Lesson 2/1

Empowerment Leadership Model for Small Groups, Teams, & Families
Course 2, Lesson 1

What a Successful Group/Team/Family Does
The Functional Tasks Broken Down

Note: Whenever "group" or "team" is used, it can mean "group", "team", or "family".
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It is critical that the group/team/family leader have an understanding of what a group must do to be healthy, have vitality and strive for success. These functional tasks, along with their subtasks, are things the group must address. Another way to look at it is this: if a group leader is to help the group, he or she must know what a healthy or functional group looks like. I wouldn’t want to go to a doctor who did not know what a healthy body looked like, would you?

These are the things you help the group do. As I said earlier, a group is an organism that to survive has a life of its own. It has tasks it must do to be vital, healthy and successful. So let’s take a look at the group’s tasks.

Let’s look at the very first functional task, that of starting or coming together as a group. Usually the responsibilities within this task are ignored, dooming many groups from the very beginning from accomplishing more than 10% of the group’s potential.

1 The task of starting the group or team includes three main subtasks:

(1) establishing a clear contract with the group leader and with one another

(2) defining goals that will likely lead to accomplishment of the purpose

(3) defining an action plan and appropriate activities to achieve the group purpose.

2 The task of getting started working on the group purpose includes 7 subtasks:

(1) implementing the action plan

(2) deciding how to make decisions

(3) learning to carry out decisions

(4) having a sufficiently wide range of activities and/or responsibilities to meet the needs of all group members

(5) learning the strengths and weaknesses of group members as related to the group purpose and goals

(6) significantly tapping the strengths of all members as required for maximum accomplishment of the group’s purpose

(7) helping group members behave in line with the group purpose and goals

3 The task of keeping the group working on the group purpose, also called the task of perseverance, includes these 8 subtasks:

(1) identifying and overcoming barriers to the accomplishment of the small group purpose, including interrelationship problems, knowledge and resource insufficiencies, small group process barriers and other things that get in the way of success

(2) Controlling dysfunctional behavior of small group members and the small group as a whole

(3) Providing emotional help to small group members and the small group as a whole as necessary to accomplish the small group purpose

(4) Providing mutual aid to small group members and the small group as a whole as necessary to accomplish the small group purpose

(5) Assisting members of the small group to get outside help as necessary to accomplish the small group purpose

(6) Identifying and utilizing all available resources that are necessary for the best accomplishment of the small group purpose

(7) Minimizing the negative influence of outside systems

(8) continually evaluating the performance of the small group and its members in light of the small group purpose

4 The task of redefining the group’s purpose, if desired or necessary

5 The task of ending the team experience, if applicable

Spiritual Tasks
will be covered in Course 6

Next, let's look at Task #1, Subtask #1
Establishing a Clear Contract with the Group Leader and with One Another

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