In this chapter, we focus our guidance, reflection questions, and sample actions on the role of the group leader. If you are a facilitator of groups, our ideas offer good guidance on approaching your role with our model in mind. If you are a group member, remember that the extraordinary groups we studied were characterized by shared leadership. In the best examples, everyone in the group initiated as a leader might initiate, offered ideas as a leader might, and proposed actions—more in the mode of an active leader than a passive member. Our suggestions offer a look into some of the less visible aspects of exceptional groups. Whatever your role, we assume that you aspire to the extraordinary and that you intend to take action to encourage amazing group experiences. Every suggestion in this chapter is designed to help you to do just that.
We focus on six leadership actions that directly encourage the eight indicators of amazing groups we identified in Chapter Two: a compelling purpose, shared leadership, just-enough structure, full engagement, embracing differences, unexpected learning, strengthened relationships, and great results. Each suggestion promotes group activity that can lead to an experience in which people feel energized, connected, hopeful, and changed. If you want, through your leadership, to help your group be extraordinary, pay particular attention to our suggestions. For some readers, our guidance will be welcome reminders; for others, it will open up new territory.
We pull from the experiences reported to us through our field study and our own experiences in the last three years as we deliberately applied the Group Needs model to our consulting work. We intentionally do not address many important and basic aspects of effective group leadership; these topics are well covered by many other authors; check our list of valued references in Appendix D to learn more.
Half of the transformational groups we learned about had someone designated with a title such as "team lead" or "department head" or "project manager." Regardless of title, that person's leadership was expected and important to the group's success. Group leaders feel responsible for outcomes and direction of a group. In large organizations, especially workplaces, they are typically assigned that responsibility. Self-organizing groups create their own process for identifying leaders sometimes resulting in one person being elected, named, or annointed as the leader. Regardless of how they come to their position of leader, they usually have experience, knowledge, and relationships important to the group's Purpose and the world in which the group operates. They expect people will turn to them for some level of direction, guidance, and encouragement. In extraordinary groups, they seek full engagement of all members and encourage others to think and act as leaders too.
We found that leaders of extraordinary groups most often employ a style that is more facilitative than directive. Facilitative leaders focus on being of service to the group as a whole and to individual members. They attend to how the group works together as it progresses toward outcomes. They see to it that the group gets the direction it needs without necessarily providing all that direction themselves. They act out of the belief that their group must share responsibility, accountability, participation, and power.
The choice to be a facilitative leader is enabled by seeing through the lens of the Group Needs model. Stand back from your group to consider the individual members, their collective Purpose, and the world in which they operate. From that larger perspective, consider the six Group Needs brought by every member: How might this group experience meet those needs? Next, consider the eight indicators of extraordinary groups discussed in Chapter Two: Are those indicators alive in your meetings? And notice whether members exhibit the four feelings associated with transformation: Do they seem energized, hopeful, connected—and positively changed? Answering these questions helps you lead in ways that call forth the strengths and motivations of your group.
To create an extraordinary group experience, consider this guidance—all rooted in the designated leader role, all designed with the Group Needs model in mind:
Frame an inspiring Purpose.
Lead with a light touch.
Keep issues discussable.
Manage the world around your group.
Put the right team together.
Design and facilitate meetings with the Group Needs in mind.
Members are inspired when they find meaning or significance in a group's Purpose. An important early-on action is to help group members discover this personal connection. In doing so, you are essentially asking members to consider such questions as: Why is this Purpose important to you? What about it causes you to be highly committed to the work of our group? Some groups come to this understanding once a project is under way. Other groups begin with a boldly stated Purpose, in which the larger meaning is abundantly clear. Take a look at Dan's experience.
Dan was asked to lead a team in developing the security component for an important piece of new software. Because of the intended widespread use of this particular product, he framed the work as "securing civilization." He admits that "At first it sounded a bit corny," but the larger meaning of the work caught on. "This rallied the team and they lived it. Every day, they had a chance to make a difference. This upped the quality bar tremendously." Having framed the Purpose in this broad and inspiring way, his team set and met their aggressive targets for building and testing security features. From the beginning, Dan saw the meaning of the work and captured it in a phrase that conveyed a huge and inspiring Impact. Throughout the effort, he would remind team members of the significance of what they had taken on together and why it was important for each team member to make this work a priority. This hugely motivational element contributed to an outstanding success: All the quality bars were hit, no deadlines were missed, and a remarkably low number of fixes were required once the product was released. Dan's framing of the Purpose was key.
