CHAPTER RECAP

  • Scholars generally agree on four leadership perspectives—the traits view, the style view, the situational view, and the functional view—to help clarify how leadership works in small groups.
  • In addition to establishing a communication climate, productive leaders help prevent groupthink and deal with substantive and affective conflict in a group.
  • Two of the most common approaches used for solving problems in groups are structured problem solving and group brainstorming.
  • Groups commonly rely on three methods for decision making: decision by authority, decision by majority, and decision by consensus.
  • To get the most out of group meetings, leaders must take responsibility for planning, conducting, and following up on/evaluating meetings.