After defining the process in terms of observable behaviors, the second step is to assess the amount of trust, openness, and task-oriented activity occurring during meetings. If the committee has not yet met for the first time, you can assume that few of these activities will occur. If you have an ongoing group, assessment is necessary to determine the current frequency of these process behaviors. One method is to have an observer tally the occurrence of each target behavior-a secretary who takes minutes could be instructed to perform this function.
This approach has potential drawbacks, however. A live observer may inhibit openness, but a recorder who is usually present at meetings will be rapidly forgotten (although a live recorder may be expensive), and you or committee members can request immediate feedback at any point. Another method to assess frequency of target behaviors is to tape record a meeting, select at random one or more 10 to 15-minute segments, and count the frequency of the target behaviors. Although it is difficult to get immediate feedback on the frequency of various behaviors from a tape recording, it does offer you the tremendous advantage of being able to listen at a later time to the entire session. It can be beneficial simply to hear how one phrases questions and comments and to see what makes one respond.
Before setting any goals or objectives or making any intervention to alter the process, it is necessary to gather baseline data on the current level of member performance. For example, suppose that Doris, chairwoman of a policy review committee, randomly selected for assessment two 10-minute segments from the third session. By counting she finds that only three of the eight members made any statements indicating their personal opinions (self-disclosing statements), and there was a total of ten such statements; that four members were late for the meeting and that this had been a typical occurrence; and that there were 17 incidents of statements irrelevant to the committee goals (social conversation). Merely having gathered this information gives Doris a clear idea of what she needs to change-that is, what behaviors she wants to increase or decrease,
From careful analysis of baseline data you can set clear regulating objectives for subsequent group meetings. Just as precise objectives are important in coaching a single employee, a very specific objective is necessary when working with a group. The objective should specify (1) an observable behavior, (2) whose behavior is the target, (3) how much of an increase or decrease in the frequency of the behavior is desired, and (4) under what conditions (when and where) the behavior is to occur. By stating objectives in such precise terms, you can determine when the objective has been achieved. And by continuing to monitor the process with a tape recorder, you can determine if your intervention has been effective. When the data indicate a trend in the desired direction, feel confident in your strategy. On the other hand, when no such trend emerges, reanalyze the problem and develop a more effective strategy. Although data collection on the face of it may appear to be extra work, in the long run it is cost-effective because it minimizes waste of time, energy, and money.
The following examples should assist in clarifying the difference between a poorly stated objective and a well-stated one. Here is a poor one: "Members will make more personal opinion statements." This objective has several weak points. Although the behavior is observable (statements of personal opinion), it does not specify how many personal statements. The objective does specify who (the members) but under what conditions is only implied. Presumably Doris wants more personal opinion statements about task issues during the meetings. A well-stated objective would read: "By the sixth meeting all members will make at least one personal opinion statement about each task issue." Stating objectives in a precise manner makes evaluation of success quite obvious.
Another poor objective is; "Members will demonstrate more commitment by the fifth meeting." Here again the objective is vague. The most serious problem is the word "commitment." This is an abstract concept and not a specific, observable behavior. Once again the conditions and frequency are not stated. A better objective would be: "By the fifth meeting of the policy review committee, all members will arrive by 9:00 a.m. and will continue to do so at all future meetings." Another objective that Doris might set is: "By the sixth meeting Bill, Susan, and Murray will not engage in any social conversation during the policy review committee meeting." This objective meets all the criteria, but it specifies what won’t occur (the behavior to be decreased) instead of what will occur (the behavior to be increased). Remember that reducing an undesirable behavior does not ensure that the de sired behavior will increase. Thus, Doris should set a complementary objective: "By the sixth policy review committee meeting Bill, Susan, and Murray will each make at least one task-oriented statement on each issue."
A side benefit of precisely stated objectives is that they help clarify exactly what you want and make it easier for you to act in the group in a consistent and unambiguous manner. Once accustomed to such specificity, you will gain confidence in your ability to lead committee meetings.
After setting regulating objectives the next step is to determine a strategy and then intervene. A brief discussion of each leader technique should assist in clarity and understanding.
Model the Desired Behavior: Engage in the desired behavior yourself and the members will learn by example. They can observe what behavior is expected of them during meetings. Simultaneously, by modeling the desired behavior, you implicitly set a norm for expected appropriate behavior. It is not necessary to verbalize this by saying, "Do as I do." Members look to the leader for indications of appropriate behavior, particularly during the initial meetings.
Reinforce The Desired Behavior: Attention is usually reinforcing to most people. Give a member positive attention immediately following appropriate behavior. The attention can be overt with a direct statement, such as "Ken, that's an excellent idea," or covert by simply turning to Ken more frequently.
Reinforce The Reinforcer: A major goal for leaders is to establish productive processes that are self-maintaining. One way this is accomplished is by having members assume the role of reinforcer. You can facilitate this by giving positive attention to members who reinforce other members.
