Kurt Lewin developed the term group dynamics in the early 1940s as a social psychologist and change management professional. Kurt explained that when individuals work in a group, they tend to take on different specific roles which they are good at. Group dynamics explains the impacts of the roles or behaviors on the group members and the group itself. 1 It describes the various manners in which people of a group interact with each other. Businesses require positive group dynamics to facilitate the smooth flow of activities. A positive group dynamic is characterized by the members trusting on one another, working towards a shared decision, and hold one another responsible for effecting decisions. Such a group achieves a collective group for the business. Research has found that teams with positive group dynamics have members who are twice creative as the normal group. Poor dynamics in a group lead to behaviors that interfere with the business, resulting in no collective decision and generally wrong decision making. 2 This paper will discuss the strategies a leader can use to improve group dynamics in the business sector. Group dynamism leads to collective decisions, which are important for realizing the core business objectives.
Shared Purpose
An effective group shares the goals to be realized by the business. Each person needs to have a clear definition of the business goals when working together. The group leader should ensure that all the members are well vast in the objectives and collaborate to realize them. 3 Participative leadership should ensure a shared purpose among the group members. Being a micro-manager as a leader has drastic effects on the business. Such leaders undermine their employees' confidence, ownership, and trust by promoting fear, which also stifles their creativity. No one would be willing to work with a leader who does not share the roles with them as a group and promotes fear. 4 Leaders should give the members some space to work freely. They should provide guidance, resources, and information they need to realize the goals.
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When a team has challenges in arriving at effective decisions and seems to have difficulties in each important section, the leader needs to find out whether each member shares the same goal as the rest. The team needs to define the "why" of their existence, or the group will lack direction ( Schruijer, 2021 ). Having a shared purpose in groups improves the achievement of general goals and promotes the internal fulfillment of employees. Employees give their best when they get engaged in work and have the resources and tools to facilitate it. When all the group has members, who are passionately committed to each other to realize a common goal, it becomes easy to realize the goals.
Trust and Openness
The business achieves group dynamics when the team members feel free and safe to share information in the organization or the group without fear of embarrassment and punishment. When people trust each other, it means that they are open to engaging in dialogues with each other and can cause the generation of the better idea through increasing creativity and innovation. Maintaining a culture of trust and openness will enable the organization to strive in the world’s hyper-competitive marketplace today ( Bens, 2017 ). The leaders should first encourage risk-taking among group members to promote trust. The action and words of the group leaders have a crucial message to send to the members will send a message to the members that thoughtful and effective risk-taking can lead to rewards. 5 Trusting team members with a contribution to the business activities means that it will not waste most resources in engaging in CYA (“cover your assets”) behaviors and willingness to risk failure. the willingness of group members to take risks is the beginning of innovation and creativity that most businesses require today ( Schruijer, 2021 ). The second strategy for promoting trust and openness is viewing mistakes as learning opportunities in the business. Mistakes make individuals ask themselves questions such as; “What went wrong in my role" and "What will I do differently next time." 6 We can consider the questions as learning moments whereby one can use them the next time to plan and execute their role better in the future.
The third technique for leaders to improve openness and trust in the groups includes establishing transparency into processes and decision making. Leaders need to engage the group members in transparent business activities. To increase transparency in the business, the leaders should establish a system for the high involvement of staff in the efforts of change, open discussion criteria discussion, giving and getting feedback, and fair and equitable application of organization procedures and policies. Team members need to know the beliefs, values, and sources of what motivates their group leaders' actions and decisions ( Bragge et al., 2017 ). Open sharing of information is the fourth strategy for promoting trust and openness as a leader for group dynamism. Individuals tend to create their versions of truths when information is absent. Lack of information may lead to rumors, misinformation, and gossip in the organization, which may cause people to question the leadership decisions and lose focus on the business goal. Sharing of information by leaders establishes trust and credibility with their team members. A leader must trust the team members to carry the weight of their roles, meet the deadlines, and affect their roles and in the business generally Developing a culture of trust, respect, and openness in the business will lead to group dynamics which will become generally important for the business success.
