GROUP SKILLS GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills2 SKILLS FOR LEADING AND PARTICIPATING Some of the skills required to achieve best results from group discussion: Group Leadership Membership Skills

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills3 Group Leader (GL) coordinate activity Ability is critical to how well the group will work together Membership Skills (MS) Ability to be part of a group SKILLS FOR LEADING AND PARTICIPATING (CONT…)

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills4 GL and MS are covered together because: Most people are play both roles at various times Same issues of personal interaction arise for both Group will not work well unless both are handled competently SKILLS FOR LEADING AND PARTICIPATING (CONT…)

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills5 Working in group is not easy Difficulties such as keeping focused on task, coping with interpersonal conflicts, making decisions, etc. Guidelines are necessary on how to approach or handle each of these WHY skills required?

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills6 SKILLS REQUIRED Group success depends on 3 types of functions being performed: Task functions Maintenance Functions Personal Functions

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills7 Task Functions Initiating action taken to get group members started Information, or opinion seeking act of asking for facts, suggestions, or ideas Information, or opinion giving offering information up to the group SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…)

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills8 SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…) Task Functions (cont…) Clarifying or elaborating interpreting ideas, clearing up confusions, identifying alternatives and raising related issues Summarizing act of pulling together related ideas, restating suggestions after they have been fully discussed Consensus Seeking act of testing whether the group is nearing conclusion or decision

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills9 SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…) Task Functions (cont…) Implementing involves putting the decisions into action and requires : assigning responsibility, delegating authority, accepting personal commitments Devil’s advocate act of leadership and is performed when there is a suspicion that a group has reached agreement on an issue to quickly and easily Consultants allocating consultant role for specialist or researchers to get benefit of their work

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills10 SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…) Maintenance Functions Encouraging being responsive to others, giving them opportunity for recognition Expressing group feelings refers to picking up or sensing the mood of the group Compromising allows best ideas to be adopted

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills11 SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…) Maintenance Functions (cont…) Gate keeping is a function of keeping communication channels open within the group at all times Setting standards is a function of imposing and insisting on standards for the actions of the group Housekeeping is about making sure that everyone is kept aware of the group’s decisions, progress, and ‘to do’ list

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills12 SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…) Personal Functions Self understanding your capacity to see your own behavior, actions and reactions in the group in an objective way Inter-personal understanding ability to understand the other person’s point of view

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills13 SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…) Personal Functions (cont…) Managing conflicts pursue an agenda which is challenging enough to draw out each person’s differing views, but which prevents argumentation from blocking progress and decision making Stopping conflict escalation see conflict as an essential factor in finding the best solution Disruptive behaviors - learn to recognize disruptive behavior - point out this behavior to others with good will and in time and place which is appropriate - be open to others pointing out your disruptive behavior

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills14 Personal Functions (cont…) Active listening - consciously concentrating on what the other person is saying - wait until the other person has clearly indicated that they have finished getting their message across - before putting your views, get conformation of your understanding of what they have said by reflecting their message back to them SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…)

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills15 Personal Functions (cont…) Recognition people work best when they feel that they belong, that their participation is worthwhile Disruptive behaviors - learn to recognize disruptive behavior - point out this behavior to others with good will and in time and place which is appropriate - be open to others pointing out your disruptive behavior SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…)

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills16 END