
Small Group 101: The Roles of Maximum Collaboration
Refocus on the Fundamentals
You must work with different groups to tackle big projects and big goals. While you might want to roll up your sleeves and do the work yourself, you know better. You get better creativity, better buy-in, better sharing of the workload and better continuity if group members leave. But working with other people, organizations, boards and attorneys can get your head spinning. Some days, inspiration fills you. Other days, you feel a little stabby. The police chief doesn’t like those other days. To achieve the maximum positives of collaborative work, remember the 4 different roles a small group should have in place: The Leader/Facilitator Clarifies the purpose of the group, creates the agenda, helps set sub-tasks, and sets the goals for each meeting. This roll becomes responsible for communicating to all group members where they stand and what tasks have been assigned to them. Arbitrator/Monitor Observes the group’s functionality. If tension or conflict start to arise, they step in and offer a resolve to the dispute. Monitors work on allowing all group members the chance to participate and learn. Notetaker/ Timekeeper Takes an active role of recording group discussions and task assignments. They ensure meetings follow an agenda and a designated timeframe. They keep the conversation rolling and ensure time management. Devil's Advocate Keeps all arguments on the table. They strive for an open mind and look for holes in a group’s decision-making process. They test the direction of the group within the context of the organization and community’s most pressing needs. Reminders These roles can be assigned to one person, but spreading them out remains the better option. People should know what their roles consist of and how to go about accomplishing them. There can be co-leaders, rotating timekeepers, and multiple devil’s advocates. An important thing to remember; no matter how many individuals might be in the group, these roles must be fulfilled by at least one individual who will actively play the part. Without these roles, any group can be susceptible to groupthink, confirmation bias and group conformity. Having all the working components of a group, will create maximum group success. |
Further reading
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Cobalt Community Research is a national 501c3 nonprofit, non-partisan coalition that helps local governments, schools and membership organizations measure, benchmark, and affordably engage communities through high-quality metrics, mobile geofencing data, surveys, and dynamic population segmentation. Cobalt combines big data with local insights to help organizations thrive as changes emerge in the economic, demographic and social landscape. Explore how we can help by calling 877.888.0209, or by emailing [email protected].
Cobalt Community Research is a national 501c3 nonprofit, non-partisan coalition that helps local governments, schools and membership organizations measure, benchmark, and affordably engage communities through high-quality metrics, mobile geofencing data, surveys, and dynamic population segmentation. Cobalt combines big data with local insights to help organizations thrive as changes emerge in the economic, demographic and social landscape. Explore how we can help by calling 877.888.0209, or by emailing [email protected].