Leadership in Small Groups

All of humanity is born into this world to do one of two things- to lead or to follow.
Supporters of the leadership traits theory would say that certain individuals were just
born with the capacity to lead.In contrast, suppofrters of the skills approach and similar
approaches argue that leaership is something, a skill, that can be learned by anyone if
there is an innate desire to serve and lead within someone. Merriam Webster classifies
the term leadership as a noun and defines it as- a position as a leader of a group,
organization, etc., the time when a person holds the position of leader, and the power or
ability to lead other people.John Maxwell and leadership theorists of the same mindset
would argue that leadership should instead be seen as a verb because leadership is an
action that someone does when he or she is given the opportunity, whether it be
appointed by self or by others, to take a situation into their own hands or to empower
others to take a situation into their hands. Leadership is taking the one is dealt and
making the most of them by strategic placement in the sense of time and in the sense of
doing something beneficial to the leader and for those lead. Furthermore, leadership as
seen by those who subscribe to the transformational model, is seen as a way of life, a
calling and a tool used to fulfill ones purpose on this earth.
Leadership is sadly often mistaken or at least mixed up with the term
management. Management is defined by Merriam Webster as the act or skill of
controlling and making decisions about a business, department, sports team, etc.,: the
people who make decisions about a business, department, sports team, etc., and: the
act or process of deciding how to use something. A manager is not necessarily a leader,

and a leader does not have to be a manager to be a leader. While management does
seek to maintain order, it does not create much that is new and innovative. Many
leaders become leaders become leaders because they want to create something,
whether that be a physical something that is created or to create an ideology in a
significant amount of people that their ideas, philosophies, ethics, etc. are correct and
worth following. Managements goal is to be more efficient, and they do so by making
clear goals, better control and measure, more training, and incentives. Leadership isn't
about pleasing customers and keeping employees in line- it is about changing lives.
Furthermore, there are three methods of leadership as could be most easily
exemplified through examining the ways a shepherd would lead his sheep. The first of
these is from the back of the herd. This method of leadership is one that goes hand in
hand with management- specifically supervisory management. The second would be a
shepard that walks among his sheep, the best method to be paired with small groups.
This leadership style is right in the middle of an authoritarian mindset and a laissez-faire
mindset. A leader among his sheep is there to direct, but he is also there to nurture his
sheep and to experience both struggle and triumph with his sheep. The leader might
carry the team in some cases. Lastly, there are leaders that would lead their sheep
from the front. Those that utilize this type lead by example and have a high amount of
trust in their sheep. However, the leaders maintain a certain amount of distance from
the followers, which makes this leadership style not as effective as the aforementioned
method of leading among followers.
As previously stated, leadership can take many faces, especially when
considering the differences between the many established theories and how leaders

manipulate the ideas posited by these theories to serve their personal ideologies and
missions. Leadership is something that can be exemplified in large groups and mass
communication, as well as in small groups and in the communication that ensues within
these groups.
One important facet of leadership is to focus upon a future that is different, in a
good way, than the past. In order to affect change in a way that is most effective, there
should be strong, close knit community within the small group. Each gathering of a
small group is a leading indicator for what the future holds for that group. When people
gather in small groups,conclusions may be made about the community surrounding the
group. Leaders ability to build community is therefore dependant upon their ability to
understand the dynamics of small groups.
However, due to the dominant consciousness of the American culture and the
heavy focus upon media in this culture, leadership in small groups may seem to
counteract this dominant consciousness. Some organizations will attempt to affect large
scale change by restructuring parts of the company. These efforts often fail due to
organizational culture and the community surrounding that being unmoved as a whole,
despite possibly winning over a few individuals. While the shift in the consciousness of
these individuals is certainly beneficial to the organization in question, it s also important
to recognize that there may be a need to change the way groups come together. This
communal structure must be one of belonging because belonging is one of the
foundational needs of humans, as can be observed in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
Leadership does not necessarily correlate with fancy titles or positions in an
organization. This society seems to insist that top leaders will always have the best

ideas for implementation because they themselves have become so successful, and
therefore they are the best candidates for affecting change in an organization using
large systematic plans and top down leadership. It is not to say that those in high
ranking do not mean well and that their thinking is completely skewed, but but
transforming action is always local,customized, unfolding, and emergent. It may be
mistaken that the primary focus of leaders should be to be an example for others and to
be the forerunners of change. In actuality, the main purpose of leaders is to create the
structure and experience that bring small groups together to identify and solve issues.
Jesus is the perfect example of an idealized leader who exemplified the ideas
mentioned above.He is also the perfect example of a leader beginning to affect change
utilizing the small group. The Bible states that in his time here on Earth, He recruited
twelve disciples- Andrew, Bartholomew, James (the elder,) James (the younger,) John,
Thaddeus, Matthew, Peter, Phillip, Simon, Thomas, and Judas who later betrayed Him.
He poured so much into these mens lives and made them feel like they belonged
somewhere and had a purpose in life. He took lowly fishermen and tax collectors and
empowered them to be fishers of men. John 14: 1-4 says, Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In my house are many rooms; if it were not so , I
would have told you.And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take
you to be with me that you may also be where I am. You know the way to the place
where I am going. So, Jesus expects the members of His small group to go out and tell
others about what He has done and minister to others in small groups as He has done
with them. Then those who have heard His name and believe would surely go and tell a
small group of people. At the end of this process and when the world in its current state

