Group Communication & Leadership Final Exam

Riley/Hollihan, Rhetorical Power of Compelling Story: Major themes

"Good reasons' for abandoning the predominant "rival story" of the modern approach to child rearing Parent's disdain for child service professionals They had become villains because the professionals were "too quick to blame the parents for the failures of their offspring" And they were highly vocal proponents of the "modern" approaches of child rearing System is pro-child and that they could best cope with their problem by children by depending on and supporting each other Parent's need to put "tough love" in action by setting "bottom lines" for their children

Arnett, Search for the Ethical Community: Guidelines for establishing an ethical community on page 109

1. Needs to encourage debate on significant issues, no matter how central to the community -be open to our adversaries even as we oppose them 2. A ethical community should consider rotating its leadership 3. Knowledge of and movement from one community to another are helpful

Adelman, Pilgrim Must Embark: How rites & Rituals sustain/shape community

A shared culture inevitably creates a social environment that structures relationships and interactions between community members.

What is at the heart of deliberation?

A willingness to hear differences and the reasons and values behind them, presuming all participants are equals. A sense of urgency about fundamental problems of democratic life that were unresolved and are still unresolved?

Arnett, Search for the Ethical Community: Flexible authority - in community, and historically [Adams and Jefferson]

Adams: he did not want anyone questioning his government or leadership Jefferson: He wanted to give more power to the people to critic the leadership

Marshall, Est in the Business: Why do people find the Landmark Forum valuable? What makes it dangerous?

Aimed at people who feel that his or her life does not work as well as it could Claims that it leaves you feeling free, confident, and powerful Tries to have you face your past and then leave it behind

Andrews and Asch's studies

Andrews biggest predictor of those that don't change vote/opinion is ego involvement (how much you care). highly ego involved persons less likely to conform with group. low ego involvement and high self monitor most (always monitoring one's self to fit in) likely to conform to group opinion Asch 3 lines with a direct comparison line, correct answers were obvious. trained people were told to "unanimously" to agree that a different line was the correct match. these groups did not know each other Only 1/4 of the people held their matching line with the majority believing otherwise.

Stamps, Over the Line: The problem with these programs according to Garvey

Appear to derive largely from est That they attempt to intimidate people into turning off their faculty for critical thinking Told to speak the same language and think same thoughts Anyone who challenges these programs is criticized severely Psychologically distressed some people when they have to play these games

Sun Tzu

Art of War Emphasizes avoiding unnecessary conflict Leave an escape route for your enemy, but for your own soldiers burn the bridges so they can't turn back Leave military strategy to the military not to politicians

Strategies to encourage creative thinking in groups [creative thinking]

Brainstorming Come up with anything while brainstorming, it doesn't have to be a good idea Don't be critical of ideas Don't stop once you find something the group likes, keep going

Be prepared to read cases/vignettes and offer best strategies for facilitator intervention, based mostly on Kaner. You will be asked about classic facilitator problems as well as how to guide a group conversation

Ask a "probing" or "follow up" question to the same speaker to get clarification or dig deeper ["Why is it important to you?"] Ask a "reaction" question that seeks to have other people respond to the last speaker's comments in some way ["Does anyone else have a different view?"] Ask a transition question - A transition question may be particularly important to move the conversation forward by refocusing on a key point or reflecting on what has not yet been discussed ["Looking back at our discussion, what else do we need to talk about?"] Paraphrase when necessary - It can be useful to paraphrase a participant's comment in order to summarize a key point or to ensure that the comment has been clearly understood - It is important not to overuse paraphrasing by restating every comment Practice stacking - Line up speakers to reduce anxiety about whether or not they've been noticed - This may be less necessary in a small group but key in larger groups Get notes up on a chart/down on paper to reduce anxiety about being heard

Bonhoeffer, Life Together: Forgiveness & Mutual Confessions

Bonhoeffer calls the community to confess their sins to each other because: Sin causes a person to withdraw from community. By confessing sins, the believer restores fellowship. The brother's forgiveness is an earthly representation of the forgiveness found first and foremost in Christ. Guidelines for Confession: No one person should hear all the confessions for a community. This will eventually weary the person listening to confessions and can be a breeding ground for judgmental attitudes. The person confessing should be humble and not go about their confessions for show and perceived piety.

