How do groups work well together?

1. How do groups work well together? What’s your job?

2. Warm up Discuss the following questions at your table: • Who is responsible for making a group work well together? • What does a group working well together look like? Sound like? • What are positive jobs in a group? • What are negative jobs in a group? • What makes a group work well together? • What makes a group not work well together?

3. Note the answers In your journal, make bulleted lists based on your group’s discussion of the following questions: • What makes a group work well together? • _ • _ • _ • What makes a group not work well together? • _ • _ • _

4. Group Jobs Below is a list of jobs in a group. Some of these jobs help a group work well together while others do not help a group function. Talk in your groups about what each of these jobs mean. Decide which ones are positive and negative. • Aggressor • Blocker • Clown • Compromiser • Coordinator/Leader • Deserter • Dominator • Elaborator • Encourager • Energizer • Follower • Gatekeeper • Harmonizer • Information Seeker • Information Giver • Initiator/Contributor • Observer • Opinion Seeker • Opinion Giver • Summarizer

5. Group Jobs In your journal, list the positive and negative jobs based on the discussion your table had. • Aggressor • Blocker • Clown • Compromiser • Coordinator/Leader • Deserter • Dominator • Elaborator • Encourager • Energizer • Follower • Gatekeeper • Harmonizer • Information Seeker • Information Giver • Initiator/Contributor • Observer • Opinion Seeker • Opinion Giver • Summarizer

6. Initiator or Contributor • Suggests new ideas or different ways of approaching a problem; starts discussions, contributes ideas that help the group explore new areas

7. Information Seeker • Asks for clarification, figures out what information is missing before moving on

8. Information Giver • Provides factual information to the group, relates own experiences when relevant

9. Opinion Seeker • Asks for clarification of the values, attitudes and opinions of group members, checks to make sure that different viewpoints are given

10. Opinion Giver • Shares ideas, beliefs, and opinions about the topic

11. Elaborator • Takes people’s ideas and builds on them with examples and facts, considers the consequences of ideas and actions

12. Coordinator or Leader • Identifies and explains the relationships between ideas, may pull different ideas together and make sense of them

13. Energizer • Gives the group energy to carry them forward, challenges the group to finish a task

14. Summarizer • Summarizes main points of people in the group; restates main ideas

15. Encourager • Supports, praises efforts of group, demonstrates warmth, provides a positive attitude

16. Harmonizer • Seeks ways to reduce tension sometimes with humor, reconciles differences

17. Compromiser • Offers to change position for the good of the group, willing to meet others half way

18. Gatekeeper • Makes sure all members have a chance to talk and share ideas, encourages shy and quiet members to contribute ideas, limits those who dominate the conversation

19. Follower • Follows ideas of the group, accepts what others say, but not silent

20. Aggressor • Makes personal attacks, uses belittling and insulting comments; actions are usually attempts to decrease another member’s status

21. Blocker • Opposes every idea or opinion and refuses to make own suggestions, puts up a lot of resistance that stalls the group

22. Dominator • Tries to control the conversation and tell people what they should be doing, claims to know more and have better ideas than anyone else; The Dictator

23. Observer • Sits and observes, but not engaged or contributing to the conversation even when given opportunities to share

24. Clown • Uses group time as fun time and a way to get out of work, distracts other people by telling jokes, gets people off task

25. Deserter • Doesn’t fulfill responsibilities, often leaves group to do other tasks to work alone or with other groups