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How to Lead Creative Groups - Part 3

Much of the leadership of any creative group consists in applying techniques and methods which are known as "group dynamics." Briefly defined, "group dynamics" is the art of giving an active "life" to a group. And because leadership is so largely a matter of communication, much of the art of group dynamics is based on ways to break down any social, organizational, or other inhibiting barriers to communication that may exist within a group.

Nearly everyone has seen or participated in a meeting or conference that was handicapped and inhibited by the carrying over of some "big shot-little shot" (such as boss and subordinate) relationship from the world outside the conference. What happens is that the big shots tend to monopolize the time of the group whether their ideas merit the time or not. The little shots always hesitate to challenge the big ones, even though they, the little shots, may actually have insights, ideas, and experience more relevant to the problem. As a further example, in many businesses, the same types of relationships exist in mixed groups of men and women: although the company, and any individual men in it, may profess to consider their co-working women as "equals," in reality such is not the case. Any female member of a conference or meeting can go only so far in challenging a male opinion or thought before she is in danger.

Nevertheless, in business it is frequently necessary to use different combinations of people and temperaments in seeking solutions to problems. The hidden or unmentioned conflicts do exist and will not disappear merely because you'd like them to. Therefore it is up to a meeting leader to see that these do not interfere with reaching the objectives of the group. It is the leader's job to create a climate of safety, so that group members know that they are free to express themselves and that their expressions will receive consideration. (Even in the Brainstorm process, for example, where head-on criticism of another's ideas is ruled out, a member can always interject a positive objection simply by proposing an alternative way something might be done. This alternative may be the exact opposite of a suggestion already given—but he knows it will be recorded and evaluated on the same basis as the idea he took issue with.)

In its bare essentials, a creative group is a group of people interacting to seek the solution to a problem. Good leadership of such a group calls first for the ability to plan such an opportunity to interact. Just as a wife will plan a party, so a business executive should try, where possible, to put together a creative group that will wear well and get things done with a minimum amount of friction when it comes to solving a problem or contributing to the solution of a problem. And just as a party-planner will try initially to "break the ice" and make guests feel "at home," so the meeting leader will plan his program to make his group members feel "involved" in finding a problem solution.

Some of the qualities desirable in a good group leader are these: a sense of humor (and the sense of "timing" that tells him when to be humorous); the ability to listen to people and to make them feel he wants to listen; a genuine liking for people; and the ability to accept the other person's point of view, even though he may not totally agree with it. In addition, it is desirable if the leader can remain calm and poised in the midst of a fast-moving group situation; if he can generate an aura of security when conflicts arise; and if, whatever happens, he can remain and act both optimistic and positive in his approach to the problem. He will use all these characteristics, or as many as he has, in setting the tone and atmosphere of the meeting in the hope that his own attitudes and attributes will prove contagious and spread to the other members. His chief aim throughout the group session will be to keep the channels of communication very wide, and very open, and make it very clear that they are that way.

There are certain physical helps that you can employ both for "breaking the ice" and for suitably communicating your problem to the group members. These are demonstration devices such as charts, slide presentations, movies, blackboard demonstra­tions, props, models, and even magic tricks. It is helpful to a group that is working on the improvement of some actual object, such as a product, package, or material, to have a sample or samples of that object to look at, poke at, examine, feel, or in other ways make themselves familiar with. The purpose of using any such physical or visual aids is largely educational: to help members of the group understand the problem or some obscure phase of the problem; or simply to broaden their backgrounds to make sure they have enough information to cope adequately with the problem being presented to them. Well-planned, such devices can stimulate early participation by getting the individual members' thinking "warmed up" ahead of time. In any case, the use of such informative or educational aids will contribute to the self-confidence the members have in their ability to make sug­gestions on a problem.

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