Bormann's symbolic convergence theory and fantasy chaining

Borman began researching fantasy themes in groups Common theme of groups rallying against a "villain" Worst thing that you can do to a group is stop a fantasy chain

Strengthening your El

Can be developed through incentive, extended practice, and feedback Feedback incentivizes you to improve

Arnett, Search for the Ethical Community: Adherence to principle must go hand in hand with encouragement of ____ - otherwise, a totalitarian, not an ethical environment is given reign

Critical scrutiny

Warren Bennis & Robert Thomas: Crucibles - Definitions and examples

Crucibles: experiences that shape leaders. A trial, test, or point of deep self reflection that required them to examine values, question assumptions, and hone their values

Conquergood Homeboys and Hoods: Strong groups and rhetorical visions

Dense coding and secrecy are the hallmarks of gangs representational practices because the external boundary between ingroup and outgroup is of paramount importance. There is symbolic capital, collusions and interpersonal intimacies that radiate from the rhetoric of street art that they use to "embellish their hood"

Bonhoeffer, Life Together: Discipline of the Tongue

Discipline of the tongue Each member must be on guard against judgemental or toxic attitudes that will destroy community. They are called to refrain from any speech that does not edify the body. Members are to practice meekness by submitting their wills and desires to that of the community and be seeking to serve the community. The community should also learn to listen to each other. Not simply nodding their heads but engaging in what is being said. This also calls for the listener to be silent. Members have the responsibility to proclaim God's Word to each other as encouragement and admonishment.

Bonhoeffer, Life Together: Divine Grace and Costly Discipline

Discipline of the tongue Each member must be on guard against judgemental or toxic attitudes that will destroy community. They are called to refrain from any speech that does not edify the body. Members are to practice meekness by submitting their wills and desires to that of the community and be seeking to serve the community. The community should also learn to listen to each other. Not simply nodding their heads but engaging in what is being said. This also calls for the listener to be silent. Members have the responsibility to proclaim God's Word to each other as encouragement and admonishment.

Mind locks [creative thinking]

Encourage paradoxical thinking in order to break mind locks

Warren Bennis & Robert Thomas: Four skills that enable learning through adversity

Engage others in shared meaning A distinctive, compelling voice Integrity Adaptive capacity

Warren Bennis & Robert Thomas: Geeks & Geezers

Era influences a leader's motivation and aspirations One both geeks and geezers valued learning and had a strong sense of values Eras differed in ideas about paying your dues, work-life balance, the role of heroes and more Both told how certain experiences inspired them, shaped them, and taught them how to lead

Bennis - on Becoming a Leader, Why so Many Won't, and 6 ingredients leaders share

Everyone can become a leader: but too many people are "mere products" of their context, lacking the will to develop their potential 6 Ingredients that leadership Guiding vision: clear idea of what he wants to do professionally and personally Passion: the underlying passion for the promises of life combined with a very particular passion for a vocation, profession, or course of action Integrity: self-knowledge, candor, maturity Trust: cannot be acquired Curiosity: wonders about everything Daring: Willing to take risks

Carlin, Making a Decision Like a Tribe: Lessons learned [know this in depth]

Everyone has something to contribute It gives you a new mindset for thinking - everyone puts on a different hat and steps outside of their own comfort zone for the betterment of the group Good decisions begin with listening: In comparison to Western give-and-take meeting that emphasizes talking rather than listening, the first element of council ceremony, on the other hand, is careful listening Make important decisions feel important: The council ceremony elevates the consideration of the matter at hand by using distinct rituals, solemn and more formal speech patterns, and extraordinary titles and ceremonial objects - people think and speak more carefully, listen more attentively, and perhaps more wisely Emphasize information, not advocacy: The council emphasizes points of view, not debating points [not winners and losers - must come up with a decision that serves the interests of the entire group] Truth, not turf: In the council ceremony, those pre established positions are the first thing to go - the reframing of roles is so dramatic that it forces a reframing of thinking A slower process yields better decisions: The council process accepts the need for careful, in-depth reflection - the whole council has a chance to speak and feels engaged in the results once you get to talking about action

