RLS 122 Final

A group refers to two or more people who are socially connected to one another

Group development refers to the growth and change within a group over time

3 main models: -- Sequential stage models -- Recurring phase models -- Equilibrium models

-- Groups develop as a progression through multiple stages -- Stages have different characteristics -- Groups are thought to go through each stage of group development -- Group moves in an order, proceed step by step, go through each stage, and go in one direction

Stages of Guiding Group Development: Forming --> Storming --> Norming --> Performing --> Adjourning

Examples of sequential stage models

-- Groups may experience a variety of stages multiple times throughout their existence -- The order of stages is not predetermined -- Groups may not necessarily experience all stages -- Groups might need to go through stages multiple times and/or they can skip a step -- Groups do not need to go through every single stage as it is not essential for group development -- Groups go with the flow and can repeat sections Key takeaway: They do NOT need to repeat every stage but they might. They can experience a stage multiple times or not at all

-- Group A: Coming together --> Agreement --> High Performing -- Group B: Coming together --> Conflict --> Agreement --> Conflict --> Agreement --> High Performing

-- Left and middle: Sequential stage model -- Right: Recurring phase model

-- Task and social elements of the group must maintain balance in order to be successful -- Equilibrium models do not support the premise that groups progress through stages -- Once a group is established, changes are minimal to maintain balance

-- Group A: too task-focused and are not as social or efficient -- Group B: too focused on the social aspect and doesn't complete tasks Neither of these groups balance task and social and therefore do not follow the equilibrium model

Norms are rules or parameters that guide behaviours in a group

3 main techniques: -- Stating: directly telling the group which behaviours are suitable and which are not -- Modeling: consistently demonstrating the prescribed behaviours -- Importing: employing norms that are used in other situations and contexts. Taking something (tips, tricks, techniques) that has worked in one situation and applying it to a different situation

Example: A tour group is going hiking. -- Stating: Before starting, the tour guide will explicitly tell the group what the expectations are. For instance, always sticking with a buddy and respecting nature by taking out what you bring in -- Modeling: The guide will do what the group was told to do - practice what you preach! -- Importing: The guide remembers that the buddy system has worked in swimming classes so they take the buddy system from that situation and “imports” or applies that to the hiking situation

Norm adherence is centered on how group members adhere to established norms

Conforming to norms can be both good or bad

-- Roles are a set of behaviours that are expected from the occupants of specific positions within the group. -- The types of roles are: social, task, formal, and informal

Social roles are focused on supporting positive interactions and relationships (e.g., facilitator, mediator)

Task roles are focused on the direct pursuit of group goals and objectives (e.g., information seeking, evaluation)

Formal roles are established by the group and are promoted as positions of importance. They often have titles (e.g., lead, chief executive officer)

Informal roles are grown out of experiences within the group and are created by the group (e.g., comic relief, group nurturer)

Role ambiguity is a lack of clarity regarding one's role within the group and can be caused by an absence of information

Role conflict is when the expectations of two different roles are incompatible -- For example, a varsity athlete might struggle to balance the demands of academics with the demands of their sport. Another example is a nurse who values work-life balance but is constantly being asked to work OT

5 sequential stages: -- Investigation -- Socialization -- Maintenance -- Resocialization -- Remembrance

Identifying and evaluating potential groups to join --> weighing the costs and benefits

-- Leaders can help in the investigation stage by giving potential members a realistic picture of both the costs and benefits of group membership. Many groups only share the benefits of and/or do not provide sufficient detail surrounding the costs -- Having all the information helps leaders, group members, and potential group members avoid challenges in the future

-- Understanding how the new member will fit into the group -- The new member learns the group's norms, standards, and approaches to communication

-- Socialization can be compromised if there are negative perceptions by the new member and/or of existing members -- When joining a new group, both existing members and new members can have negative perceptions of one another. For example, the new member might think the existing members are cold and cliquey whereas the existing members think the new member is reserved and not interested in them

