SELECTED ROLES PLAYED BY GROUP MEMBERS
To understand a group, you must be able to identify the kind of
contribution each member makes to it. No one performs the same function or "plays the
same role" in a group all the time.
In most groups that spend at least part of the time solving problems or
making decisions, members usually find themselves playing certain roles or taking parts
which can be identified by other members of the group or themselves. The importance of
learning to recognize these roles lies in being able to evaluate contributions to the
group and its progress. Members need not take the same role in all meetings or throughout
the same meeting; in fact, the more roles a member can play appropriately, the more
valuable he is as a group member.
Group Task Roles
Information (and opinion) giver - offer facts, give opinions and
ideas; provide suggestions and relevant information to help the group discussion.
Information (and opinion) seeker - ask for facts, information,
opinions, ideas, and feelings from other group members to help the group discussion.
Starter - propose goals and tasks in order to start action within the
group.
Direction-giver - give direction to the group by developing plans on
how to proceed with group work and by focusing members’ attention on the tasks to be
done.
Summarizer - pull together related ideas or suggestions made by group
members and restate and summarize the major points discussed by the group.
Coordinator - coordinate group work by showing relationships among
various ideas and suggestions, by pulling ideas and suggestions together, and by drawing
together activities of various subgroups and members.
Diagnoser - determine why the group has difficulty in working
effectively and what blocks progress in accomplishing the groups goals.
Energizer - energize the group by stimulating group members to
produce a higher quality of work.
Reality tester - examine how practical and workable the ideas are,
evaluate the quality of alternative solutions to group problems, and apply decisions and
suggestions to real situations in order to see how they will work.
Evaluator - compare group decisions and accomplishments with group
standards, measuring accomplishments against goals.
Group Building and Maintenance Roles
Encourager of Participation - warmly encourage all members of the
group to participate, giving them recognition for their contributions, demonstrating
receptivity and openness to their ideas, and generally being friendly and responsive to
them.
Harmonizer and compromiser - try to persuade members to analyze
constructively their differences in opinions and ideas, search for common elements in
conflicting or opposing ideas or proposals, and trying to reconcile disagreements.
Tension reliever - try to relieve group tension and increase the
enjoyment of group members by joking, suggesting breaks, and proposing fun approach to
group work.
Communication helper - help communication among group members by
showing good communication skills and by making sure that what each member says is
understood by all.
Evaluator of emotional climate - ask members how they are feeling
about the way in which the group is working and about each other, as well as share own
feelings about group work and the way the members interact.
Process observer - observe the process by which the group is working
and use own observations to help in examining the effectiveness of the group.
Standard setter - express group standards and norms and the group
goals in order to make members constantly aware of the direction in which the work is
going--and in order to get continued open acceptance of group norms and procedures.
Active listener - listen to and serve as an interested audience for
other group members, weighing the ideas of others, and going along with the movement of
the group when you do not disagree with the action.
Team Builder - accept and support the openness of other group
memberrs, reinforcing them for taking risks, and encouraging iilliiduality in group
members.
Interpersonal problem solver - promote the open discussion of
conflicta between group members in order to resolve disagreements and increase group
togetherness.
Individual Roles
The aggressor may work in many ways - - deflating others; expressing
disapproval of the values, acts or feelings of others; attacking the group or its
problems; joking aggressively; showing envy toward another’s contribution by trying
to take credit for it, etc.
The blocker tends to have negative reactions ant is stubbornly
resistant, disagreeing and opposing without or beyond "reason" and tries to
maintain or bring back an issue after the group has rejected or by-passed it.
The recognition-seeker works ln various ways to call attention to
himself, by boasting, acting in unusual ways, trying to prevent being placed in an
"inferior" position, etc.
The self-confessor uses the group setting to express personal,
non-group oriented "feeling", "insight", "idealogy", etc.
The playboy makes a dleplay of his lack of involvement. This may take
the form of cynicism, nonchalance, horseplay and other more or less studied forms of
"out of field" behavior.
The dominator tries to assert authority or superiority. He works at
manipulating the group or certain members of it. This domination may take the form of
flattery, of asserting a superior status or right for attention, of giving directions, or
of interrupting contributions of others.
The help-seeker tries to get "sympathy" from others or from
the whole group by expression of insecurity, personal confusion or depreciation of him or
herself beyond "reason".
The special interest pleaser peaks for the "small
businessman," the "grass roots" community, the "homemaker,"
"labor" etc., usually cloaking their own prejudices or biases in the sterotype
which best fits the particular need at the moment.
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