The "aggressive targets" of Dan's group points to another powerful action leaders can take that is related to framing an inspiring Purpose. If you lead a group with an external-change Purpose, help the group set doable stretch goals. These statements will focus the group's action and translate the compelling Purpose into the concrete accomplishments that help a group go from point A to point B—and achieve unexpected learning along the way. Among our field study stories, compelling Purpose and doable stretch goals were the most frequently mentioned examples of structure.
These questions will help you reflect on how your group's Purpose inspires, is expressed, and can be linked to stretch goals.
What is your group's Purpose? How clear is it to the group? How does it inspire you?
What larger individual, group, or world needs might be found within the presenting Purpose? How might those be expressed?
What can you uniquely do from your position to help group members find inspiration or personal connection with the group's Purpose? How might you involve members in deepening the meaning of their Purpose?
What stretch goals will lead to the accomplishment of this Purpose? How might you involve the group in identifying and shaping those goal statements?
Notice that these questions are useful to group members and facilitators as well as leaders. This will be true of all of the reflection questions and many of the sample actions offered throughout this chapter.
Help group members find personal inspiration in the group's Purpose through the following actions.
Ask group members to share their thoughts about the group's Purpose by posing such questions as: What does our Purpose mean to you? What greater Impact do you see within it? Why is our Purpose important to you? How will the power of this Purpose influence your participation?
If it is not clearly defined already, ask two or three members of the group to draft the group's current Purpose for review at the next group meeting. Encourage a discussion using the questions mentioned above. Notice how members are aligned or not around Purpose. Does the degree of alignment suggest any next steps the group should take?
After you and the group have explored the larger meaning of your Purpose, define the goals that will enable you to fulfill it. Examine the draft statements with this question: Are these goals challenging yet doable, and will they cause us to stretch our capabilities—as individuals? As a group?
Amazing groups create space for people to think creatively, explore tangents, have fun, take risks, do integrative thinking, and build connections with one another. Members of such groups are passionate about Purpose and focused on challenging goals. Such groups do not do well with tightly structured agendas, roles, boundaries, or micro-managing. These traditional management techniques create structure that blocks the energy and sense of connection.
With your groups, strive for just-enough structure to create clarity for members and support their commitment to Purpose. This openness joins with the another important aspect of leadership—using a low-keyed style that is much more behind the scenes than out front. Leaders of transformational groups understand that the leadership they provide is not about themselves, but rather about how they encourage and support the group members to fulfill the group's Purpose. If you want your groups to be extraordinary, do not try to control them. Open up the group's structure and process—and open up yourself—to see what emerges from the group. This lighter-touch, adaptive leadership is all about creating space for others to jump in, being present for support, listening and watching carefully, and coaching members as they take on more responsibility. Be careful when you feel inclined to reinforce boundaries, structure, or the power of your role. Instead, use your leadership to focus the group on the outcomes desired. Control rarely and only when necessary to support the group's ability to move ahead. Consider Marcia's leadership.
Like many other of the leaders we interviewed, Marcia had no idea what she was unleashing when she led a cultural reconnection mission of nineteen African American women to Kenya. Now, seven years later, Marcia is one of many group member-leaders of the thriving nonprofit organization that emerged from that first trip. These life-changing trips continue with the support of the organization's Vision and Planning Team, essentially the leadership circle. When asked about her evolving leadership role, Marcia says, "My role now is to step back. I make sure I'm supporting the Vision and Planning Team members in their personal and professional lives." She describes the women in this core group as "powerhouses in their own rights," many of whom are well known in their communities. "In some ways, they are isolated due to the power and positions they have. Here, it is different. They are on a par with one another. They want to make sure they are contributing in a way that matches who they are."
With such strong members, any attempt on Marcia's part to control the group would be counter productive. In the spirit of light-touch leadership, she adds, "I have been careful not to take on any one job on my own. I am trying to affirm them in their roles and be present when it is strategic for me to be there. Now this group runs on its own energy." When asked about her unique contribution as the group's founder, she knows she has an important leadership role to play: "I look after the whole group, listening for where we are at. No one else plays this role. Affirmation is everything. We must continuously affirm and thank each other. Our success is based on collective action, and so I've relinquished everything to the group."