-- Leaders can use a variety of approaches to ensure that new members become accepted within the group (e.g., full value contract, team building, mentors, group discussions) -- A leader's job is to help the new member understand the group and how they operate, assist in integrating new members, and creating feelings of belonging

-- Characterized by continued accommodation and assimilation on the part of all group members -- The group is operating effectively when considering both tasks and relationships -- Evaluation (i.e., costs and benefits) is ongoing by all group members

The group is doing pretty well at this stage but it’s important for the group leader to check in with the group. Checking in at the individual and group level can help promote continued group membership

-- The individual and group evaluate where they are now and where they are heading -- There may be convergence or divergence at this stage depending on this assessment -- Regardless of the outcome, the resocialization stage can be a time to celebrate contributions -- The resocialization stage may be a good time to make adjustments to the group

Convergence is when the individual re-commits to the group during the resocialization stage

Divergence is the individual and group parting ways during the resocialization stage

-- Remembrance is characterized by debriefing their experiences individually and collectively -- Group members viewed positively “live on” through group history and tradition Based on positive or negative experiences with a group, members may behave differently: -- Potentially recommending the group to others -- Approach or avoid group activities -- Varying valence of memories

-- Cohesion is the tendency for groups to stick together when working towards reaching a goal -- Cohesion is a dynamic process in that as groups change and evolve (e.g., sharing experiences over time, changing perspectives), the group's goals may shift as well

Cohesion reflects the social and task-related bonds among members of the group

-- Groupthink -- Polarization -- Social loafing

Groupthink is the tendency for group members to seek agreement with one another

-- Separation from outside sources of information -- Leadership styles that repress people who disagree -- Lack of different ranges of experiences and backgrounds of group members

-- This connects back to the importance of diversity! Without the unique experiences of others, a group is susceptible to groupthink!

-- Pressure on those who disagree with the majority of favoured opinion -- Stereotyping of those who are outside of the group that disagree and/or provide alternative solutions -- Self-censorship in order to silence individual concerns (e.g., being particularly cautious of what you say)

Polarization is the tendency of groups to take a more cautious or more risky course of action than individual group members would

Social loafing refers to group members who contribute very little to the group and assume that others will do more to complete the task

Typically, those who are “social loafers” tend to hide or remain invisible in a group and do not fully and equally contribute

Free riding is an extreme form of social loafing, and occurs when an individual claims membership in a group but does not contribute in any meaningful way to the group process

Social loafing can occur as a result of: -- Low group cohesion -- Individual inputs that are not recognized or acknowledged -- Group Size that is too large -- Perception that other members are not contributing

-- Direct leadership involves an immediate or face-to-face relationship between leader and subordinate which affects approaches to motivation and problem solving -- Key takeaway: direct leadership is when a leader is directly with the group and physically face-to-face, NOT over Zoom!

Benefits of direct leadership include: -- Immediate assessment of the productivity or problems of the group -- Opportunity for quick problem solving -- More opportunity for leaders to influence and develop those in their charge

Leaders should try to foster intrinsic motivation to increase participation satisfaction

By providing opportunities for input, choice, and engagement

Goals are intended aims of an individual or group to meet certain targets

Objectives are specific measurable actions that are the building blocks for achieving the goal

Involving group members in the process of goal setting can have a positive impact on motivation and adherence

If goals are too easy, the group may be less motivated and underperform

If goals are too difficult, the group may become frustrated due to lack of success

S - Specific: objectives must be concise, explicit, and deal directly with the main issue in order to ensure success M - Measurable: objectives must contain some way to measure their level of progress or completion A - Achievable: objectives must be established at an appropriate level, finding a balance between challenge and quick success R - Realistic: objectives must reflect the unique circumstances of each group as not all objectives may be attainable by all groups T - Time bound: objectives must be able to be completed in a certain time frame and the time frame should be stated clearly

S - Specific: objectives must be concise, explicit, and deal directly with the main issue in order to ensure success

M - Measurable: objectives must contain some way to measure their level of progress or completion

A - Achievable: objectives must be established at an appropriate level, finding a balance between challenge and quick success