has come to an end, there will be many rooms for the large group of believers to
occupy in Heaven and to personally identify with Him because Jesus used the small
group method of leadership.
Surely there were many times when Jesus taught in front of large groups of
people in His time of ministry. However, take into consideration the time that Jesus
washed his disciples feet. He did this to create an environment of servanthood within
their small group. He did this to empower them through transformational leadership so
they would not see Him as a terrifying master spouting off orders, but they would
instead see Him as one taking each by the hand, or foot as is in this case and
bestowing value upon them to affect change in a way that is counterintuitive to most
peoples view of leadership. The Jews expected jesus to be a great and mighty king by
their standards, flaunting his money and power, like so many rulers at the time did.
Instead, he was born of a poor virgin and lived a normal life, only to fulfill a great
purpose.
There are two questions a leader must ask himself and be able to answer
thoroughly in order to be effective and still two more they must answer with their small
group. The leader must ask themselves- Who am I? and What is my calling in this
world? For the group, a leader must answer- How do we choose to be together? and
What do we want to create together? The way a leader answers these questions will
likely give a good indication as to what their leadership style is.
Something leaders of small groups must be especially aware of is the potential
for the presence and division of ingroups and outgroups within their organization. The
reason being because teamwork and cohesion are important within groups,but

especially in small groups. Should there be division within a small group, then the
outgroup could become marginalized, and their lack of inclusion could lead to a plethora
of problems including the potential of them leaving the small group, which would be
much less a problem for a larger group since everyone needs to pull their weight in a
small group for it to function properly. As is was the case with FBI leadership students of
the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia,. The class was given a fictitious criminal case
and were told to come to a consensus on the case, with the incentive to leave early as
soon as they would do so. Not to the surprise of their instructor due to previous
experience with the exercise, the class could not come to a consensus within the
allotted two hour period due to the formation of an ingroup and outgroup. At first, the
students arguments were civil and grounded in factual information, but within five
minutes of the exercise, students began to make their arguments personal, utilizing
much you language and little i language A leader must set up an environment that
does not nurture or tolerate the use of this occurrence by keeping discussions open,
leaving emotions and personal issues at the door, and the attempt to understand the
concerns of someone who would be in the outgroup before trying to convince them that
they are either wrong or not worthy of being in the ingroup.
Perhaps the most beneficial type to a small group is situational leadership with a
transformational mindset. Situational leadership allows those in a group to step up in a
time of need or to a task they would specialize in for the betterment of the group. This
allows all members of a group for a chance to be the leader as well as the follower. It
would be considered highly democratic and an idealized reflection of todays society. In
a small group, there is no room for a slacker in the group, whereas larger groups allow

for some members to passively :participate just by showing up to group meetings and
functions. So the idea of a situational leader just further reinforces the notion that
leadership is more prone to happen in small groups and that a small group is so much
more likely to be an effective and well balanced group than a larger one. Take the
television show Survivor as an example./At the beginning of an episode, the participants
form small teams of two. The participants are then asked to complete a variation of
challenges, sometimes physical and sometimes mental, that involve teamwork.
Sometimes the teammates must work together to complete their task, but other times,
one of the teammates must step up to complete the task, whether it be because they
are stronger, wiser, or perhaps only they possess the skill necessary to complete the
task that has been asked of them.
Seeing as the goal of leadership, whether it be in a small group or not, is to win
people over toward a certain mindset, the transformational model of leadership is one
that if paired with situational leadership is sure to bring forth the best results for a team
and leader alike. The four components of an effective transformational leader areidealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized
consideration. So a leader must have the emotional draw must stimulate followers to be
creative and innovative, must provide a supportive climate and listen to followers, and
the leader must inspire the follower to accomplish daunting tasks. The best leaders are
ones that are not elected, and a leader that is also not elected will step up in times of
need and empower others to do so in times of need, and should all these things be true,
then a transformational climate among these leaders is one that could very well become
a reality.

In conclusion, a leader within a small group would do well to read Steven

Coveys The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and utilize the Seven Habits
Paradigm found therein. The book and paradigm were created with the idea in mind
that those who want to take charge in their lives should move from a life of dependence
to independence, and finally to a life of interdependence with others. The reason being,
as a leader within a small group, it is imperative that the leader be able to go and work
by his or herself, but he or she must also realize that true leaders know that they cannot
do everything on their own, and sometimes they must step down in order to let
someone else on the team take the lead. The steps toward achieving this goal are
becoming proactive, beginning with the end in mind, putting first things first, thinking
win/win, seeking first to understand then to be understood, synergizing, and lastly
sharpening the saw.