Social loafing explanations

Exerting less effort in a group than you would if you were working alone Collective effort- lazy if they don't expect their efforts to lead to personally valued outcomes or if they don't think their efforts will be instrumental in obtaining those outcomes Free ride- suggests that when they can get away with it , people will try to benefit from the efforts of others Sucker effect- when people don't want to be taken advantage of but also assume others are trying to take a free ride

Stamps, Over the Line: Ramtha, the Co-Magnon Warrior

Federal Aviation Administration paid over 1.4 million to a training consultant from the Ramtha School of Enlightenment (ramtha is identified as a 35,000 year old Cro Magnon warrior who "channels" through JZ Knight, a former cable television saleswoman turned new age guru) Stress management included: tying employees together with strips of bedsheets for 24 hours, forcing them to go to the bathroom during this period, and subjecting other workers to verbal and psychological abuse

Arnett, Search for the Ethical Community: Buber's Dialogic Ethic on page 107

Keeping an open mind is important Most precious human possession is openness Being able to take a stand and hold it passionately but also keeping an open mind so that you can deepen your insights for a more true reality

Biblical

Leaders are anointed or called by God Leaders must be humble and committed to God

Fiedler, Hersey/Blanchard/Mouton/McCanse, LMX

Fiedler: 1967 Proposed that task-oriented approach is most effective when the group conditions are either good or bad; the relationship-oriented approach is best when moderate group conditions exist Hersey/ Blanchard: 1977 More flexible than Fielder, maintain that the leader should change as the group changes New immature groups need telling- need direction and a goal As group matures it will be ready to build relationship behavior and then the leader's ability to selling ideas will become important As group matures the leader's role diminishes resulting in groups participating Leader will eventually start delegating Blake/ Mouton/ McCanse Managers score from 1-9 on two scales → task and relational Best managers are 9s on both Leader Member Exchange Theory (LMX) Leaders don't have "average" relationships with their followers, but they establish different relationships with different subordinates Over time they result in "in-groups" and "out-groups" with ingroups enjoying more autonomy and responsibility Eventually, the out-group members, who've not been offered as many opportunities relate to the leader on a purely contractual basis The in-group suffers from stress from added responsibility, and the out-group suffers stress from job insecurity

Normative vs. Rational/Scientific Eras

Follow the shifts in research Note how these eras/ fads follow economics and politics. From charismatic heroes to scientific process to charismatic hero cults and fascism back to rational analysis of discourse Think of how today we are in need of inspirational heros Normative Era Thomas Carlyle (1866) ushers in era of thinking of "Great Men" of leadership where all others are just extras. Leaders are those who are masculine, heroic, individualist yet normative (what is expected by society) True leaders are born, not made; the masses are "full of beer and nonsense" Capitalist bosses were only interested in accumulating wealth Great heroes/ leaders have natural talent and a great will to power - they were "born to lead" but not "born to greatness", they had to work for their greatness Rational/ Scientific Era increasing organizational needs in wake of industrial revolution and growing business leads to focus on administrative science and process models where leaders have and control knowledge of production that generates power over production Back to Normative In wake of Hawthorne studies in the 20s and 30s when objective/ scientific models of leadership seem inadequate Back to Rational Post WWII: Rational understanding of contexts (EX: human hierarchy of needs) leads to contingency theories of management

Arnett, Search for the Ethical Community: Games & Good Old Boys

Games: 1. A highly structured pattern, 2. Of complementary transactions, 3. With an ulterior motive, 4. Leading to a well defined, dramatic climax know as the payoff, 5. Which serves as a substitute for intimacy in interpersonal relations Games are when a number of people play with the goal of keeping themselves in power Good Old Boys: Refers to a network of people who work together within their circle - those not considered Good Old Boys is out of the communication loop

Conquergood Homeboys and Hoods: Terms/Names/Insider Symbols

Graffiti draws on an elaborate system of underground symbols, icons, and logos Complex meanings and messages Verbal communication is characterized by street slang Special argot individual to each gang There are certain greeting rituals that must take place every time you see someone from your gang - or else you run the risk of them feeling disrespected NAMES: Wannabes, shorties, peewees, juniors, seniors

Daniel Coleman: El Skills - Hallmarks of self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skill