R - Realistic: objectives must reflect the unique circumstances of each group as not all objectives may be attainable by all groups

T - Time bound: objectives must be able to be completed in a certain time frame and the time frame should be stated clearly

5 dimensions of leader behaviour: -- Training and instruction -- Democratic behaviour -- Autocratic behaviour -- Social support -- Positive feedback

Antecedents are what leads to specific leadership behaviour

-- Situational characteristics: characteristics associated with the environment or context (e.g., goals, tasks, norms, group size, how the group formed) -- Leader characteristics: characteristics of the leader themselves (e.g., personality, ability to plan, relationship or task focus, approaches to communication) -- Member characteristics: characteristics that may be unique to group members individually or as a collective (e.g., age, experience, ability, needs, preferences)

-- Required: Behaviour that is necessary for dealing with the demands and constraints of the situation. This is how the leader needs to respond based on the demands and constraints (e.g., this is what needs to happen when there’s a ferris wheel evac) -- Actual: Behaviour that the leader actually chooses to attempt to manage the situation. This is how the leader responds knowing what the required behaviour is (e.g., Katie knows what’s required during the evac but it’s how she actually acts during the evac) -- Preferred: The behaviours that participants or group members want from their leaders. How the group wants the leader to respond. (e.g., how we want Katie to respond to the evac → calm, collected, direct, etc.)

The leader’s performance and participant’s satisfaction are influenced by the degree to which the three states of leader behaviour align with one another (i.e., the actual behaviour is consistent with both the preferred and required behaviours)

The leader’s performance and participant’s satisfaction impact the leader’s actual behaviour (i.e., they serve as feedback)

A: Required B: Actual C: Preferred

A: Performance (focused on the leader) B: Satisfaction (focused on the group)

SMART goals

Training and instruction consists of teaching and giving guidance to improve performance and provide training opportunities

Democratic behaviour consists of involving participants in the process of decision making and forming goals. Giving group members the option to be involved in decision making. Everyone has their say in what happens

A: Situational characteristics B: Leader characteristics C: Member characteristics

Training and instruction consists of teaching and giving guidance to improve performance and provide training opportunities

Democratic behaviour consists of involving participants in the process of decision making and forming goals. Giving group members the option to be involved in decision making. Everyone has their say in what happens

Autocratic behaviour consists of demanding compliance and issuing orders, often in emergent situations where decisions have to be made quickly. In these cases, the leader has to make the quick decisions to keep everyone safe

Social support consists of interpersonal relationship between leader and member(s) to attend to different needs

Positive feedback consists of complimentary remarks regarding contributions and a genuine appreciation of effort. Reinforcing good and desired behaviour, giving feedback, putting in genuine effort, and communicating the effort someone has put in.

Supervision is a means of directing, supporting, and monitoring those for whom a supervisor is responsible

Leadership is centered on influencing others, whereas supervision tends to be more about delegating tasks to subordinates and then following their progress and results

Supervision is an integral component of leadership as both roles involve similar skills, and both leaders and supervisors oversee people

-- Helps supervisees to feel supported and valued, enhancing organization effectiveness -- Can clearly explain expectations (e.g., requirements, norms, responsibilities, techniques) -- Supervisees will know that they have support available if needed -- Problems can be recognized and addressed through good supervision

Being in the middle between senior management and front-line employees, supervisors ensure that the goals of the organization (i.e., developed by senior management) are delivered to the organization’s clientele (i.e., through the actions of front-line staff)

-- Demonstrate loyalty to the organization -- Understand and communicate management’s philosophy and goals -- Follow and enforce all policies -- Delegate tasks -- Monitor and evaluate employees -- Keep management regularly updated -- Enforce discipline

-- Provide goals and direction -- Delegate tasks -- Support them -- Demonstrate respect and fairness -- Provide feedback -- Motivate them -- Provide training -- Represent their interests -- Defend them when needed -- Recognize efforts and successes

