Group Dynamics

This week we have been studying the dynamics that groups have and the characteristics that make a cohesive, efficient group.  Establishing trust at the beginning of a group project is essential to the success of the team.  As a leader in a group, one must have the ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds and illicit the strengths that each member has.

In thinking about the groups that I have been a part of, I can begin to see the reasons why some were more successful than others.  It has been most difficult to leave the ones into which I had invested some much of my time and myself.  Those groups were ones that were lead by exceptional leaders that understood the importance of managing group dynamics and ones that I had lead with some level of success.  I can remember being asked to lead a group or taking the reigns of a school and faltering many times before I got it right!  It wasn't that it was a high-performing group, or one with well-defined norms.  I think it was those where each member felt like they were successful in contributing to the final product or result.  It was when we could create a atmosphere of growth for each member through the work that we did.

I think it is important to have some kind of closure to a group or project.  They do not need to be elaborate, but they need to mark the end of group's work, highlighting the successes and the obstacles that were overcome.  When this master's program is complete, I would hope that we could reflect as a group on our starting point and the growth we've experienced, both personally and professionally, since then.  Though we are all from very different places professionally and geographically, we have been on the same journey together and have seen success and challenges along the way.  We will continue to grow in these areas and, hopefully remain connected in order to support one another in our future endeavors.