KXEX2167

Thinking and Communication Skills

GROUP SKILLS
SKILLS FOR LEADING AND
PARTICIPATING
Some of the skills required to achieve best results from
group discussion:

Group Leadership

Membership Skills

GXEX1406 Thinking and Communication Skills – Week 3 Group Skills 2

SKILLS FOR LEADING AND
PARTICIPATING (CONT…)

Group Leader (GL)

coordinate activity

Ability is critical to how well the group will work

together

Membership Skills (MS)

Ability to be part of a group

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SKILLS FOR LEADING AND
PARTICIPATING (CONT…)

GL and MS are covered together because:

Most people are play both roles at various

times

Same issues of personal interaction arise for
both

Group will not work well unless both are
handled competently
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WHY skills required?

Working in group is not easy

Difficulties such as keeping focused on task, coping
with interpersonal conflicts, making decisions, etc.

Guidelines are necessary on how to approach or
handle each of these

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SKILLS REQUIRED

Group success depends on 3 types of functions
being performed:

 Task functions
 Maintenance Functions
 Personal Functions

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SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…)

Task Functions

 Initiating
action taken to get group members started

 Information, or opinion seeking

act of asking for facts, suggestions, or ideas

 Information, or opinion giving

offering information up to the group

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SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…)

Task Functions (cont…)

 Clarifying or elaborating
interpreting ideas, clearing up confusions, identifying
alternatives and raising related issues

 Summarizing
act of pulling together related ideas, restating suggestions
after they have been fully discussed

 Consensus Seeking
act of testing whether the group is nearing conclusion or
decision
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SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…)

Task Functions (cont…)

 Implementing
involves putting the decisions into action and requires :
assigning responsibility, delegating authority, accepting
personal commitments

 Devil’s advocate
act of leadership and is performed when there is a suspicion
that a group has reached agreement on an issue to quickly
and easily

 Consultants
allocating consultant role for specialist or researchers to get
benefit of their work
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SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…)

Maintenance Functions

 Encouraging
being responsive to others, giving them opportunity for
recognition

 Expressing group feelings

refers to picking up or sensing the mood of the group

 Compromising
allows best ideas to be adopted

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SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…)

Maintenance Functions (cont…)

 Gate keeping
is a function of keeping communication channels open within the
group at all times

 Setting standards
is a function of imposing and insisting on standards for the
actions of the group

 Housekeeping
is about making sure that everyone is kept aware of the group’s
decisions, progress, and ‘to do’ list

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SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…)

Personal Functions

 Self understanding
your capacity to see your own behavior, actions and reactions in
the group in an objective way

 Inter-personal understanding
ability to understand the other person’s point of view

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SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…)

Personal Functions (cont…)

 Managing conflicts
pursue an agenda which is challenging enough to draw out
each person’s differing views, but which prevents
argumentation from blocking progress and decision making

 Stopping conflict escalation

see conflict as an essential factor in finding the best solution

 Disruptive behaviors
- learn to recognize disruptive behavior
- point out this behavior to others with good will and in time
and place which is appropriate
- be open to others pointing out your disruptive behavior
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SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…)

Personal Functions (cont…)

 Active listening
- consciously concentrating on what the other person is saying
- wait until the other person has clearly indicated that they have
finished getting their message across
- before putting your views, get conformation of your
understanding of what they have said by reflecting their message
back to them

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SKILLS REQUIRED (CONT…)

Personal Functions (cont…)

 Recognition
people work best when they feel that they belong, that their
participation is worthwhile

 Disruptive behaviors
- learn to recognize disruptive behavior
- point out this behavior to others with good will and in time and
place which is appropriate
- be open to others pointing out your disruptive behavior

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 END

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