Use this set of questions to think about your leadership style.
How would you describe yourself as a leader in terms of the lightness-to-heaviness of your style? Give some examples.
How does leading with a light touch suit you? What might be the consequences of this style for you? For group members?
What might you do to lighten-up to benefit the group and its Purpose?
These suggestions will help you address issues related to control, structure, and the support you provide to group members.
Think about how you have been leading lately. When did you do things that represented a desire to take control? When did you do things that modeled leading with a light touch? For each situation, identify someone who was present and ask that person for feedback about the impact of your actions.
Consider the boundaries and structure your group works within. How tightly constrained do members feel by these boundaries? Ask members about the structure of their work and how elements of this structure help or hinder them as they do their work. Identify and make necessary changes.
Ask the group to reflect on how leadership surfaces in the group: What do people do to help lead this group? Are there patterns in this shared leadership? In the context of this discussion, ask for feedback on your own leadership. Are there things you could do differently to promote a higher degree of shared leadership?
Diverse views, skills, and backgrounds often produce a heady concoction of both passionate agreement and disagreement. We focused on the tension between the strength and challenge of such differences in the previous chapter. Leaders of extraordinary groups create a safe place for people to express and embrace their differences. Look for opportunities to air the opinions of members. Help them get below the surface to identify lurking issues they hesitate to bring up. Model openness to and curiosity about issues when they are raised. In doing so, you make it safe for members to raise concerns, talk about their fears, challenge the status quo, offer tough feedback, make passionate speeches, share personal experiences, and call out mixed messages.
All of these behaviors—while sometimes not politically correct or comfortable—are essential for a group of individuals to authentically engage with one another and call forth important information, issues, and opinions. These moments of authentic-but-uncomfortable conversation were often reported to us as those that are long remembered as the catalytic event that transformed a group. Reinforce the value of seeing the whole by keeping potentially contentious issues on the table and open for discussion. As you do so, encourage members to listen to and learn from one another. Consider Jane's group and her leadership.
Jane recalled a complex research project she led for her company—a large national consulting firm specializing in supply chain management in health care. Her team of seven designed a product evaluation process for surgical instruments from multiple vendors. They initiated this research in order to determine which products would best meet customer requirements. Prior to this point, no objective comprehensive evaluation—involving practicing surgeons—had ever been done with this category of instruments. We were able to interview Jane and three of her group's members. This professionally diverse group "left behind different and specialized clinical backgrounds and became learners together"—and faced many challenges. "We had a clear mission to produce a success in a project that none of us had ever done before. We were in uncharted waters with a restricted budget and a project whose details could not be discussed with others in the company—outside of our group—for fear of destroying the project integrity." In the end, they successfully tested equipment in twenty-one surgeries at major university medical schools in six different states.
Jane is an experienced leader who pays equal attention to outcomes and relationships among team members. Still, at times members were "cynical, argumentative, or depressed and had to talk through issues." This ability—to talk about what needed to be talked about, even if it was difficult—was a core competency that Jane intentionally established and encouraged within the group. It was in place before the most demanding part of the project arrived. The benefits of this competence, described by one member as "trust in the group"—were clear to all: "With respect for each other and courage, we stormed, normed, and then performed at high levels. And, in the end, we did do what we set out to do!"
Consider how your group deals with undiscussable issues.
When your group is faced with tough issues and makes them discussable, what does the group do? What do you do that supports this?
When your group has difficulty facing an important yet undiscussable issue, what does it do to avoid the issue? Why does it do this? What are the concerns? And, how do you react?
What might you do or say that would model openness and a willingness to open up subjects that seem taboo or fraught with difficulty?
Encourage more open conversations in your group through these actions.
When you sense that someone is hesitating to bring up a risky subject, encourage that member to be more specific by paraphrasing what you hear, asking for an example, expressing your desire to hear more.
After a great discussion filled with candor, passion, and increased understanding, ask members to reflect on their experiences with questions such as: How was this conversation risky? What are your observations about how we interacted? What impact do conversations like this have on how we work together?
