relationship Group structure Group cohesion Leader communication and feedback (Riva et al., 2004)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Group Leader Roles and Functions Traffic Director Modeler of Appropriate Behavior Interactional Catalyst Communication Facilitator Conflict Mediator

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Group Leader Roles and Functions Five specific techniques for managing conflict in groups: Withdrawal from the conflict Suppressing conflict Integrating conflicting ideas to form new solutions Working out a compromise Using power to resolve the conflict (Kormanski, 1982; Simpson, 1977)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Co-Leaders in Groups A professional or a professional-in training who undertakes the responsibility of sharing the leadership of a group with another leader in a mutually determined manner in order to facilitate counseling, therapy, or group member interaction. Occurs often, especially in groups with a membership of 12 or more.

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Co-leaders in Groups - Advantages Ease of handling the group in difficult situations Uses of modeling Feedback Shared specialized knowledge Pragmatic considerations

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Co-Leaders in Groups - Limitations Lack of coordinated efforts Two leader focused Competition Collusion

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Group Leadership Training Group-Based Training Group Generalist Model Educational and Developmental Procedure Systematic Group Leadership Training Critical-Incident Model and Intervention Cube Skilled Group Counseling Training Model

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Group Supervision Increases supervisees’ independence and self- confidence (Linton, 2003) Helps supervisees broaden their understanding from a focus on individual issues to interpersonal and group-as-a-system issues (Rubel & Okech, 2006) Peer group supervision is another way of providing group leaders with supervision.