-- 1. Problem solving and decision making -- 2. Orientation and training -- 3. Evaluation -- 4. Discipline -- 5. Communication and meetings -- 6. Supporting personnel and organizational policies -- 7. Observing, monitoring, and providing feedback -- 8. Encouraging professional development -- 9. Delegation -- 10. Motivation

Problem solving refers to determining solutions to correct the discrepancy between a desired state and a current reality

-- Decision making is choosing from two or more alternatives -- Two types of decisions: Programmed decisions: -- Routine decisions typically based on policies (i.e., largely prescribed) -- Less time consuming -- Easier to make Nonprogrammed decisions -- Require new, unique, and often unexpected circumstances -- More time consuming -- More difficult to make

Programmed decisions -- Routine decisions typically based on policies (i.e., largely prescribed) -- Less time consuming -- Easier to make Nonprogrammed decisions -- Require new, unique, and often unexpected circumstances -- More time consuming -- More difficult to make

-- 1. Verbal warning: Addressing the employee directly, identifying the problem, explaining acceptable behavior, and outlining potential consequences -- 2. Written warning: if the problem occurs again, the incident should be formally documented. The employee should have the opportunity to respond in writing if they choose -- 3. Intervention: Develop an employee improvement plan, ideally, with input from the employee. The plan identifies the problem, the impacts of the problem, reviews expected performance standards, and indicates possible solutions -- 4. Termination: Requires a great deal of documentation and must adhere to policies and procedures

-- Delegation involves assigning supervisees tasks for which the supervisor has the ultimate responsibility -- Delegation can help employees develop new skills and a sense of ownership of tasks

Motivation is the drive to work toward certain goals and to expend considerable energy in reaching them

Volunteers are people who perform services without remuneration

-- Direct service (e.g., interacting with clients) -- Clerical or administrative (e.g., registration, communications) -- Public relations (e.g., speaking, news releases) -- Fundraising (e.g., phone calls, campaigns) -- Policy making and advising (e.g., advisory councils, boards)

-- Self satisfaction -- Altruism -- Companionship and meeting others -- Learning about a field -- Obtaining training in a field -- Helping maintain an organization -- Developing professional contacts -- Getting ahead in a field -- Providing entry into an organization

-- Satisfaction of helping others -- Opportunity to offer skills, expertise, or talents that the organization can’t provide -- Serving as a link between community and agency -- Enjoying activity

Compared to paid staff, volunteers typically: -- May require ongoing guidance, at least initially as they are not as familiar with inner workings of organizations -- Are not adequately supervised -- Are not evaluated and feedback can be meaningful and helpful for the volunteer and agency -- Evaluation should be a two-way process -- Require explicit recognition in order to be retained -- Certificates, praise, awards, feedback, and verbal appreciation

Dependability

The agency must establish legal responsibility for working volunteers

-- Dependability -- Liability -- Transportation -- Assembling groups of volunteers -- Developing or maintaining camaraderie

Volunteers often work on different days and times based on availability so organizing meetings and trainings can be difficult

Different schedules minimize opportunities to bond, share, and compare notes

-- Practice the Golden Rule -- Avoid perceptions of favoritism -- Manage emotions -- Get to know, and care for, your supervisees -- Be an effective, active listener -- Set clear expectations -- Provide appreciation, praise, and recognition -- Provide effective feedback

A system is an entity made up of interdependent parts that form a complex or unified whole

Humans have a tendency to assume that anything new, outside of our control, or unfamiliar is a potential threat.

We see many things as threats when they are really opportunities for growth!

-- Encounter, and embrace the unknown -- Make known individual viewpoints -- Explore new perspectives

-- Size and diversity -- Internal factors -- Organizational contextual factors -- Conflict and trust -- Decision making

Self-awareness and self-regulation

The structure of the organization refers to the way that authority and roles are organized

Differences in power can be addressed by changing the structure or to create a culture of trust and empowerment

The task design refers to work or tasks for which the team is responsible

Culture is a set of shared assumptions that lead to success within a team

Cultures that value participation, flexibility, freedom of expression, and choice characterize effective team functioning

Without a foundation of trust, conflict may be feared and avoided

Conflict can allow teams to consider issues more deeply

For decision making to be effective (i.e., open, diverse perspectives), all problems must be clearly understood and space given to potential solutions

The learning wheel model can help to understand how teams can adjust to be more effective because teams must be able to learn and respond quickly and teams as a collective must learn and adapt.

