Leadership & Group Comfort

Posted by parkejladd on Jul 13, 2009 in Featured {Article}, Leadership | 1 comment

One of the many challenges for groups lies in addressing and overcoming the tendancy to develop a certain level of comfort within the framework of who they inherently are. The obstacle, therefore, is in balancing the group. In order to genuinely grow, qualitatively and quantitatively, the group has to push beyond it’s inherent walls of comfort yet still maintain it’s strong and desirable passion and camaraderie. This is successfully accomplished through great leadership.

There are 3 general types of groups

1. Groups which meet in order to help each other. The goal of this type of group is to help it’s members. Any growth is mainly in order to help it maintain it’s effectiveness and relevancy and to eventually bring more of the right people into the group. Any group centered around rehabilitation (such as alcoholics anonymous) is an example.
2. Groups which meet in order to help outsiders (non-members). The goal of this group is to help those who are not a part of the group and who will probably never become a part of the group. Some sort of work-based outreach (such as Helping Our Own People in Indy which works to feed and clothe the homeless) which does not spend any real time or resources developing members but instead devotes itself to helping those in need all around (outside of) them.
3. Groups which meet in order to help members as well as reach out to and help non-members (a combination of #2 and #3).

The ideal group is one that follows the pattern of #3, and it is the vibrancy inherent in this type of group which allows them to be especially successful.

The danger for any group is that it could, at any point in time, become complacent, lazy or apathetic toward the world around it, OR it could lose sight of it’s own values or people and become so focused on the outside world that it forgets what made it a group in the first place.

As leaders of groups, it is our responsibility to (a) fight off complacency by continually breaking through the walls of comfort that attempt to cage-in and casually define us while (b) simultaneously, energetically and intimately engaging our group from the inside out in order to continually define our group’s drive, purpose and intent. Usually, if the group is well led, the two properties will reinforce one another. As the group pushes beyond it’s challenges, camaraderie and passion grow. As the group’s purpose and drive become clearer, it’s vision for helping more outsiders will likewise grow stronger.

With all that said, the crucial element and necessary agent associated with successful groups all around the world is still great leadership.