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How to Lead Creative Groups - Part 5

The questions the leader must avoid at all costs are those which will complicate an issue or mislead the group members, or which will limit the group's thinking by taking away some of their latitude on the problem. This latter is a consideration that the leader must be especially conscious of throughout any creative effort. The leader, if he is really searching for new ideas, cannot, in any way, restrict the group effort to go off in new and different directions. This is what the group is there for. But, at the same time, the leader must be ready to bring the group back in case they wander too far. This can be done with a leading question or a contribution of an idea by the leader which is more "on target" so far as the basic problem is concerned.

On the other hand, if a group member should unconsciously launch into a brief speech or grow slightly fuzzy in expressing an idea, the leader should exercise restraint, overlook it, and carry on. Don't try to short-circuit or clarify someone's thinking by interrupting him—that is a dampener. Everything about a creative meeting should be aimed at developing free and easy thinking.

And this brings up the pitfalls the leader of any creative group has to watch out for. On the deep, and usually unconscious level, the leader may have a hidden purpose of his own: that of maintaining his leadership at any cost. The position of influence and power, even a temporary one, is pleasing, and most people resist letting it go. One of the most difficult jobs the leader of a creative group session faces is that of allowing the group to "grow up" and be less dependent upon him. He must, as parents frequently do, maintain his control in little ways that will not interfere with the development and expression of the group personality. Furthermore, groups can readily develop hidden agendas concerning the leader. If he is too dominant, the hidden reaction will take the form of passive resistance. If he takes sides on crucial issues or leaves the group with a feeling of insecurity about his fairness or objectivity, active revolt may take place. Frequently a group in revolt will obviously follow the leadership of one of its members, while it permits the nominal leader to go through the empty forms of leadership.

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