In the next weeks ahead, each of you will have the opportunity to lead your team to accomplish a specfic goal that you have. This project should help solidify your group to become a true team. To accomplish this, several things must happen and your role as a leader is crucial in this development. You most consider several factors: gender, culture, backgrounds, religion, and ethnicity to name a few. Think about how these things will come into play as you lead your group. What can you do to become more aware about each of your group members?
Perhaps you have never taken a leadership role before and you are feeling uncertain how you will do this. I would like to you read this link and discuss what you will use to guide your team to successfully complete your project. Provide examples for each area listed in this article that you will use and how.
http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1119.aspx
I personaly think that in a group there should be several leaders not just one or two. I think that each member of the group should have their own leadership like role. For example in our group one person could keep track of the time like if we need to speed our work progress up or slow down. Another person could be in charge of arranging materials/props and meeting times etc. I think that having several leaders is the best thing because you will have several different perpectives on how to get the project completed. If their is onl one leader there is only one idea being taken into action and its the leaders. by having several leaders you can all agree to agree on one great idea. Also there is a chance that someone elses idea will spark you to think of a completely new idea. The more ideas and opinions the better. How I can become more aware of my group members is to see eachother after class and continue to communicate. This can range from anything from emailing and texting to face to face cinversations etc. I want to continue to ask my group members questions about themselves and I want them to continue to ask me because that is how you get to know one another, through communication! Therefore I beieve that having several leaders with different leadership roles is the best most efficient way to getting ths projct done the most effectively.
ReplyDeleteEric,
DeleteI like your idea of multiple leaders. That way, not all the work is placed on one individual. Each person would be responsible for his or her own part, and everyone would have to be held accountable for his or hers. Many times, group projects can turn out to be “leave all the work for one person” projects, but having separate leaders could change that. Each person would know exactly what he or she was responsible for. You also talked about different leaders coming up with different ideas, and I think that would be one of the biggest benefits of having multiple leaders. No one would feel like their idea wasn’t good enough just because they weren’t appointed the leader. With everyone working together as equals, it is a lot easier for group members to put forth new ideas.
Eric,
DeleteI really like your thought of having multiple leaders. Putting each person in charge of their own thing is an excellent way to make everyone happy. Every person gets to be incharge of their own thing and make it completely what they want. I think thats a really neat way to make every person happy. I also like the idea of having more ideas. That really does make the experience and the final outcome better.
Being a successful leader can be a lot of work if the process isn’t planned out. With that being said, I think it is important for a leader to envision what they want the outcome of a specific project to be, and to have set goals in mind. The article from the link pointed out the importance of setting goals and thinking ahead about possible problems or other occurrences. Without a goal in mind, the group/ organization isn’t going to have anything to work towards, even if they are excellent at working together. The end goal needs to be something all members agree upon, otherwise members may not participate to the fullest extent, which in turn could cause the project to fail. Keeping in mind what might be difficult or what could go wrong is also important, because it allows the ability to prepare ahead of time for such events. Being well prepared as a leader is an easier fix than fixing a problem mid-project because it wasn’t considered. Lastly, a good leader must be flexible. Following a strict set of directions doesn’t always allow for the group to get the most out of a particular project. Being open to new ideas is key to maintaining a good group atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteI think that in order to have a functionning group, every person in the group needs to be a leader in some way. It will be easier to split up the tasks, so everything can get done in a timely and orderly fashion. In order to have a group, everyone needs to contribute. Being a leader is definately not easy especially since people look to you for guidance, and that is why I think that everyone should play a leadership role: to decrease the pressure of one person.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is good for any group to communicate often, especially outside the classroom. This way we can learn more about each other and that will make everything easier. It is very difficult to have a group that doesn't communicate or try to talk to each other. Nothing would ever get done.
I also think that it would be beneficial to have a plan of what we want to have accomplished. This will help us remain task-oriented and able to get things done in an efficient way. A plan would be good in order to make sure everything gets done and that's what part of what a leader does: to make sure everything gets done. If we all play a part in the group, I think that we will be very successful!
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ReplyDeleteI agree that it would be very beneficial to have non-classroom activities to get to know the group better. I have found that to be very beneficial when hanging out with some of my group members. I also find it very true when you say all group members need to be working towards getting the goals done.
