Group Skills

Teams will be composed of individuals with different personality types. There will be members that are organizers, adventures, givers and thinkers. Each type of personality benefits the team if you know and understand their personality and utilize their strengths to the benefit of the team.

Groups can be effective or non effective, they can operate as a democracy or a hierarchy. Depending on the type of group and activities performed there are different levels of commitment and participation. We join groups for many different reasons. Groups provide something to each individual. Many functions an effective group performs successfully, would be much more difficult if attempted alone. Effective leadership is key to a group's success. Leaders must provide to each individual to encourage participation and to create group commitment. It is important for leaders to make effective, goal oriented decisions that represent the group.

Groups may also provide its members with more support and commitment than other groups. A good example of this type of group would be Alcohol Anonymous. AA members receive much more support through their group than a membership at a golf course. Every group in which we belong has its own norms, level of commitment, participation and effectiveness.

Cooperation among group members is the basis for reaching goals and developing trust. Being trustworthy to the other members in the group creates an cooperative effort to reach group goals and increase communication within the group.

There are many definitions for the word "group". Individual productivity depends on what the group offers to that individual and what benefits the group offers to individual members. Groups define themselves overtime through norms.