Title

In Their Own Words: An Exploratory Study of Bona Fide Group Leaders

Abstract

Group leadership from a bona fide group theory perspective was examined. Twenty-three effective group leaders were interviewed in depth about what they believe is important in leading groups. Five themes emerged: (a) establishing the intention for the overall project; (b) building the team and developing a positive group culture; (c) monitoring and managing the team's interaction; (d) managing the group's task and keeping the group focused; and (e) communication behaviors and personal characteristics of the leader. Effective group leaders take group leadership seriously and work at improving their performance and exhibit self-monitoring and adaptive behaviors. Future research should examine how leaders learn to become effective, how they assess and balance competing goals of building relationships and completing tasks, and what experiences have been most influential. Findings verify the utility of the bona fide group perspective and also suggest dialectical and turning point theories as potentially useful perspectives for revealing further insights into effective group leadership.

Department(s)

Communication

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496403257649

Keywords

Adaptability, Bona fide group, Dialectical theory, Group leadership, Leadership, Qualitative research, Self-monitoring, Turning point theory

Publication Date

12-1-2003

Journal Title

Small Group Research

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