Ask each member to write down his or her answers to this question: What helps you to feel safe enough in this group to bring up a risky subject? Ask each person to offer a suggestion; build a list that everyone can see. Discuss the items and make appropriate modifications, then ask: How can we use this guidance? Discuss, decide, and follow through.
Most groups operate within a larger workplace, community, or culture. When people in those larger organizations think about who is responsible for your group, they think of you. When your group members think about who represents them to the larger organization or community, they also think of you. You become the radar, constantly scanning the environment for realities in your world that might aid or block your group's work, specifically the organizational support, resources, information, and context your group will need in order to do its work. And your radar is also at work inside the group as you scan for how it is doing, how you represent it to the world around you. In particularly political environments, you act as a buffer between the larger arena and your group, protecting them from outside dynamics that can distract or discourage them while giving them an internal place to "let off steam" in ways that do not damage the group in the organization.
As her group's leader, Jane was the person to interface with her organization on behalf of her team. Her job was complicated by the fact that she really couldn't talk about the details of the project. She had to maintain strict silence about the research process in order to protect against any possible perception of organizational bias related to the eventual findings. When it came to the budget, Jane remembers that she was "always tin-cupping the dollars." Many of the company's senior leaders "came from the for-profit perspective and were not used to relying on clinical or academic expertise." Many people were skeptical because they knew the group would have to work in academic settings. She comments that "there was a strong desire to control" what her team was doing because of "the heavy-duty expectations as to what would happen as a result of our research."
Any of these realities could have blocked or complicated her group's ability to succeed. Jane's job was to work the intersection between her group and others in her company—others who might look at, wonder about, try to influence or question the group and its work. She secured funds, resisted pressure to influence the project, and brought in necessary resources. Fortunately, Jane had solid relationships with senior staff in her company, political savvy, and well-developed communications and negotiating skills. Even so, she recalls that to manage these communications appropriately, "I constructed likely questions and answers about the project and vetted them with the team. Staying on script was often not easy, but they were counting on me to be their scout, their early warning system, and their protector so that our important work could be done." Although her story contained more complications than many, when it comes to this aspect of leading a group you will be well served if you develop strengths similar to Jane's.
Think about yourself as the "radar", the go-between or the point-person that works the space in between your group and the context in which it operates.
When you think about the world around your team, what forces, organizations, or individuals come to mind as being most important to deal with—ones that could block or aid your group and its Purpose?
What abilities do you need as a leader to deal with the forces that have an impact on your group? How do you assess your present abilities in relation to what you need?
What is your reaction to carrying the responsibility of dealing with your group's world in order to make it more successful? How much does this attract or repel you? What are the implications of your answers for working in that outer world?
With your group, identify the political or influence issues that will affect the work you have come together to do.
With your group, chart the significant individuals, departments, or groups that affect your group and its Purpose. Make it visual so that members can understand and work with items on the list.
Identify the most significant forces in your surrounding world—the forces that deserve attention, caution, or action. Note which forces you can control, those you can influence, and those you cannot control or influence. Consider how to best deal with each of these forces.
Decide what actions your group needs to take toward influencing the surrounding world and who should take those actions. Make sure you follow through on actions that you, as the leader, should take; report back to your group to let them know the results.
Amazing groups do not require people who have elevated levels of interpersonal insight or fabulous communication skills. But they do require that collectively members possess enough of the knowledge, skills, or experience to tackle the group's Purpose. Perhaps even more important, members must be committed enough to the group's Purpose so that they are willing to set aside self-interests for the good of the whole. As a leader, you may play a pivotal role in inviting members to join the group or encouraging other members to share this responsibility. Either way, pay attention to why each member joins. Behave in ways that encourage members' Acceptance and Potential and nurture the group Bond. When members sense that these three Group Needs are attended to, their commitment to Purpose will increase. As it does, they will be better able and more willing to embrace differences and put the group's Purpose and Impact first.
Bringing the right people together is critical in group formation, but sometimes it does not work. When a member's values or style repeatedly conflict with or undercut the group's collaborative spirit or its commitment to Purpose, you may need to help that person leave the group. Often this person puts self-interest first, the group Purpose second, and the success and well-being of other members last. These self-serving behaviors are particularly damaging when the person possesses critical skills, or when the individual manipulates others.
