Leadership skills are essential to building group leadership. A leader must hold certain leadership abilities and qualities to shape the activities. Real leadership capabilities can be learned through training in order to communicate effectively. These competencies would enable the leaders to instil a sense of enthusiasm in the members. As a result, each member of the group will be able to put in full effort at full capacity. Team members must follow the proper plan and design in order to start the work. Leaders must focus on the capabilities of the group members and the areas in which they need improvements. Certain methods are available to enhance and boost leadership in groups. Proper training and workshops can be arranged to teach the members of the group. Members of the group can learn from experienced coaches and mentors. Support groups, as well as learning networks, can provide extra assistance to build leadership in groups.
In daily routine, different groups interact with each other at home, work and school. There are four categories of groups. This includes assigning, relationship, task-oriented and emergent groups. It is task-oriented and designed to finish short-term jobs. Relationship-oriented groups where an individual is associated with people for a long time. Assigned groups are designed where the individuals have been selected or appointed to contribute to them. The emergent group is basically organized as a result of environmental conditions that form a cohesive group. Autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire are three styles that motivate members to take part in decisions.
Autocratic leaders take part in making decisions and distribute all tasks. They strictly hold and control the group. On the other hand, there are also contingency theories where different leadership styles are executed according to different situations. It describes how leadership style alters at what time the situation changes. It would be great to follow the communication competencies approach. Interpersonal communication of leaders would be effective to accomplish and achieve goals of a group. A lot of people are involved in a number of activities on a daily basis. In a workplace environment, the power of leadership exists at the hand of the president, CEO or manager. In order to run the organization, there is a need to distribute duties and responsibilities among a group. Being ahead of the group, these leaders should have proper info to get work done. Such a group will be effective in achieving actual tasks, aid in making decisions and delivering feedback.
Psychoeducational groups are formed to educate and train clients. This type of group follows group-specific and structured content. Lectures, audio cassettes and videotapes can be used to teach this outline. An experienced and professional facilitator will assist in discussing the information. These groups are organized to deliver information to direct the clients so that they can become aware of the resources as well as the process of recovery. The objective of designing these groups is to encourage the clients to go through the recovery process.
The major tasks of these groups are to provide awareness and solid information about medical, behavioural and emotional aspects of substance abuse. These psychological groups are so effective to help clients to seek change for internal need. It will assist a client in becoming aware of their conditions in the early stages. There are many tactics to conduct these groups. It matters how these groups present information. And how useful this information is in assisting clients in achieving the desired behaviour, emotional change, and improved thinking.
Skills development groups are the strength of this agency because they have certain characteristics based on clients’ characteristics and needs. Because clients differ on the basis of their characteristics, backgrounds, and abilities. In this case, leaders have therapy skills and knowledge, and these skills foster collaboration among members.
Facilitating agency techniques and groups creates a safe, empowered and goal-oriented environment with good communication and supportive structures (Cranton, 2006, p.163). Education helps individuals to problem-solve and attain power that critically perceives how they are effective in transforming beliefs and assumptions, which motivates them to examine those assumptions (Cranton, 2002, p.3).
Cranston explained that an effective mode of thinking helps the group accomplish various forms of learning. According to Cranston, group learning is of three types. However, each type is related to three types of knowledge, as suggested by Habermas. It includes instrumental, emancipatory and communicative. Cranton proposed that the kind of learning that happens in groups changes according to goals and tasks. Asking Socratic questions and collaborating can improve the individual frame of reference that occurs in cognitive group therapy. The facilitator can check hypotheses, challenge and authorize the irrational beliefs of individuals and influence collaborative empiricism concepts (Overholster, 2011, p.62).
Shared dialogue promotes self-questioning, assisting in the instability of the experience of distance and emotions from thoughts. In collaboration processes, the facilitator group observes genuine, meaningful and authentic relationship that makes a change in perspective. The Facilitator build a trusting, genuine and authentic relationship with the group as a result of self-reflection (Cranton, 2006, p.7). Interpersonal group therapy can assist in separating individuals from substances who utilize them to compensate for emotional deficiency and environmental and attachment disorders. This will be helpful in regulating emotions. The facilitator is cautious about giving up control and power in transformative learning methods (Cranton, 1994, p.147). This will make autonomous learning and exercise the disciplinary power to encourage, challenge and build a relationship (Cranton, 2006, p.110).
Existential group therapy is different from psychotherapy due to the frame of reference that permits exploration as well as comprehension of the problems of an individual with a specific approach (May, Yalom, 2000, p. 19). It is essential to develop an authentic relationship as a therapist with the individual in a working relationship. Therapist group helps to transform a person’s beliefs through reflection, emotional communication, discourse and feedback. Therefore, it aids in gaining emancipatory, that is, self-knowledge, to transform previous ways of understanding into new perspectives (Mezirow, 1990, p.20). The facilitator provides a platform for a group to discuss and create a link to the personal meaning of realities, experiences and emotional states that can stimulate unconscious and conscious emotional reactions with the expression of sensations (Dirkx, 2006, p.17).
B) John Heron was mainly concerned with group interactions, and he explained two aspects of the facilitator’s role. According to this, a facilitator helps to improve group learning process but these interventions are basically accepting and receptive. On the other hand, assertive and active interventions also exist. He described six dimensions related to facilitation. These dimensions are distinctly recognized but do overlap by supporting and integrating each other (Heron, 1999, p.7). Experiential learning enables students to transform their character structure, knowledge, and skills.
