Guidebook

**Leadership Identification and Group Dynamics**

Produced by

National Association of Conservation Districts

In Cooperation With

National Association of State Conservation Agencies

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

1994

This guidebook was scanned from one of the original hard copy
publications and prepared for presentation on the Web by the staff of
the NRCS Social Sciences Institute. No content modifications have been
made to the publication. (8/26/1999)

All programs and services of these groups are offered on a
non-discriminatory basis without regard to race, color, national origin,
religion, sex, age, marital status, or handicap.

This guidebook provides two useful skills: (1) how to identify community
leaders who are likely to get involved in promoting the goals of the
conservation partnership and (2) how to be an effective facilitator or
team member in small groups. You will learn how to:

-   Identify and select community leaders for the partnership

-   Host more productive meetings by learning about group dynamics

# Related Marketing Materials

This guide elaborates on topics introduced in Phase 2 of the
\"Easy‑to‑Use Guide For Marketing Conservation Services\" workbook and
the \"Partnership Guide to Marketing.\" Phase 2 explained how the
partnership can be expanded by including other community organizations
that work with similar conservation issues, and suggested getting
community leaders involved in the process. This guide provides detailed
information about identifying and selecting these leaders. The
information regarding group dynamics and effective meeting techniques
also relates to Phase 2, \"Develop Alliances and Determine Your Role,\"
of the marketing guide, as you can use these techniques in alliance
meetings. You can also use these techniques in Phase 4, \"Identify
Customer Needs.\" During this phase, a team member meets with customers
for information gathering purposes. It is important for you to have
facilitation skills when running a focus group meeting.

**Introduction**

Conservation agencies, partners and customers all have different values,
opinions and, most of all, they have different needs.

In working with partners and customers to promote the adoption of
conservation alternatives, and to gain community support for
conservation, we must take these needs into consideration. We must
consider not only their resource needs, but also their economic and
social needs as well.

The two most important elements of working with community groups involve
leadership identification and group dynamics. When you understand these
topics, the partnership will be able to create more effective and
productive relationships with the community. Each of these topics is
explained on the following pages.

**Methods of Identifying Community Leaders**

The Soil Conservation Service (SCS), sod and water conservation
districts, and state agencies encourage state and local governments,
individual citizens, and private organizations to participate in
decision‑making regarding conservation issues.

It is not an easy task, however, to broaden participation. The public is
only marginally involved in most issues. Only about 5 percent or less
are directly involved in decision making. These people are usually the
leaders in the community.

Community leaders, although different in many ways, typically have
certain basic characteristics in common. There are some indicators that
can help you determine potential community leaders.

A.  **Leader Characteristics**

Indicators are based on research suggest that leaders might possess
some, but certainly not all, of the following characteristics.

-   Good at giving instructions

-   Empathetic

-   Talkative

-   Persistent

-   Self‑confident

-   Popular

-   Original/creative

Now that you know the general characteristics for identifying potential
leaders, let\'s also look at specific methods to use to select the
leaders from your community.

# Four Ways to Identify Leaders in Your Community

Community leaders are often very busy people who are involved in a
number *of* volunteer, civic and business organizations. Here are four
ways to identify leaders in your community:

**1. Positional Method:** List the community's key organizations and
their formal leaders.

2\. **Reputation Method:** Ask *several* knowledgeable people to
identify the most respected leaders in the community. Different
community leaders may be named from different cultural groups. For
example, *if* your community has areas composed of different racial or
cultural community groups, then you would ask people from these areas
who their leaders are. You would not ask people from the majority group
to name minority leaders.

3\. **Event Analysis Method:** Look at prior events and determine who
most influenced the decision.

4\. S**ocial Participation Method:** List the formal leaders of the
community\'s volunteer organizations. Those people who have the highest
positions with the most organizations are the community leaders.

You may use any or all of these four methods that is most appropriate
for your situation. If you use all four methods, note that some names
are repeatedly identified. These redundant names are the community
leaders.

Once you identify a leader, you should recruit them through personal
contacts, not through the mail. During the initial contact, explain in
detail what their job will be, as well as when the job will end.

# Leadership Styles

As you work with community leaders, you should be aware that individuals
have different leadership styles. The three most common leadership
styles are authoritarian, laissez, faire, and democratic. Each one is
explained briefly below.

-   **Authoritarian** leaders are rigid, make the decisions and give
    orders they expect to have carried out. An authoritarian style is
    effective for a group that is floundering and needs direction.

-   **Laissez, faire** leaders permit the group to do as they please,
    provide little direction and do not interfere with the process. A
    laissez faire leader can be successful if a group is self‑motivated.

-   **Democratic** leaders enlist participation from each group member.
    Everyone has a chance to participate and has ownership in the
    process.

Because no single leadership style is best in all situations, be aware
of style differences in relation to their effect on the group. If a
group seems to be bogged down, changing leaders may be all that is
needed.

**Group Dynamics**

# Features of Effective Group Meetings

We have all attended meetings that didn\'t seem to have a definite
purpose or direction. These meetings are usually ineffective. Meetings
should be held with a specific goal or end‑result in mind that is
clearly stated before the meeting takes place.

Meetings offer an alternative to individual planning and decision
making. They provide an environment where people can discuss
conservation programs and issues with friends, neighbors, and
conservation professionals. By getting together and sharing concepts and
resources, group members increase the resources of any one individual.
The results are better decisions, products, or services. Groups often
have the courage to make risky decisions that differ from past
traditions. They bring about change.

There are many different types of group meetings. Some of these include
fact finding, advisory, coordinating, public, special programs, new
membership, and public relations. Meetings should describe beforehand
their specific purpose and even pass out a pre‑meeting agenda so people
have an idea of what to expect.