Willingness to Correct Mistakes
Leaders should take accountability for their groups' failures and successes. Willingness to acknowledge and correct mistakes is a crucial aspect of leadership accountability ( Bens, 2017 ). a productive group should develop an efficient technique for measurement and evaluation when the success of the organization is dependent on the collective results of the groups' decisions. 7 The leader should be willing to change the technique when the results are not as the initial business objectives. An individual's willingness to correct their mistakes only comes after acknowledging that they have indeed made a mistake in the first place. 8 Therefore, it will assist team members to learn from the mistakes and teach the rest of the group members from the experience to avoid the errors again.
There are four crucial but simple ways that a leader can use to ways that a leader can use show great good leadership when they make mistakes. The way a leader shows when he makes a mistake will define his or her relationship with the group members and improve their trust since they are constantly watching. The first strategy is an acknowledgment of the mistake. Leaders should admit and own their mistakes and not blame them on the group members. Vulnerability is the strength a leadership strength. It makes the leader obtain respect and trust from the staff. The second strategy is learning from the mistakes ( Lacerenza et al., 2018 ). A repetition of a mistake is no longer a mistake but a decision. Mistakes act as the greatest teachers, and working to understand them is the best form of education for oneself as a leader and the team members.
The third strategy is teaching others from their mistakes. The mistakes leaders should get used to teaching his or her team members of the lessons. It forms connection and trust between the leader and group members, making them work together for a greater goal. Lastly, the leaders should be able to move behind the mistake. It entails the willingness for correction. Successful people make mistakes and continue moving since success is a process and connected with different actions. 9 Everyone is bound to make mistakes. However, how we handle them will determine the results. According to Schruijer (2021), leaders who are willing to correct their mistakes motivate the team members to collaboratively contribute to business decisions to realize the goals regardless of the mistakes they will face. Therefore, the use of the strategy facilitates group dynamics.
Diversity and Inclusion
An effective leader should promote diversity in the business among group members to promote group dynamics. Bens (2017 ) confirms that a diverse workforce has people of a different races, ages, gender, religion, nationalities, sexual orientations, gender identity, and national origins brings diverse opinions and perspectives to the business. Winning teams leverage each members’ different ideas and thoughts to develop more creative and innovative solutions. 10 Workplace diversity is crucial to promote the success of the business, specifically by improving the engagement of the employee. It increases the job satisfaction of each employee in the business by promoting engagement. Diversity and inclusions lead to better decision-making in the business among teams.
The leader should use an inclusive workplace model to promote team dynamics which improves the general goal of the business. A company that does not have a high inclusivity score marks risks alienating some of its employees. Diversity and inclusion are two interconnected aspects that are not easily interchanged. ( Bragge et al., 2017 ) Inclusions entail the value and integration of different groups of individuals' presence, contribution, and opinions into a business environment. On the other hand, diversity is a representation of what makes up an object. An inclusive culture assists in promoting value and pride for the group members when it comes to their personal cultures. 11 Statistics on workplace diversity show that businesses that are inclusive to their employees have a high likelihood of developing a workforce that reflects various experiences and backgrounds. Acknowledging the differences in the workforce as a leader contributes as the first step to begin inclusion efforts and diversity initiatives in the business. 12 Team members who feel like they have to hide some parts of their characteristics have reduced employee turnover rates and retention. The team members who feel they have to hide because they feel invisible, unsafe, and unsure may have reduced motivation, engagement, and general turnover rates and retention.
A leader needs to acknowledge and respect the different cultures and religious practices among the group members in the business. Forsyth (2018) states that there should be a policy that honors and respects different practices among groups in the business. An inclusive culture is crucial to the success of efforts of diversity and the resultant outcomes from productivity and engagement. A leader can promote the action by focusing on celebrations and holidays. The business organizes a culture where there is a commitment to inclusion and diversity, which leads to higher employee retention because they feel it will improve the business's goals. One may achieve diversity by simply mixing group members from various departments with different opinions and skills in a cross-functional time ( Lacerenza et al., 2018 ). A leader building a departmental team can promote high diversity during the hiring processes and improve recruitment sources to attract age, ethnicity, sex, and sexual identity diversity. 13 Therefore, maintaining diversity and inclusion is also very important when it comes to the realization of business goals through group dynamics.
