Within a small group, members fulfill different types of roles. Formal roles are assigned positions that members take on by appointment or election (Myers & Anderson, 2008). For example, a doctor is the “leader” of a surgical team. Other small groups, like project teams, often have formal roles—such as “chairperson” and “meeting recorder”—that bestow members with unique responsibilities, such as leading meetings and taking notes on group decisions.

In addition to formal roles, there are group roles (also known as informal roles)—specific patterns of behavior and communication that members develop from interacting over time. These roles help groups achieve goals, split the workload, organize tasks, and keep relations between group members effective. Group roles are classified in two ways: task roles support the group in achieving its goals; maintenance roles help strengthen and secure relationships among group members. Unlike formal roles, both task and maintenance roles are generally unassigned. Instead, various group members fulfill these roles as needed, depending on the situation.

Task Roles.When you’re exchanging information about duties or goals important to your group, you are fulfilling task roles. For example, an interior designer who’s remodeling a hotel lobby might share the following information during a design meeting: “The blueprints show that the lobby is 2,250 square feet.” Another member of the group could ask, “Do you know how much natural lighting is available in the lobby entrance?” This exchange of messages about the task at hand helps the group carry out its work. Individuals serving task roles may provide ideas, clarify points, summarize discussion, and coordinate information.

Maintenance Roles.Through maintenance roles, group members communicate to build trusting and appreciative interpersonal relationships. Teams can achieve high levels of performance when members trust one another and feel personally valued (Campany, Dubinsky, Druskat, Mangino, & Flynn, 2007). Group members can create this environment by listening to one another, appropriately self-disclosing, and managing conflict. For example, some group members may be good at noticing when others are unusually quiet during a discussion and try to involve them (“Analise, what do you think about this proposal?”). Or perhaps another member knows how to spot and deal with tension in the group (“I think we’ve been at this too long. How about we take a break?”). Members who fill maintenance roles can sustain harmony and satisfaction within the group.

Group Role Flexibility.The group role each member plays changes de-pending on what is needed. For example, during the forming phase of a group project, you might be the person who makes sure everyone is acquainted by engaging in small talk (maintenance role). Later on, you might ask questions about decision alternatives (task role). The roles that members play depend on their personality and the situation. Extraverted individuals tend to naturally fall into maintenance roles. During a stressful situation, someone in the group may say something funny to relieve the tension (maintenance role) but then try to bring the group back to a productive conversation (task role).

In order for a group to be effective, members must take on both task and maintenance roles. Neglecting one or the other can create problems. If members focus only on getting the task done, they can exhaust themselves, which erodes morale. On the other hand, if they spend all their time building strong interpersonal bonds, they’ll soon fall behind in completing tasks. By paying attention to both roles, a group becomes more productive, and its members can draw more satisfaction from working together.

Egocentric Roles.Successful groups also watch for and address the emergence of egocentric roles, which occurs when one team member’s communication disrupts the group’s efforts. For example, an overly aggressive group member can make others afraid to offer their ideas. One common egocentric role is the teammate who relies on other members to do all the work, a phenomenon known as social loafing (Harkins, 1987). This can spark resentment among other group members. For ideas on how to handle such behavior, see the How to Communicate: Social Loafing feature on pages 270–271.

Members of a small group can neutralize egocentric roles by establishing positive expectations for behaviors when the group first forms (this is known as norms; we discuss them later in the chapter) and by directly confronting disruptive behaviors (Druskat & Wolff, 2001). So if a teammate’s constant joking becomes a distraction, someone in the group needs to tell that person that the behavior is keeping the group from doing its work. Otherwise, the group could lose focus and members could become upset, making it harder for the group to achieve its goals (Druskat & Wolff, 2001).