Hallmarks of Self-Awareness: Self-awareness is the first component of emotional intelligence - Self-awareness means having a deep understanding of one's emotions, strengths, weaknesses, needs, and drives - They are neither overly critical nor unrealistically hopeful, rather they are honest with themselves and with others People who have a high degree of self-awareness recognize how their feelings affect them, other people, and their job performance - it extends to a person's understanding of his or her values and goals It shows itself as candor and an ability to assess yourself realistically as people with high self-awareness are able to speak accurately and openly about their emotions and the impact they have on their work [not necessarily effusively or confessionally] Self-deprecating sense of humor and can comfortably talk about their limitations and strengths, and they often demonstrate a thirst for constructive criticism Can be recognized by their self-confidence and they know when to ask for help, their risks are calculated, they won't ask for a challenge that they know they can't handle alone, and they'll play to their strengths Self-regulation: Self-regulation, which is like an ongoing inner conversation, is the component of emotional intelligence that frees us from being prisoners of our feelings - People with self-regulation, feel bad moods and emotional impulses too, but they find ways to control them and even to channel them in useful ways People who are in control of their feelings and impulses, people who are reasonable, are able to create an environment of trust and fairness, which has a trickle-down effect Self-regulation is important for competitive reasons as people who have mastered their emotions are able to roll with the changes and can even lead the way It enhances integrity which is not only a personal virtue but also an organizational strength A propensity for reflection and thoughtfulness, comfort with ambiguity and change, and integrity - an ability to say no to impulsive urges Motivation: Effective leaders that have motivation are driven to achieve beyond expectations - Their own and everyone else's - The key word here is achieve Those with leadership potential are motivated by a deeply embedded desire to achieve for the sake of achievement They have a passion for work itself - such people seek out creative challenges, love to learn, and take great pride in a job well done - an unflagging energy to do things better, they are restless with the status quo, they are persistent with their questions about why things are done one way rather than another and are eager to explore need approaches to their work They want a way of tracking progress - their own, their team's, and their company's and they remain optimistic even when the score is against them Motivation to achieve translates into strong leadership because if you set the bar high for yourself, you will do the same for the organization when you are in a position to do so and if there is a drive to surpass goals and an interest in keeping score can be contagious Empathy: Empathy means thoughtfully considering employees' feelings - along with other factors - in the process of making intelligent decisions Empathy is particularly important today as a component of leadership for at least three reasons: the increasing use of teams; the rapid pace of globalization; and the growing need to retain talent A team's leader must be able to sense and understand the viewpoints of everyone around the table - understanding the team's emotional makeup, which heightens collaboration among members and also added business as the team was called on for help by a wider range of internal clients Cross-cultural dialogue can easily lead to miscues and misunderstanding so empathy is necessary to be attuned to subletities in body language and they can hear the message beneath the words being spoken [and know the importance of cultural and ethnic differences] Leaders have always needed empathy to develop and keep good people, so coaching and mentoring pay off not just in better performance but also in increased job satisfaction and decreased turnover Leaders with empathy do more than sympathize with people around them: they use their knowledge to improve their companies in subtle but important ways Social skill: Social skill is friendliness with a purpose - moving people in the direction you desire Socially skilled people tend to have a wide circle of acquaintances, and they have a knack for finding common ground with people of all kinds, a knack for building rapport They build bonds widely because they know that in these fluid times, they may need help someday from people they are just getting to know today No leader is an island so a leader's task is to get work done through other people and to manage relationships effectively - social skills allow leaders to put their emotional intelligence to work

Zaleznik

Harvard professor for 40 years Managing and leader are not the same- leaders are change agents who develop fresh approaches to longstanding problems He draws on the work of psychologist William James Once-borns: transition from home and family to independence is relatively easy. They are invented by their circumstances Twice-borns: generally suffer as they grow up. Are inner-directed, self-assured, and as a result, truly charismatic. They are self-invented

Aristotle

Leaders are born Teaching rhetoric is important So that people can represent themselves well in democracy

Arnett, Search for the Ethical Community: Buber's story of Rabbi Yeheskel Landau [Prague] and point

If a stool is working well all legs are the same, but if a stool is broken you shorten the other legs. If your community is lacking in one area how will you compensate for that. EX: Priest leaves his parish to go into the community You bring what you can to the community so that it can withstand things Rabbi Yeheskel Landau goes out to the market to teach the sabbath - He gives a metaphor of a table "If a table has two legs that are broken, shorten the third" - The point is that the various legs are aspects of human community in hopes of promoting an "ethical" community