Interdependence And Sense of Belonging
All group members need to know why they belong to the team. Members should know their importance and value to the group. An effective group is one which the members can make unique independent contributions in that the group performance entails all members’ total contributions ( Bens, 2017 ). Whenever there is a creation of a new team to handle a special project, the team leaders should make all the members realize a sense of belonging by defining all their roles and importance in the group for the general realization of business goals. The group will be effectively productive when all the team members have a sense of ownership for other members' work as they do for theirs. 14 Such a case improves group dynamics since the members can freely learn from each other's ideas and help.
Promoting interdependence is important since it leads to realizing a sense of belonging by the group members. It can only be there when all the group members share mutual goal ownership and resources to achieve success. Interdependence improves the skill and sharing of information among employees and improves cooperation between group members to allow the business to meet its greatest synergies and maximumly encourage productivity. Group leaders should always focus on creating an interdependent team since it improves its dynamics and goal achievement ( Schruijer, 2021) . All individual celebrates their achievements more than group achievements. People are hard-wired to compete against their peers rather than cooperate with them when they join the education system. A leader should redefine some workplace behaviors and beliefs that break instead of uniting the team. Leaders should avoid making all the decisions without the team members' inputs. The leaders should also not allow the “us” vs “them” dynamics to take guide group members’ motives ( Lacerenza et al., 2018 ). When there is interdependence, the team members will genuinely trust each member and create strong bonds of compassion, empathy, and shared success. Success is measured in both the achievement of business goals and overall employee happiness and job satisfaction.
Having a sense of belonging is among the main factors contributing to a productive and happy employee, so the team leaders must put more effort in ensuring that they instill it in their teams and the members to work within them. Team members should always feel welcome to get involved in the team, even if the team is newly formed. Bragge (2017) states that high-performing teams are interdependent, and the trusts levels and rapport are not right, then the team will face challenges on its purpose and general performance. Groups in a business do not automatically perform because all members are like-minded but due to the diversity and incorporation of different approaches, skills, and talents brought by the members. 15 A sense of value and acceptance is vital to form group cohesion regarding performance and results in achievement. Winning teams with a rooted understanding of the organization's wider business ecosystem depend on all the members' realization and generation of ideas. 16 Promoting interdependence with a sense of belonging to team members is one of the most responsible and essential steps leaders can take to empower them to offer their best. It creates team dynamics which promotes the realization of the business goals.
Consensus Decision Making
Involving all the team members in decision-making can lead to innovative and creative solutions for challenges. There is a channel of the creative power of different minds when there are more people in decision-making. The main goal of consensus decision-making is to promote group dynamics by implementing a solution that benefits all the team members ( Forsyth, 2018 ). consensus decision-making improves employees' cooperation while using the most effective steps to achieve the organization's objectives. Leaders should try to promote consensus decision-making in the teams to facilitate group dynamics, which maximizes business goals realization.
A leader can use some appropriate processes to ensure consensus-decision making in the group. The first is identifying a common goal. Before the leader speaks to the team about the subject issue, he or she should rethink the organization’s common goal to give the argument a defined meaning. Understanding the purpose can help the team members frame their views on how the business can approach a project. Secondly, the leader should consult the team members about their willingness to reach a consensus. After discussing the businesses' common objectives, the leader should measure employees’ expectations. Here is where the employees express their honest feelings and desire for results. The leaders should encourage the employees to remain flexible and open-minded to take part in the decisions ( Lacerenza et al., 2018 ). The third level is developing roles for all meeting members attendants. Keeping all the members accountable in the group will promote their likelihood to keep each other in check when developing the consensus. Lastly, the leader should appoint leaders to improve the consensus-building process. 17 The facilitators summarize the previous conversation ideas and ensure that the group agrees with the final consensus at the end. The leaders should contact the group members to see if they are willing to become facilitators and choose them based on their interpersonal skills and expression of respect to other members. 18 When a leader follows these processes, there will be a consensus decision making in their teams which facilitates group dynamics to encourage organizational goals achievement.