A leader can be slow to pick up on the pattern of misalignment and be reluctant to lose someone with valuable skills or knowledge. Collaborative leaders often hesitate to judge a contrary approach as unacceptable; they try to bring this member "back into the fold." But such members sow seeds of confusion, mistrust, and frustration. When it occurs, it needs to be addressed quickly and respectfully so the group stays on track. In self-organizing groups, this responsibility can be shared. But when you represent the hierarchy to your group, this difficult task will probably be yours. In all of this, you are likely to end up having direct and confrontational conversations about the member's behavior, its impact on others, why this is unacceptable, and the need for his or her departure from the group. Fortify yourself with the knowledge that the culture, the momentum, and the success of your group is at stake.
Dan faced such a circumstance. One of the members of his leadership team, Frank, had an edge—a competitive manner that surfaced periodically and then became more pointed and counterproductive by frequently asking for more staff, suggesting that production problems in his area were actually caused by others on Dan's team, finally giving his staff direction to do things that were contrary to Dan's plan because "Dan really doesn't understand the issues." Dan referenced his challenge with Frank when asked about the three factors that enabled his group experience to be so powerful. One of his points was "putting the right team together." Moving Frank out "made a huge difference. We accomplished twice as much after he left. This gave me the ability to build a management team that had the values of the organization and different skill sets, creating what we wanted for the whole team."
Dan wanted his direct reports to be solid leaders "who would say what was on their minds, challenge each other, and be there for each other." When Frank was in the mix, the other group members were constantly on guard, watching for what Frank might do next to stir the pot. The reality Dan eventually faced was that there was no way he could get the level of trust, collaboration, and cross-functional innovation he needed while Frank was still a member of the group. He had to take action in order to protect his team and its ability to fulfill its Purpose.
Use these questions to help you gain insight about the challenge of getting the right people on your team.
In your experience with successful groups, what are the key elements beyond technical competence needed to form and keep a group together through time? How does your current group fit with your past successful experience?
What are the indicators that you currently have the right talents, experience, motivations, and individuals in place? What else do you need? What are you doing to further develop the talent already in the group?
What experience do you have in removing a person from a team? If you had to do it again, how would you approach it? To whom would you turn for advice and support?
Engage your group in conversation that highlights collective capabilities and commitment.
Ask the group to assess the capabilities (technical skills, knowledge, experience, relationships, industry knowledge, connections, interpersonal skills, motivation) needed to fully realize its Purpose and desired Impact.
With that assessment in mind, encourage group members to identify the ways in which their own capabilities—or those they see in other group members—match what is needed. Consider the implications of this list: Do additional capabilities need to be developed or brought in? Do current plans and roles enable members to apply their full capabilities?
Look for ways to support members' personal and professional development through the group activities or assignments. Pause periodically to appreciate the contributions of members and acknowledge the development of members through their work in the group.
In order to be a group, people must meet. Face-to-face or through technology, people come together to fulfill their shared Purpose. As you design and lead your meetings, intentionally apply the Group Needs model. Doing so will increase the likelihood that your meetings will engage group members and focus their interaction in ways that are personally satisfying and productive.
In designing your meetings, consider both the topics for the agenda and the process you will use to address those topics. Ask yourself five questions:
How will this meeting meet the needs of Acceptance and Potential, Bond and Purpose, Reality and Impact?
Where and how can we use our differences as a group strength?
Does this meeting have just-enough structure to create focus but not so much as to block members' creative thinking, full engagement, and honest conversation?
Is there enough room in the agenda so that members have the time for these more in-depth and sometimes complex conversations?
What approaches will maximize the full engagement of all members and shared leadership?
When a group meets on a regular basis, it's not necessary for each meeting to attend to each of the six Group Needs. However, over time strive to touch each of these needs. In each meeting, find ways to tap differences as a strength and to employ the notion of just-enough structure. By doing so, you will consistently reinforce the value of diverse perspectives, creativity, candor, and member accountability for the group's success. Of course, if you are planning a one-meeting event, do your best to manifest as many of the Group Needs as possible.