ReplyDeleteTo help myself become more aware of my group members and what kind of people they are, I believe that hanging out and talking in all different ways is vital to establishing a closely knit group. Hanging out away from class doing activities I believe will help our group mesh together really well in order to figure out what each person is like within the group. What also needs to happen is that everyone within the group really needs to participate and work hard to make the group accomplish all goals that we are set up to do. One very important thing for our group to grow well together is to set developmental goals to help our group develop into a cohesive group. If we do not develop together well we will have problem and discover rifts in peoples personalities that can cause many problems as we work toward goals. I also believe that we need to focus on goals that are suited for the type of group we are as well instead of trying to focus on things that are not very well suited for the type of group we will become
ReplyDeleteI found the article very interesting because I was never taught how to be a leader. I was basically thrown in a leadership position and was told I would either sink or swim. I never really thought there was an actual was to teach leadership. I knew there is ways to teach leadership qualities but I never knew actual leadership could be taught. I thought it was just kind of thing that is in some people and isn't in others. It is just one of those characteristics some people have and others do not. I figured it was like hair color. Some people have black hair and some people have blonde hair. Its just the way they are. To me, still feel like that is partially true because some people make good leaders and others do not. Yes leadership traits can be taught in workshops and conferences but I believe to be a great leader, you must have the right values inside of you as well.
ReplyDeleteI think the best part for each individual to assume a leadership position is by making a plan together, all opinions heard. The activity we did in class with the sinking ship was a fun, entertaining way to listen to different opinions and 'make a plan' essentially. We all had our ideas on who should live and who should drown. We talked it out and came up with a unanimous decision to who stays and to who goes. Simple activities like this build leadership and teamwork because we are learning how to work together through voicing our opinions.
I found the article very interesting because I was never taught how to be a leader. I was basically thrown in a leadership position and was told I would either sink or swim. I never really thought there was an actual was to teach leadership. I knew there is ways to teach leadership qualities but I never knew actual leadership could be taught. I thought it was just kind of thing that is in some people and isn't in others. It is just one of those characteristics some people have and others do not. I figured it was like hair color. Some people have black hair and some people have blonde hair. Its just the way they are. To me, still feel like that is partially true because some people make good leaders and others do not. Yes leadership traits can be taught in workshops and conferences but I believe to be a great leader, you must have the right values inside of you as well.
ReplyDeleteI think the best part for each individual to assume a leadership position is by making a plan together, all opinions heard. The activity we did in class with the sinking ship was a fun, entertaining way to listen to different opinions and 'make a plan' essentially. We all had our ideas on who should live and who should drown. We talked it out and came up with a unanimous decision to who stays and to who goes. Simple activities like this build leadership and teamwork because we are learning how to work together through voicing our opinions.
I think that everyone plays an important role in each group, though they may not stand out as a leader. It will be important in every group for there to be someone that steps up and takes on the role of a leader, but I don't believe that makes them any more important to the group than anyone else. Everyone is different and has their own unique skill set that will contribute to their group. That being said, everyone needs to participate equally. In the past, I have been in groups for school projects or whatever where some group members sit back and let their group-mates do all the work. I believe that this is a perfect example of inefficient group work. In order for our group to be successful we must all contribute to the task at hand.
ReplyDeleteAlso, getting to know our group members will make our group more efficient. Once we get more comfortable with each other we will be able to work better together. As far as getting to know each other I think we just need to spend more time together.
John,
Deletei agree with you John! Everybody has something important to bring to the table. A leader is the person that brings the uniqueness, of leading to the group, that is there contribution.
In order for a leader to be effective he/she must have some qualities of a leader. To some people being a leader is something they were literally born to be, while others must work at it and figure out their own leadership style. I find that I am a better follower, but can be quite a good leader if given the opportunity. Everyone gets at least one if not more opportunities to be a leader in their lifetime. There are a couple times where i have taken the opportunity to be a leader, when I did, sometimes it ended badly because no one would listen to me but other times i have done quite well as a leader and lead my group to some achievement.
ReplyDeleteMy plan is to encourage my group members when I am the "leader" for my project that they should participate or it won't be fun for anyone at all.
Aaron,
DeleteI agree that many people are born with leadership qualities even though anyone can be a leader once they figure out what style works best for them. I believe that I am also a person that is more of a follower. I think in this class I will find my own way of becoming a leader.