Planning Dimension
In this dimension, facilitation aims to act in a goal-oriented way. It explains the aims and objectives of the group. And what plans and procedures are required to fulfil it. The task of facilitative here is to explain how it will be possible for a group to meet its purposes as well as its programmes. Here, the facilitator can be helpful in designing a plan for substance misuse, in addition to how they can facilitate the client provided with education and self-awareness.
Meaning Dimension
This dimension focuses on cognitive as well as rational aspects. It will explore the different aspects of members of the group, such as how they understand and get an experience of things and how they react and respond to things. In this case, the facilitator tries to find out the meanings of the actions and experiences of group members. In this process, a facilitator will logically determine the courses of action of members within the group.
Confronting Dimension
This dimension explains the challenge aspect. It will help to explore the avoidances and resistances of a group of things. How will the group become aware and know about these difficulties? For instance, a client is misusing a substance but does not admit it. A leader should take the step to educate as well as inform the issue in a sympathetic manner. The facilitator can force the client to share solid info with them as it will be useful to accomplish the process. In this case, a client will confront difficult situations and other aggressive realities. However, this is not a productive way to treat a client. This dimension is not effective for generating significant desired results. However, the facilitator shows empathy towards the client in this process.
Feeling Dimension
This effective aspect of dimension helps to manage emotions and feelings within the group. It elaborates on how emotions will be managed and handled within the group. The leader should take care of sensitive information. The member will only reveal the data and material with which the client will feel comfortable because everyone has the right to keep their feelings and emotions confidential. It is the responsibility of the client to manage the emotions and sentiments in front of the group. On the basis of this, the client will decide whether they should share this information or not. The leader should not try to expose the material that the client does not want to share.
Structuring Dimension
This formal aspect will be helpful for learning different methods and how these experiences can be managed in a structured form. A facilitator must provide structured and organized information with proper strategies to facilitate group members, such as in substance misuse agencies. A facilitator should design such methods that are effective for clients as they will make physical contact. Even communication and body language facilitators do count a lot, which will help to engage the facilitator with the client effectively.
Valuing Dimension
This dimension is about the integrity aspect. The main aim is to provide a supportive environment in which members of the group can realize an actual climate with true interests and needs. The main question here is how we can create a climate of integrity, respect and personal value. If every member of the group feels free to share info and solid material, then each person will trust the other. The facilitator should execute and implement the process of empathy to support the client.
My workplace has organized these dimensions, starting from the planning dimension to the structuring dimension and confronting dimension, then the meaning of feeling dimension, and ending with the valuing dimension. During the workshop, the agency gives importance to valuing dimensions in order to enhance the level of integrity among members of the group. In this way, group members will be able to recognize real needs and requirements. The agency also places stress on implementing a feeling dimension so that members can learn to manage as well as handle emotions. These emotions will help members express themselves and communicate with the group without any hesitation. Other than these dimensions, the planning dimension is more important. This first step elaborates on all the objectives of the group, which results in further plans and strategies executed by the group to accomplish them. It would not be likely for group members to consider something until the tasks and objectives of members are not definite.
The power of facilitation enables the organization to support facilitated sessions to develop learning as well as development. It also enhances employee engagement. The performance of the company also improves due to facilitation skills. Due to facilitation skills, interpersonal interactions also improve and enhance. Each participant is involved and contributes to the meeting. This also facilitates team dynamics as well as how to aid various forms of group members. It also improves commitment and dedication to ongoing specialized development.
The strength of agency is the meaning dimension, where facilitation helps group members to make sense of the idea and experience. The feeling dimension makes the agency to manage and develop interpersonal group relationships in group facilitation. The facilitator shows acceptance and approval by responding empathically to guide group cohesiveness.
Agency needs to develop cooperative mode where facilitator should behave significant supportive through sharing power. The facilitator should listen to the ideas and views of the group. The facilitator should provide a sound climate in which the members of the group can feel freedom and autonomy to explore their thoughts. The facilitator should emphasize training and education to make developments.
Because education can help individuals identify discrepancies through increased self-awareness, leading to making individuals better life choices.According to John Heron, learning and transformative learning permit such insights to facilitate various groups that members can learn in relation to the group and facilitator. Now I have learnt deep insights about this assignment and able to recognize with and reflect on presentation skills of facilitator as well as group structures.
References
Cranton, P., (1994). Understanding and Promoting Transformative Learning: A Guide for Educators of Adults.
Dirkx J.M, (2006). Engaging Emotions in Adult Learning: A Jungian Perspective on Emotion and Transformative Learning
Cranton, P., 2016. Understanding and promoting transformative learning: A guide to theory and practice. Stylus Publishing, LLC.
Cranton, P., 2002. Teaching for transformation. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2002(93), pp.63-72.
Overholser, J.C., 2011. Collaborative empiricism, guided discovery, and the Socratic method: Core processes for effective cognitive therapy. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 18(1), pp.62-66.
Heron, J., 1999. The complete facilitator’s handbook. Kogan Page.
Mezirow, J., 1990. How critical reflection triggers transformative learning. Fostering critical reflection in adulthood, 1, p.20.