The stages of the learning wheel model are: -- 1. Disturbance -- 2. Chaos -- 3. Letting Go -- 4. Learning

-- 1. Disturbance -- 2. Chaos -- 3. Letting Go -- 4. Learning

Learning begins with disturbance, which is a force that creates the demand for change. This force can be internal or external

Disturbance does not necessarily result in learning if teams ignore, neglect, or avoid dealing with change due to fears, worries, or anxieties surrounding uncertainty

-- Chaos is a period of uncertainty as a person learns and changes -- The chaos stage can be filled with anxiety, stress, and discomfort as new understanding is sought

-- 1. The presence of chaos does not mean that the leader is doing something wrong; it is a necessary part of the learning process -- 2. Chaos is a time when leaders should be present, but not step in and rescue -- 3. Clarity and structure provided by the leader can help understand the source of chaos and what is needed to move forward

Letting go involves creating a level of openness to consider a different perspective or way of understanding

Letting go is the bridge between chaos and learning by loosening the grip on certain things to create openness

-- Demonstrate vulnerability -- Making it clear that it is difficult -- Sharing personal experience or current feelings around letting go

-- 1. A growing awareness and willingness to challenge assumptions and mental models. -- 2. Growing the ability to be purposeful and less reactive. Being able to put the team in positions of discomfort so as to learn -- 3. When people are open and aware to challenge their thinking and tolerate differences, it results in a broader perspective.

For learning to occur, assumptions must be recognized and changed is necessary and the team considers other ways of thinking

-- Experiential learning -- Sustainability -- Team infrastructure

Experiential learning involves learning in context, taking action, and reflecting on that action

An often missed component of experiential learning is purposeful guided reflection on the experience

Many things crucial to team effectiveness are learned better by doing rather than talking

Transfer of learning is a process of taking lessons learned in one context and applying them to another context

Learning in context allows for people to learn and perform at the same time and provides opportunity for alternatives to be considered

-- Sustainability is the ability to create lasting change or increase the capacity of the team to change in the future -- Sustainability involves actually learning what you are trying to learn

The ultimate goal of sustainability is to learn the skill or knowledge and to organize the team in a way that allows for future learning

Team infrastructure involves practices, norms, or elements of the team that make it easy for collaboration to occur

There are 4 elements of team infrastructure: -- 1. Mindset (i.e., developing a perspective that values collaboration) -- 2. Opportunity (i.e., changes to actually practice collaboration) -- 3. Process (i.e., engaging and valuable team learning sessions) -- 4. Catalyst (i.e., bringing new energy and focus to a team)

Negligence is a failure to exercise a standard of care that results in injury, damage, or loss

-- 1. Duty (i.e., when one does not fulfill their duty) --2. Breach of duty (i.e., when one does not fulfill their duty) -->Omission (i.e., not doing something one was supposed to do) or Commission (i.e., doing something one was supposed to do, but incorrectly, or doing something one should not have done) -- 3. Proximate cause (i.e., connects breach of duty and the harm that occurs) -- 4. Injury, damage, or loss (i.e., the harmful outcome)

-- Omission (i.e., not doing something one was supposed to do) -- Commission (i.e., doing something one was supposed to do, but incorrectly, or doing something one should not have done)

The plaintiff is the injured party and the defendant is the party who has allegedly committed the harm

Standard of care refers to what a reasonable person would do in a similar situation

Common practices are practices that professionals are expected to know and follow

Industry standards are formalized common practices

Accrediting agencies and governing bodies often help organizations to become familiar with common practices and industry standards