Conquergood Homeboys and Hoods: Call for radical reorientation - conclusion

If communication is part of the creation of the "gang problem" then communication must be part of the solution Radical reorientation of the many gang-intervention that deploy fear appeals and shame tactics aimed at scaring street youth out of gangs The fundamental flaw of these communication strategies is that by directing messages exclusively to gang members they reinforce the ideology that individual poor and minority youth are the locus of responsibility for the "gang problem" The work of communication needs to be redirected toward rallying and awakening communities and public policymakers to a sense of social justice and responsibility to these youth and their families [think of jobs instead of jails as a preemptive response to gangs]

Conquergood Homeboys and Hoods: Survival function

In addition to the pleasures of communal fellowship, there is a survival function in this communitarian ethos of tightly laced connections with trusted and intimate others The streets are dangerous and densely coded - survival chances improve when one is immersed in a group, among multiple companions all helping and watching one another's back "The rugged individualism and self-reliance much admired in the suburbs would be suicidal for someone who needed to negotiate the street life of the inner city" [always has a guard up and it is always best to be in the presence of another brother at all times or to at least let them know their whereabouts]

Riley/Hollihan, Rhetorical Power of Compelling Story: Narrative paradigm

It met needs and fulfilled the requirements for a good story, narrative probability and narrative fidelity Probable because it was based on old fashioned values, it restored the social order, and it placed blame where it belonged Met the test of narrative fidelity because it resonated with with the parent's own feelings that they were essentially good people who's only failing had been that they were too permissive and not as tough as their own parents had been

Arnett, Search for the Ethical Community: Unity of Opposite Theme - Buber's work and this work

In order for communities to grow there needs to be a balance between relationships and conflicts

Warren Bennis & Robert Thomas: Adaptive Capacity - why so important?

Includes ability to grasp context and hardiness. Grasping context requires weighing many factors, and without this quality, leaders can't connect with constituents. Hardiness provides perseverance and toughness needed to remain hopeful despite disaster

Inclusive solutions

Inclusive solutions: After establishing mutual understanding, wisdom emerges because each perspective is being heard - Thus leads to wise solutions that have carefully included all voices

Normative vs informational influence

Informational When members want to be right Normative Influence When members want to be liked

Marshall, Est in the Business: Value of terms like "be your word" and "stop running your racket"

It fosters feelings of belonging to the group, as your vocabulary will now change, making you unlike the people

Morality as motivated resistance

Just because something can be redeemed doesn't mean we go out and inflict suffering so that redemption can take place - Kabbi Power of the well placed question You have to speak - Naomi Wolfe

Machiavelli

Leaders manipulate the weak and dishonest to defend the state Selective punishment as a means for peace To be moral in an immoral world is allowing the immoral to win The moral choice is to act for the greater good Better to be feared than loved, but avoid being hated Machiavellian ideas are widely condemned

Plato

Leaders should be the select few with superior wisdom Democracy will ruin civilization, mob mentality You can't let the "normal" people take control because that will be the downfall of society Best leaders are the most moral

Stamps, Over the Line: The krone program at Pac Bell

Leadership-development program was based in part on the spiritual teachings of the mystic philosopher Georges Gurdjieff Attempted to change employees behavior by replacing normal business vocabulary with convoluted jargon Some bought in, others didn't, some hated it Hated the omnipresent "facilitators" referred to as thought police Employee complaints eventually prompted an investigation by the California Public Utility Commission, which put an end to the business

Melville & Kingston - Lessons from NIF, Choice Work in Action, Framing Issues, Values, Working through, Impacts of democracy

Lessons: There are various ways in which public discourse should be arranged: debates, public hearings, juries, etc. Three features of deliberative forums: Choice work (considering different perspectives) Framing issues (use public terms rather than expert terms) Importance of Factual Information Premise is that people form judgements by exposing themselves to different perspectives Choice Work in Action: having more than the two binary, partisan options for people to discuss. Offers costs and trade offs of all three. Goal is to embrace fundamental values that may be at tension with each other as the options unfold Framing Issues: each option framed and named in a way that reflects the public's values, experiences, and language because the public generally doesn't think/speak like "experts" do. Public deliberation begins and continues with reflections and experience that is personal and genuine. Values: values of the group are more important than the facts and figures being presented in the issue guide because the public does not need to become experts in order to make a judgement call on the issue. The point is to talk together on the overall principles and priorities of public action Working Through: if citizens have not already encountered the costs and benefits of each option, they are likely to have a wide variety of reactions. These must be acknowledged and worked through before the group is able to move forward - making sure they are still willing to engage in public dialogue about the issue. Impacts on democracy: the concept of public judgement is a way of reckoning the current characteristics of public thinking, a way of understanding what needs to be done in order for people to move forward in their own understanding. It illuminates why people support certain courses of action and what their reservations and main concerns are.