# Characteristics of an Effective Group Meeting

-   The meeting follows an agenda and has a specific goal or objective.

-   The atmosphere is informal, comfortable, and relaxed.

-   Discussions are extensive and stay on track. Everyone participates.

-   Everyone understands and accepts the task or objective of the group.

-   The members listen to each other. Every idea is given a hearing.
    People are not afraid to share creative thoughts even if they seem
    fairly extreme. Brainstorming is encouraged when appropriate.

-   Different viewpoints get a fair hearing. Disagreements are not
    suppressed by the leader or overridden by premature group action.

-   Most agreements are reached by a consensus in which it is clear that
    everyone accepts the group\'s decision. Formal voting is at a
    minimum; the group does not accept a simple majority as a proper
    basis for action.

-   Criticism is frequent, frank, and without personal attack, either
    open or hidden.

-   When action items are identified, clear assignments are made and
    accepted.

-   The leader of the group does not dominate meetings, but keeps them
    on track and on time. Leadership shifts from time to time, depending
    upon the circumstances. There is little evidence of a struggle for
    power. The issue is not who controls, but how to get the job done.

# Process

The manner in which a group discusses topics is called the \"process.\"
The process can determine the success or failure of a group meeting.
Factors related to process include:

**Physical Environment:** Facilities need to be comfortable and
spacious. Facilitators need to come early enough to set up the meeting
room and ensure all necessary housekeeping tasks are complete.

**Group Size.** Size relates to the purpose of the meeting, for example:

**Timing.** The time involved in a meeting should not exceed 2 hours. An
agenda should be prepared and distributed in advance. Set a time limit
for each discussion topic and stay on schedule. A rule of thumb is, the
larger the group, the shorter the meeting.

**Group Participation.** Keep people interested. Give everyone an
opportunity to present ideas and help set priorities. Give assignments
to members. Make sure all members support decisions. End the meeting
with an important topic or decision.

**Outside Experts:** Experts can provide ideas or serve as sounding
boards for group ideas. Do not use experts who are boring, super
sophisticated, overly traditional or too opinionated. *Be familiar with
your experts before asking them to participate.*

**Follow Through.** This is the most important part of the group
process. It includes encouraging group members to accept assignments and
tasks, assuring that the task is completed and acknowledging good work.

# Components of Group Meetings

Meeting success involves having the right group composition as well as
using an effective process. The goal or purpose of the meeting must be
important to all those attending, and they should have a common
interest.

-   As group facilitator, you should not underestimate the intelligence
    of the group, nor should you overestimate their knowledge.

-   Enough information should be provided for people to make reasonable
    judgments.

-   Displaying agenda topics usually enables group members to follow the
    meeting\'s progress.

### **E. Group Roles and Facilitation Skills** {#e.-group-roles-and-facilitation-skills .unnumbered}

Any time a group of people assembles for a common purpose, certain
\"roles\" need to emerge. This is especially true in the case of
meetings. The five general roles that should be filled in each meeting
are:

**Group Members:** Group members should be active participants in the
meeting. There may be any number of group members.

Recorder: The recorder keeps a record, or minutes, of the meeting.
Afterwards, the recorder prepares the minutes and distributes them to
each group member. The minutes should report the content and results of
the meeting.

**Leader:** The leader chairs the meeting, also acts as a participant,
and is sometimes the facilitator. He/she appoints a recorder and others
to help if needed. The leader maintains control of the meeting, and
solicits volunteers or appoints people to carry out group decisions. For
information about the different types of leaders refer to the
\'Leadership Styles\' section earlier in this text.

**Facilitators:** A facilitator (who is sometimes the leader) acts as
neutral member of the group, helps the group focus its efforts by
suggesting methods and procedures, protects members from personal
attack, and makes sure everyone has an opportunity to participate.
Facilitators also typically ensure the meeting stays on‑track and
finishes on time. Facilitator training is an important component in
conducting successful meetings and is offered to conservation partners
as a way to improve meeting effectiveness and efficiency.

**Experts:** Experts can be group members or outsiders who can provide
technical or other supporting information.

Sometimes, depending on the size of the meeting, it may be acceptable to
have a group member play two or more roles. For example, the same person
may serve as the facilitator, leader and technical advisor of the group.

Conclusions

Identifying and enlisting community leaders is an important process
outlined in this guidebook. Group meetings are also an important part of
solidifying our partnership and developing alliances. They are an
effective way to identify customer needs and to find ways to meet those
needs. They bring together people with different skills, talents,
values, opinions, and needs. They are democracy in action!

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about hosting an effective meeting refer to
the \"Meeting Checklist\" on the following page, which lists specific
activities that should be completed before, during, and after meetings
to ensure effective, successful meetings.

**MEETING CHECKLIST**

**1. Preparation**

**** Define the goal of the meeting. Make sure it is realistic.

**** Make sure the goal can be accomplished in one meeting.

**** Decide how much you wish to accomplish at this meeting.

**** Develop a list of questions and problems to start group
discussions.

**** Prepare the following in advance:

**** Facilities (seating, temperature, audio‑visual equipment)

**** List of participants (keep numbers in line with meeting\'s
purpose)

**** Agenda with time frames

**** Discussion outline

**2. Conduct the Meeting**

-   Start on time

-   Follow the agenda to accomplish the desired purpose

-   Make sure everyone participates

-   Stimulate, guide and control discussion

-   Strive to achieve consensus (at best) or majority decisions (at
    worst)

-   Firm up decisions

-   Keep accurate records

3\. Follow‑Up

**** For every decision, have one person assume responsibility to carry
it out

**** Have action items, tasks, people, and times clearly identified

**** Prepare a report/minutes of the meeting

**** Periodically evaluate the effectiveness of the meetings

**** Decide how subsequent meetings can be improved