-- Reduction -- Avoidance -- Transfer -- Retention

Steps that an agency takes to reduce the likelihood of an accident

Centered on the idea that if there is a smaller opportunity for accidents or unplanned events, then there is a smaller opportunity for harmful outcomes

Avoidance is the elimination or discontinuation of an activity and can be a temporary suspension or a permanent removal

Transfer involves transferring the program or the cost of the program to someone else

-- 1. Transferring the cost to someone else, usually an insurance company -- 2. Contractually transferring responsibility or some of the duty to the participant through waivers -- 3. Subcontracting the activity to someone else, who assumes the duty

-- The organization pays for expenses out of pocket or creates an internal fund in place of insurance -- The finances are kept within the organization rather than incurring costs (e.g., premiums, coverage) elsewhere

-- Leaders must provide the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities to help participants handle the situation -- Support must be provided (e.g., staff, equipment, planning)

Leaders must continually assess these activities to ensure that the risks remain low

There's an opportunity to provide challenge, or perceived risk, while keeping participants safe

-- Identify as many dominos as possible to reduce or manage impact -- Search for “invisible” dominos and those that may not be typically visible until after the accident -- Directly integrating underlying factors (i.e., human, environment, equipment) into activity planning

-- Accident causation is focused on the causes of an accident -- Safety management is focused on developing practices and procedures that reduce the likelihood of an accident

The purpose of both is to identify and change policy and protocols to make an activity safer

The 2x2 risk matrix can help assess perceived and actual risk

The domino model can help identify risk

Succession planning is a systematic process that identifies people within an organization who are capable of filling key positions

Succession plans: -- Are longer term -- Focus on the future needs of organizations rather than immediate needs -- Develop staff able to fill several positions -- Focus on several people capable of filling a position rather than one or two

-- It is a time intensive process -- Immediate results may not be evident -- Employees are viewed as short-term -- Perceived threat of developing replacements

-- 1. Understanding agency development needs -- 2. Assess job demands, competencies, and bench strength -- 3. Build the talent pool

Organizations must consider how many people will be selected, how they will be selected, and how the program will be structured

No, not all employees may be part of the succession plan

The initial stage is the learning and information-gathering phase

-- 1. Job analysis -- 2. Competency profile development -- 3. Bench strength assessment

-- Yes, these processes can be completed simultaneously -- Each process helps to capture where an organization sits, and where they need to be in the future

Job analysis is a process used to ascertain the competencies required for top job performance

Competencies are the skills (e.g., physical or psychomotor aptitudes), knowledge (e.g., understanding information required for the position), abilities (e.g., how well someone can perform certain tasks or behaviours), and characteristics (e.g., attitudes, qualities, or traits) needed to be successful in a position

-- Educational requirements (e.g., degrees, training, certifications) -- Equipment used (e.g., tools, equipment, materials) -- Working conditions (e.g., travel, schedule, environment) -- Supervisory and management responsibilities (e.g., who supervisees are and their expectations)

A competency profile includes information from internal and external sources to generate the job description (e.g., observing trends, emerging norms, research)

In addition to current competencies, consideration must be given to competency development and progression

Bench strength refers to the depth chart at each key position within the organization or the number of people capable of stepping in to do a job

The talent pool is a collection of skilled workers with the potential to fill positions within an organization

-- 1. Can advance two or three more levels within the organization (i.e., there is room for them to move up) -- 2. Have not reached a career plateau -- 3. They currently exceed minimum job expectations -- 4. They are committed to improving professionally

-- Past performance appraisals demonstrate how the employee has performed over time -- 360-degree performance appraisals involve the perspective of peers, supervisors, and subordinates -- Work portfolios contain examples of the employee’s work (e.g., writing samples, timelines, testimonials, performance reviews, goals) -- Assessment centres are job-related tests, exercises, and simulations that emulate the job taks (e.g., role playing, discussions, physical tests) to see how employees respond

A development plan is a written document that details learning goals, strategies to reach these goals, development opportunities, and tracking criteria to ensure that the employee will achieve desired outcomes

No, mentors do not need to be the person’s direct supervisor; they can be someone with the knowledge of the position desired by the mentee