Ancona, Malone, Orlikowski, and Senge: Model of Distributed leadership - sense making, relating, visioning, inventing

Model of distributed leadership: sensemaking, relating, visioning, inventing Sensemaking: understand your context, making sense does not lead to analysis but creativity Relating: inquire, advocate, and connect to your people Listen genuinely, explain your own POV, and cultivate network to achieve wide goals Visioning: creating compelling images of the future Dynamic, collaborating articulating team vision. Can unearth extraordinary collective sense of possibility Inventing: devising processes that give life to visions, new ways of interacting and organizing. Doesn't have to be large scale

Dissent

More than one dissenter means that conformity is less likely Sometimes a minority can influence the majority by having more knowledge and influence

Bonhoeffer, Life Together: Commitments to Others vs Simply Feeling Comfortable With Others

Lived in intentional community where everything was about doing things together: prayer, worship and devotional time

Stamps, Over the Line: What troubled employees about the Negative Assessments?

Most people aren't comfortable criticizing fellow employees The public manner in which they were conducted Often had little do with business, but were instead highly personal Stress felt from pressure to "get with the program" Wasn't always clear what the program was

Mutual understanding

Mutual Understanding: For agreement to be reached, recognizing, understanding, and accepting the different needs and goals of each member must occur - Thus will be the starting point for inclusive and innovative solutions

Ancona, Malone, Orlikowski, and Senge: Myth of the Complete leader

Myth of the complete leader: that every leader should be good at all four of these things right away

Conquergood Homeboys and Hoods: Symbolic boundaries

Need to mobilize and heighten group consciousness by creating a strong boundary against the outside world Reduce conflict by forging solidarity among several gang factions Important for gangs to negotiate their own ramified boundaries A cultural domain has no inner territory...located along boundaries Borders criss-cross the entire domain of gang culture because gangs set themselves apart from mainstream society, as well as from one another. Intergang conflict and border disputes over turf heighten and intensify the boundary anxiety and vigilance between and among gangs

Warren Bennis & Robert Thomas: Neoteny

Neoteny: retention of juvenile characteristics in the adults of a species Delight in lifelong learning, full of energy, curiosity, and confidence that the world is a place of wonders

Deindividuation

Occurs when being in a large group causes someone to feel more aroused and anonymous Often leads to acts of violence (lynching) This is weakened by a person's private self- awareness

Ancona, Malone, Orlikowski, and Senge: What are the signs of being weak in one of these areas?

Sensemaking: feel that you're always right, get blindsided by changes in your org., feel resentful when things change Relating: blame others for failed projects, feel others are letting you down, experience overall negative interactions with others Visioning: often wonders why you are doing something, can't remember the last time you were excited about your work, feel you're lacking sense of larger purpose Inventing: have difficulty relating the company's vision to what you're doing that day, notice gaps between your firm's aspirations and the way work is organized, find that things tend to revert to business as usual

Grint's Four Main Frames of Leadership Discussion/Disputes

Position: where leaders operate Two dimensions Formal/ Informal Vertical or horizontal We expect people at the top can enforce their will and will also be more accountable for the actions/ performance of the company But what about those who lead informally? Person: Who leaders are- traditional trait approach How can we study who leaders are without the context, including their followers? Result: What leaders achieve Effects Issue: on one hand, if there are no results, where is the evidence of leadership? On the other hand, if a company accomplishes all of its goals, can we say that it's because the leader was great or was it the team? Process: How leaders get things done By solving the problems? By getting followers to own up to their own responsibilities? Not just having competences. But knowing and responding to one's own context

Stamps, Over the Line: Spiritual training

Prayer that employees were required to recite twice a day Not really appropriate for business setting Received complaints from employees