Focus on Communication
A team that is central to open communication can have good team dynamics. Group leaders should ensure that all the group members communicate properly in the business for a greater purpose. Bragge et al. (2017) recommend that all the communication forms such as meetings, emails, and shared documents should be used by the team to prevent misunderstandings. When there is a change in the state of the projector, there is a need for an announcement. Then the leader should pass the information to the group members as early as possible. There can be an assurance of the same information between employees by doing so. All teams need to communicate effectively to ensure jobs are done well. There is a need for a leader to tell the team his or her expectations so that activities are not done in an unappropriated manner. A leader who communicates to the team about their goals and that of the organization improves group dynamics. Team members have a common goal they are moving towards means that the is a big likelihood that they will focus on how to collectively achieve them.
The leader needs to note some of the communication tips to ensure that it is a success. First is relentless communication. There should be an open, transparent, and smooth movement of information from the leader to the team members and the organization itself to make it a success. another tip is simple and direct. 19 The leaders should not hide behind the complexities of huge information when talking to the team members. The third tip is listening and encouraging contributions by the members. According to Forsyth (2018), a leader should do 80% of listening and 20% talking to show interest in and respect for his or her colleagues in the team to build trust and emotional connection, which is crucial for goal realization. The fourth is doing illustrations through stories to ensure that there is an understanding of the message being conveyed. The use of examples also develops trust, serves as a visual reminder, and captures the mind and hearts of the team members. Individuals find it easier to repeat a story or make quotations that discuss the strategy document, mission statement, or project plan. It is important when communicating the business vision. Lastly, there is affirmation with actions. Although effective leaders have the language art and craft, eloquent speech, and logical argument presentation, they also need to communicate beyond words. The leaders' behavior and actions communicate some messages to the team members. effective communication ensures effective team dynamics
Conclusions
Group dynamics are important to the business sector. Leaders need to facilitate positive group dynamics, which have been shown to cause the best results on the business' goals realization. The leaders should use effective strategies in the business to ensure that group dynamics is achieved among employees. First, there is ensuring a shared purpose among all the members. Secondly, the leader should ensure there is trust ad openness among group members so that all the activities done can run smoothly in a collaborative manner. Thirdly, there is a willingness to correct mistakes. It acts as an example to the group members who constantly watch the leaders' actions as a source of motivation. The fourth strategy is consensus decision-making, which encourages all group members to focus on achieving the objectives. The fifth strategy, interdependence and a sense of belonging, gives the team members value and importance. The sixth strategy is promoting diversity and inclusion in the group. It encourages creativity and the contribution of diverse ideas for achieving goals by different team members. Lastly, focusing on communication ensures that there are no misunderstandings among group members whatsoever about the developments in the business. It is also important for the leader to observe the interactions of the group members as he or she facilitates group dynamics.
References
Bens, I. (2017). Facilitating with Ease!: core skills for facilitators, team leaders and members, managers, consultants, and trainers . John Wiley & Sons. http://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=4F24F68A78A92C17BE8716F5CA9C81BC
Bragge, J., Kallio, H., Seppälä, T., Lainema, T., & Malo, P. (2017). Decision-making in a real-time business simulation game: Cultural and demographic aspects in small group dynamics. International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making , 16 (03), 779-815. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219622017500171
Forsyth, D. R. (2018). Group dynamics . Cengage Learning.
Lacerenza, C. N., Marlow, S. L., Tannenbaum, S. I., & Salas, E. (2018). Team development interventions: Evidence-based approaches for improving teamwork. American Psychologist , 73 (4), 517. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000295
Schruijer, S. (2021). The Group Dynamics of Interorganizational Collaboration. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology . https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.512
