Empowerment Leadership Model for Small Groups, Teams, & Families
Course 2, Lesson 9
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Helping Its Group Members Behave
In Line with Working on the Group Purpose
what the group does to get started working on its purpose correctly
Note: Whenever "group" or "team" is used, it can mean "group", "team", or "family".
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The last subtask of the general task of getting started working on the group purpose, and a very important one indeed, is that of helping group members behave in line with the group purpose and goals.
Every group purpose requires something specific in the way of group behavior as well as behavior of group members. For example, the church board that runs the church must have its members toe the line with regard to their behavior in the sense of integrity, prayer, confidentiality, and a host of other important behaviors. So the church board must help its members behave in line with these requirements or the group purpose will be compromised. Likewise there is expected behavior of the church board as a whole such as cooperative negotiation rather than argument, timeliness with regard to meetings and obligations, etc.
To give a few more examples, a Sunday school class might decide that everyone needs to do the homework so that discussion can take off at a higher level. A missions council might decide that its members need to keep in touch with assigned missionaries. A Bible study group might tell its members how important it is to come on time. A group meeting for community will likely tell its members that everyone needs to speak up and contribute, especially when the group or one of its members is facing something really difficult.
Therefore, the Sunday school class needs to deal with members who do not do the homework so that they do get it done. The missions council needs to help a member who is falling behind in contact with his or her missionary. The Bible study group will have to see what the problem is when someone is consistently late and solve it. And the group meeting for community will have to help silent members overcome whatever is holding them back from making their important contributions.
And note that these are things the group does, not the group leader. The skillful group leader does nothing to help someone's attendance get better. That is the responsibility and work of the group. If the leader does anything, he or she will keep the group dependent on him or her, something that is not at all good for the maturation of a group.
Each and every time a group makes a decision is time for the group to consider what needed behavior might not be obvious to its members. And if the behavior is critical, such as not telling the pastor about his surprise birthday party, the expected behavior needs to be verbalized.
Next we will take a look at “the task of perseverance”, or keeping on working on the group purpose.
Copyright 2012 Dick Wulf, Colorado, USA