Stages [creative thinking]

Preparation Incubation Illumination Verification

Adelman, Pilgrim Must Embark: Five Central Tensions & communication practice massage these tensions

Private life vs. public life Individual identity vs. group identity Resident's autonomy vs. staff control Wellness vs. illness Attachment vs. detachment Communication orders the existence of the group . they create and sustain commitment to the community that is being entered into

Riley/Hollihan, Rhetorical Power of Compelling Story: implications of the tough love story

Proved to be comforting, engaging, predictable, and persuasive Human communication works by identification, and these parents discovered that no one else understands life with delinquent children expect other parents in similar circumstances It met needs and fulfilled the requirements for a good story, narrative probability It can be readily adapted to fit all children and all situations.

Conquergood Homeboys and Hoods: Group-centered cosmology & communitarian ethic of street gangs

Self-sufficiency, individuation, and independence are dysfunctional and even dangerous Bona fide groups Large systems of multiple embedded and mutually implicated units Everything they do is for the sake of the group They work together, live together, and don't typically associate with others outside of their own gang Blending and merging identities into that of a group

Shared responsibility

Shared Responsibility: In a group setting, it is important that the decision that is made can be implemented - for this to be successful, each group member will assume the responsibilities that come with designing and managing the solution

Recommendations from Grint

Shift focus from Leaders to Leadership Recognize that Reality is a collective and ongoing accomplish Encourage constructive dissent Focus on Good followers and whole organizational success

Group conformity and Internal Motivations

Social Exchange Theory (Homans) Still internally motivated Conformity is a strategic social act that allows the individual to obtain things they value from the group Group might provide a satisfying social environment, so they might put aside their own beliefs for the group Balance Theory People have an internal need for balance Individual thinks the group has worthy goals, it may be painful to recognize that individual goals may differ Rather than reject the group or try to realign perceptions of the majority's wisdom, they may elect to go along with others Individual will try to convince themselves that the group majority is correct If self persuasion is successful then the individual restores balance Group Locomotion Hypothesis (Leon Festinger) Picture the group like a locomotive, you don't want to stop the momentum of the group Internal motivation No external pressures, decisions based on desire to facilitate the group's greater good More likely to occur when the group requires consensus or a unanimous vote

Groupthink [antecedent conditions, symptoms of]

Stages of Groupthink: high group cohesiveness organizational and situational conditions increase probability for "excessive concurrence seeking" excessive concurrence seeking gives rise to symptoms of groupthink result is defective decision making low probability for successful group outcomes. Symptoms of Groupthink (not all are present in each situation but most are) illusion of unanimity illusion of invulnerability collective rationalizations direct pressure on dissenters self appointed mindguards self censorship belief in inherent morality of group stereotyping

How it works - physical set up, rituals, order [know most of this]

Starts in the east The whole set up: Elaborate mandala-like design - tying together the cardinal and non cardinal directions of the compass, universal forces and a process of group consultation and consensus-building Three essential elements: the Four Shields of Balance, the Four Attentions, and the Eight Chiefs (each have a different perspective to represent) Council Chiefs [Northwest]: Interrelatedness and Timing - The Council Chiefs bring forward interrelationship of all the elements of any situation - They point out the causes and effects of different courses of action, and speak to the issues of timing Hunter/Worker Chiefs [North]: Clarity and Action - The Hunter/Worker Chiefs bring clarity to obtaining resources, assembling them, and planning for implementation when a decision is made Law Dog Chiefs [Northeast]: Integrity and Vitality - The Law Dog Chiefs make a final determination, after all the other perspectives have been offered, that nothing has been withheld that could affect the group's ability to move forward Heyoehkah Chiefs [East]: Freedom and Creativity - The Heyoehkak Chiefs bring proposals forward in such a way that the council will be provoked to think deeply about the issue - They encourage freedom of spirit and the power of creativity Peace Chiefs [Southeast]: Present Condition and Appreciation - The Peace Chiefs make sure that all aspects of the present time are brought to light - They call to the group's attention what is needed in the present condition and what can be appreciated about it War Chiefs [South]: Power and Danger - The War Chiefs want all of the group's energies available for any proposed action - They look for conflicts that could divide or weaken the group Medicine Singer Chiefs [Southwest]: Purpose and Direction - The Medicine Singer Chiefs call attention to the group's history and its lessons so that the group doesn't diverge from its path or repeat past mistakes Women Chiefs [West]: Maintenance and Balance - The Women Chiefs oversee the group's wholeness and pay attention to what needs healing, nurturing, teaching, and balancing