When leading the meeting, do so in a facilitative style that moves the process along and actively engages members. Use more questions than statements; be willing to offer your observations—not judgments—about the group's process. Monitor the amount of time that you are the one speaking. Typically, the amount of "air time" you take should be less than other members of the group; members will see you as more facilitative than directive when the bulk of what you say is focused on the group's process and not your opinions about any particular subject. Rely on your good listening skills to paraphrase and clarify members' comments when needed—especially when differences start to surface. From time to time, you will no doubt feel the need to "put on your leader hat." These will be moments when you might need to set or clarify direction, share a broader view, or make a decision. When you do so, call out this shift. This clarification will be useful to group members and be a good reminder to yourself to move back into the facilitator mode as quickly as possible.
Through all of this, look for ways to encourage Acceptance and Potential, Bond and Purpose, Reality and Impact. If you are fortunate enough to partner with a group facilitator, make sure that that person understands the Group Needs model. Together talk about how you can both be on the look-out for ways to reinforce the six Group Needs. Rely on your facilitator to take the lead around meeting design and facilitation. But make sure you are involved in setting the outcomes for each meeting and agree on the approach to use for various portions of the agenda. At the end of each meeting, take time to debrief together, so that you can learn from your experience and make plans for how to move ahead.
Think through your answers to these questions to help design your meetings and prepare to lead them in a facilitative manner.
How would a meeting design based on the Group Needs model differ from what you would typically do? What benefits would come from this?
What is most important for the group to accomplish in this meeting? What do those outcomes have to do with underlying Group Needs as expressed in the model?
What have you done to make it more likely that your questions and observations are welcome in the group? Will the group be surprised by a facilitative way of leading?
Use these suggestions to bring the power of the Group Needs model into your group meetings.
As you design your agendas, consider using the language of the six Group Needs. For example: Defining our Reality. Understanding our Purpose. Creating our connection or Bond. Anticipate opportunities to ask questions that reflect some of the Group Needs. For example: What are we learning? How do we tap each other's strengths? A year from now, what Impact will we be proud to have achieved?
Gather data ahead of time from each individual in the group. Among your questions, ask what they need from this group. Or ask: What would this group have to do to be truly extraordinary? Present what you learn at the meeting.
At the beginning of the group, say that you want this experience to be extraordinary—a group that will be highly productive and an experience that people will look back on with great excitement and appreciation. Say why this is important to you.
Describe your intention to lead in a facilitative way. Ask the group to discuss when they think your explicit and more directive leadership is particularly important. Use this discussion to propose what you intend to do. Be clear about your agreements with the group and stick with them.
As you watch the group, look for examples of the eight indicators of amazing groups or the four feelings of transformation or the six Group Needs being satisfied. Ask for group members' observations or offer your own. A simple question such as "What just happened?" can trigger an important recognition of extraordinary group dynamics. Appendix B may be a useful tool for you.
In this chapter we have presented six leadership suggestions:
Frame an inspiring Purpose.
Lead with a light touch.
Keep issues discussable.
Manage the world around your group.
Put the right team together.
Design and facilitate meetings with the Group Needs in mind.
We offer this platform on which you can build your own group leadership strategies.
So what results from the type of leadership we have described in this chapter? Given what we've learned from our interviews and the extraordinary groups we've been blessed to be a part of, here's what it can look like.
You may find yourself with a group in which it is sometimes difficult to keep up with the shifting roles, and members adapt to what a moment calls for in the shared quest for accomplishment. As the group leader, you step forward then back, having posed a question that provokes an enlivened discussion in which nobody seems to be in charge but everyone knows what they are working on. In this moment a younger group member makes an impassioned plea. You turn that plea into a question. And now everybody is going at it once again, until someone asks for quiet and proposes a step forward. Now everyone is jumping on that, but the proposer persists and asks people to declare where they stand. You are actively engaged in listening but resist the temptation to try to control or organize what is happening. People's declarations produce yet another proposal from another member, which builds on the last but captures wider support. Now you test the will of the group on this suggestion; members agree, and identify next steps and accountabilities. You look around the room and see people leaning forward; others are smiling; some look relieved. The feelings of energy, connection, hope, and change are alive in the room.
That's what one extraordinary group looks like! That's what it feels like! And that's what can be accomplished by a facilitative leader intent on creating an extraordinary group!