Informational Considerations

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Ask yourself whether your group is working on a task that requires everyone’s expertise and insights. If not, the group doesn’t actually need to be a group! In this case, it should select a different task or assign just one or two members to deal with the current task.

If the task does require contributions from all members, how well is the group doing on this front? For example, are members conducting needed research and inviting one another to share information during group gatherings? Does the group know when it needs to get more data before making a decision? Does the group analyze problems well? Come up with creative solutions? Offer opinions respectfully? Elaborate on problems, concerns, and solutions?

By regularly assessing these aspects of information management in your group, you can identify where the group is falling short and address the problem promptly. For instance, if you notice that the group rushes to make decisions without getting all the facts first, you could say something like “I think we need to find out more about the problem before we take action.”