Conquergood Homeboys and Hoods: Fear of humiliation and status deprivation in society

Status deprivations are often more fearsome to than death Fear of things like "hunger" lead right into humiliation, pointing to the indignities and denigrating communication processes that gangs go through when interacting with mainstream society Gang's mention how important "respect" is in their respective manifestos, claiming that it will not be tolerated Just in regards to communication styles, the "homeboys" are able to clearly see class difference, therefore making them feel distant from the middle class

Riley/Hollihan, Rhetorical Power of Compelling Story: How do individual tales of fear and helplessness get transformed into hope and perseverance?

Stories were woven into shared narrative fiction Extended storytelling sessions where the members together created a powerful, compelling cohesive story of "tough love" Highly emotional experience for the parents, often tearful at the start, ending in quiet determination that they had regained control of their lives

Situational and Contingency Theories [Fiedler, Hersey/Blanchard/Mouton/McCanse, LMX]

The basis of these theories is that individuals characteristics make them suitable leaders only in certain situations. Advise matching leaders to groups (no right/wrong way to lead all of the time) Different Styles: No right or wrong style, all situational Authoritarian: spend more time in productive work, but only when the leader is present Democratic: Generally more satisfied than laissez-faire, but some prefer Authoritarian Laissez-faire: hands off approach

Bonhoeffer, Life Together: Gift of Community

The fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us. It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live with our Christian brethren. The measure by which God bestows the gift of community varies. The Christian in exil may be comforted by a brief visit from a brother who prays for and blesses him. Others may have the gift of common worship every Sunday.

Riley/Hollihan, Rhetorical Power of Compelling Story: Three major goals of the study

To operationalize Fisher's Narrative paradigm through actual observations To identify the "toughlove story" To critique the appeal of that story and discuss its possible consequences

Why study groups?

Understanding group development allows one to make more meaningful contributions and positively impact group success Thoreau: "I am naturally no hermit" - lived alone to see how life was different without other people We study groups because even after thousands of years we have not perfected them Synergy: four people in a group can do more than one Numbers, purpose, belongingness, interfacing, expectation, process and content, task and transactional process

Arnett, Search for the Ethical Community: Questions on pg. 104

We must ask ourselves if we have the insight to struggle against our own communities with the hope that someone will be convinced by our example and follow Do we have the courage to swim upstream against custom, convention, and peer pressure? We must ask ourselves questions if we can defy or question those in authority [i.e. do we have courage to go against the stream, convention and peer pressure?]

Strong Charismatics [Weber]

Weber charisma- people with a quality or authority that inspires people in an almost magical way - often go hand-in-hand with military command/ times of crisis Warned that strong charismatics could undermine rational society To a certain extent, followers join in the leader's charisma by joining the movement or organization Weber's notions critiqued, but maybe have resurfaced in the notion of transformational leaders appeals to follower's values beyond their personal interests - to do this requires charisma!

Four key questions of NIF/Kettering

What is valuable to us? What are the consequences of the varying approaches? What are the inherent conflicts that we have to work through? Can we direct any shared sense of direction or common ground for action?

Arnett, Search for the Ethical Community: Subtle appeasement

When someone in power takes a request and hears it, but has no intention of fulfilling the request - a way of marginalizing people

Arnett, Search for the Ethical Community: Dual Concerns for Relationship and Principle

When you focus on principles, strong relationships follow - focusing on relationships first formed cliques and dropped productivity

Avoiding groupthink

test assumptions about facts, values, people aggressively seeks outside information and resources critically evaluate team decisions/actions check in on transaction processes

Ancona, Malone, Orlikowski, and Senge: What are each of these, why are they important, and how can you improve?

why are they important: All four of these are interdependent, you need them all working together in order for the leader to be effective how can you improve: accept that youre human, with strengths and weaknesses. Understand the four capabilities. Find and work with others who can provide those that you are missing. This promotes leadership throughout the org., unleashing the expertise, vision, and new ideas your company needs to excel.