To me being a leader is a work in process. It is not something that you will be instantly amazing at but it is a skill that will grow stornger and stronger over time.But, some of it may come easier to than others. Once you take on that leader role however, you can always model your leadership position. I say this because you truely can in a way that you are showing others how to show leadership in others when they later branch out to teach others. For example when I will teach my group how to prepare a traditional meal from cambodia/thailand I am taking on a leadership role of guiding my group and helping them. With the knowledge that they have gain and what they have seen from leadership and knowing about it they can apply that to when they teach others and its just keeps going. Also in a way I feel like as we are all teaching within our groups we are mentoring and teaching as we lead. I also say this because we are spending a significant amount of time with eachother, showing/ telling members of our groups how we do specific things and our thoughts on the process while being open up to thoughts on every step in the process. WE are investing in eachother as leaders because we have grown relationships within our class and groups and I have personally learned to be there for them and help/support my members when they take their own time to teach me about what they are doing... Leadership is something that you'll have for the rest of you're life. Its a great skill to have and I personally think that this is a great opportunity to have in class
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I think that being a leader at first is being responsible, taking responsibility for one’s action. A leader should always take initiative, define the main task at hand in order to guide the group and lead by example. When a group fails to work as a team we can always tell that it`s cause by bad leadership skills so that why I personally fell that all members of group need to be all leaders. They should be leaders not only to be responsible but also to increase the performance of the group by bringing new Ideas so that they could help themselves and most importantly there community.
ReplyDeleteFitsum,
DeleteI agree with you post completely. In fact how you call the group a team is a great thing. A group seems cliche and that they are just people focused upon only the task. But calling them a team is emphasizing that they work together, learning about each other and growing close while performing the task at hand.
Jake,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that having a timeline and a plan, things would probably get accomplished more efficiently and on time. It is also important for a leader to set a good example, which you mentioned,and I think that good leaders can inspire the other people in the group to do their best too. I also think that getting to know your group members outside of the classroom would help the connections between each other, and you can get to know each other better. All of what you said are good ideas of what a leader should be.
In order for a group to perform and complete a task, they need a leader. The role of this leader is to make sure that everything is performed on time and with flowing consistency and to be there to assist the group at any time. He/She must be wise and have great communication skills. Communication is a major role within ANY group. This position is a big responsibility but a very great learning experience. Without a leader there would not be order and nothing will be accomplished. Everyone has their own unique skills and that makes them different, which is great. But without that leader or person with leadership skills, the group would be lost. A leader must be responsible, understanding, strict at times, and be beaming with leadership skills.
ReplyDeleteIn order for the group to be fully cohesive, each main area would need to have their own leader. However, if one area had more than one leader then that could cause disruption in the group and they may start arguing. Also, if all we had was leaders, then depending on what type of leader they are would depend on how much work gets completed. Even though it is important to have leaders for every possible section, i believe it is important to have an overall leader who is 'in charge' of all other leaders. This would help communication between the group and also they can make sure that work is always being done. In our group, each person can bring their own previos experiences to the table and we can work around them and fulfill our potential. If we work against what we already know and the leaders dont cooperate with each other then the group would not be cohesive and the work done would be minimal.
ReplyDeleteDanica,
ReplyDeleteI like how you see leadership. I truely think that that is what leadership is based off of.. teaching others and engaging everyone that you are working with. I also like how you point out that it is important to have good communication and that eveyone needs to give eachother a chance to listen. You pointed out alot of key values that a leader should have and what your group needs to come together as one!
Groups need to have leaders. Without them there would be chaos and confusion. A leader needs to be organized, driven, and goal-oriented in order to be successful. They need to keep in mind the needs of the group. By individualizing every person in the group and creating goals specifically made for that individual, I think it would create a better, more effective group as a result. A group is only as good as its weakest link, so if you make each of those links as good as they can be, then the weakest link may not be so weak after all. A leader should realize that they are not a dictator or a sergeant. They are a designated person who makes sure the group is working together to reach their goals. If this is realized by every leader, then conflict with bossiness or arrogance can be forgotten. Group cohesiveness is essential so that every person can work to their potential. Treating everyone as an individual will help to minimize confusion and maximize effectiveness.
ReplyDeleteI like what you have in mind for developing your group. As long as everyone is treated equally and as individuals, then the group can succeed. Each person has different skills and abilities so it is important to address them and make sure everyone is eventually on the same level. Teaching them other skills will make them a more well-rounded person that can better serve a group. By addressing each person in my group and finding what their abilities are, I can get an idea of what work they need to do to be a successful part of our group.
ReplyDeleteAustin,
ReplyDeleteI agree when you say people learn best when they obseerve themselves and learn from their mistakes or fails. I think it is very true, if at first you dont succeed try and try again!