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 director is the “leader” of a film production 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.

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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 (see Table 11.2). 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 Emergence and Flexibility. When you are part of a group, you may find that the roles members take on in the group can depend on their personality. Extraverted individuals tend to naturally fall into maintenance roles, and group members who are conscientious assume task roles with greater ease (Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006). By practicing critical self-reflection (Chapter 2), you increase your self-awareness of the various roles you can play in a small group.

It is important to remember that group roles are not fixed. Instead, each member may take on different roles as the group develops. 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). During a stressful situation, someone in the group might 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, there must be a balance of 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. Appropriately balancing task and maintenance role behaviors helps a group become more productive and draw more satisfaction from working together.

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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 (see Table 11.2). 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 274–275.

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).