Mentoring is focused on the learner and the learning process

-- 1. Identify the job(s) or job level(s) the employee desires -- 2. Discuss the competency gap -- 3. Discuss the timeline -- 4. Set learning goals -- 5. Set strategies and identify resources to achieve goals -- 6. Facilitate development opportunities -- 7. Establish tracking criteria

-- The mentor and employee should identify the job and the level of the job that the employee wants -- This information dictates the required competencies

A competency gap is the difference between the competencies the person currently has and the competencies the person needs to obtain at the desired level within the organization

-- Timelines should be realistic and should be discussed honestly -- Timelines should help the employee to plan out how long it will take them to develop certain competencies -- The timeline depends on the competency assessment: people with more competencies progress faster than those who need to acquire more skills

The competency gaps are the basis for the learning goals

-- Learn how to effectively use a registration management software -- Understand intake protocol -- Enhance marketing skills -- Build confidence in leading discussions -- Obtain a management certification

Strategies are the specifics for achieving goals (i.e., how will one actually progress toward a goal)

Identifying available resources (e.g., people, money, time, equipment) is crucial in helping to achieve goals

-- Formal: opportunities that are more structured and typically have specific goals and objectives (e.g., conferences, workshops, training, apprenticeships) -- Informal: casual with little structure and are typically not required (e.g., discussion group, book club, lunch and learn)

The development plan will only be successful if accomplishments and goals are tracked and evaluated

Yes, tracking criteria may be modified depending on employee progress

External leadership refers to behaviours that are employed to reach goals when multiple individuals or agencies (or both) come together around an issue

-- Lack of agreement on the purpose of the group -- Insufficient buy-in or support -- Inappropriate expectations -- Too many or too few members or organizations represented -- Inadequate time and/or resources -- Lack of agreement on other decisions

-- Enhanced learning and problem solving -- Including diverse perspectives in decision making -- Decreased costs as a result of resource sharing and pooling diverse talents

-- Negotiate a solid understanding of purpose -- Understand control architecture -- Develop a communication plan -- Develop a plan

-- Any ambiguity surrounding the group purpose or objective can lead to disconnection and lack of direction -- Even when the purpose is thought to be self-evident, take time to articulate it and gather agreement -- Encourage, or require, all members to take the purpose back to host organization for comment and adjustment if needed -- Generate an inclusive, shared purpose statement to establish a strong foundation to build on

-- It is good to map out the relationship between each individual and their organization, the relationship between each individual and each other, and how the group relates to the host organizations -- Groups must explicitly communicate how decisions will be made (i.e., the internal structure of the external group)

A communication plan may not always be included, but can be helpful to clarify basic principles of open, honest, and transparent communication

-- Acceptable and unacceptable communication -- Appropriate reactions to ideas presented by members -- How to handle tense discussions

-- Outline tasks that you will need to tackle to accomplish your primary goal(s) -- Outline resources that you anticipate needing, and consider who could provide these resources -- A timeline can help to map out goals -- Split up the work where appropriate

-- External community leadership -- External organization leadership

No, external community leaders often serve without compensation (i.e., they volunteer)

External community leaders are often motivated by seeing benefits within their communities

-- Advisory committees -- Foundations -- Watchdog groups -- Community volunteers

Advisory committees are appointed groups of citizens that are authorized to advise a formal policy organization

-- Advisory committees maximize outreach to the community regarding the issue at hand -- Advisory committees do not have formal authority to make decisions, but they can advise or make recommendations to the group that authorized them -- Advisory groups advise on policy issues, and formal policy groups approve the policy

Advisory committees may include specific stakeholders (i.e., those who may be impacted by a decision and have an interest in the decision)

Advisory committees do not have formal authority to make decisions, but they can advise or make recommendations to the group that authorized them

Foundations are often charitable or tax-exempt organizations

These private nonprofit groups help communities to: -- Raise private funds and apply for grants -- Recruit and train volunteers to perform significant community service -- Promote and campaign on the behalf of their community