In Their Own Words

Abstract

Group leadership from a bona fide group theory perspective was examined. Twenty-three effective group leaders were interviewed in depth about what they believe is important in leading groups. Five themes emerged: (a) establishing the intention for the overall project; (b) building the team and developing a positive group culture;(c) monitoring and managing the team’s interaction;(d) managing the group’s task and keeping the group focused;and (e) communication behaviors and personal characteristics of the leader. Effective group leaders take group leadership seriously and work at improving their performance and exhibit selfmonitoring and adaptive behaviors. Future research should examine how leaders learn to become effective, how they assess and balance competing goals of building relationships and completing tasks, and what experiences have been most influential. Findings verify the utility of the bona fide group perspective and also suggest dialectical and turning point theories as potentially useful perspectives for revealing further insights into effective group leadership.