Extinguish The Undesired Behavior: Just as you can use the technique of extinction with a single employee, you can use this technique to reduce inappropriate behavior in the group. Remember, the important principle is to make no reaction whatsoever to the behavior you want to decrease. Extinction is more powerful when it is combined with positive reinforcement. Respond positively to an appropriate behavior while simultaneously ignoring the inappropriate behavior.
Set Norms: Setting norms is a way of establishing expectations that certain behaviors are appropriate and should occur and that other behaviors are inappropriate and should not occur. You can do this explicitly by directly stating the norm or expectation, or a norm can be set implicitly by making statements that indirectly imply desired behavior. Virtually every action or non-action on your part implies appropriate or inappropriate behaviors. Your actions model expected behavior: What you reinforce implies what behavior you expect, and what you ignore implies what is inappropriate behavior. For this reason it is important that you constantly monitor your group performance in order to be aware of the implicit norms you may be establishing.
Confront Inappropriate Behavior: This technique has the potential for being punitive, because many people become uncomfortable when confronted, especially when the confrontation occurs in the presence of other people. Avoid this approach in the initial group meetings, because it does have the potential for inhibiting trust and openness. As a rule of thumb, reserve confrontation until after the more positively oriented techniques have failed. When you do con front, remember to immediately reinforce the desired behavior or approximations of the desired behavior as soon as they occur. Use a calm tone of voice and judgment-free language in order to reduce defensive responses.
Restate Harsh and Negative Statements: By ignoring negative content or connotations and by commenting on a positive aspect of a statement, you can defuse hostile or negative comments. This can help prevent a negative vicious cycle of attack, criticism, and defensiveness from developing, and implicitly states what is expected. It also reinforces the positive aspects of the hostile person's comment and encourages that person to be more positive in the future.
Redirect Comments from Yourself To Other Members: This technique is useful in the initial group sessions. Neophyte members are typically unsure of what is expected of them in the meetings, and tend to fall back on behaviors they have learned to be appropriate in other group situations, such as classes and lectures, where all comments are directed toward the instructor. New members may be self-conscious, which further inhibits member-to-member talk. Despite the fact that you may have explicitly called for communication between members, this process is facilitated when you actively encourage member-to-member interactions. The technique is simple. First, request that the speaking member make comments directly to a specific member.
("Alice, would you tell Barbara your reaction to her proposal?") Second, watch for and reinforce spontaneous member-to-member comments. ("I know it is difficult at times to express our disagreements directly. Jeff, I’m glad that you could do that with Susan.") Make optimistic expectation statements. A variation of setting implicit norms, this technique facilitates the development of positive feelings about the committee and its progress. In essence you are saying, "I'm positive we'll be successful." Optimistic expectation statements are particularly powerful when stated by a person in authority.
Redirect Attention To Important Content: This technique has several uses. By focusing attention on an important point, you implicitly set a norm as well as reinforce the on-target portion of a statement. Ignore the irrelevant or less important content and focus the group's attention on the more important content.
Set Definite Agenda: This makes explicit what is expected in a particular session or portion of a session. In addition, it is educational. Once members learn that they can accomplish agenda items, they are more likely to set an agenda and stick to it.
Silence: At times silence can be a powerful tool. Generally people feel uncomfortable being silent in the presence of others. Of course, this is true of leaders as well. Consequently, be careful not to fall into the role of silence breaker. Once members learn that you will break the silence, they will simply wait. This can lead to your becoming the sole speaker. If you resist the tendency to break the silence, a member will usually speak up. In some instances, extended silence could generate inordinate anxiety. However, once a general atmosphere of trust, openness, and cohesiveness has emerged, silence can enhance positive feelings.
Doris, the policy review committee chairwoman, can use various techniques to guide her actions in the meeting to accomplish the committee objectives. To increase the frequency of personal opinion statements, she might frequently state her opinion (model), explicitly state that members should share their opinions (set a norm), and respond positively to members who state their opinions (reinforce). To increase on-time behavior, she might explicitly indicate that members are expected to be at the meeting on time (set a norm), make positive comments when they do arrive on time (reinforce), and remind those who are late that they are expected to arrive on time (confront). To reduce the frequency of social conversation, Doris might ignore irrelevant comments (extinguish), focus the attention on relevant discussion (redirect attention), and point out that social conversation is inappropriate when it occurs (confront). To increase the frequency of task-oriented comments, she could specifically request such comments (set a norm) and respond positively when they occur (reinforce).
To evaluate progress, continue to count the frequency of the target behaviors by one of the methods discussed previously, and then compare this data with the baseline. If the target behaviors increase or decrease in the desired direction, continue with your intervention. If the desired change is not in evidence, reevaluate the intervention strategy. Failure is most often a result of inconsistency on the part of the leader. For example, you may sometimes ignore social conversation and at other times become caught up in it and thereby reinforce social conversation. Carefully worded objectives and ongoing self-monitoring help to reduce such inconsistency. Sometimes member behavior will increase or decrease as desired, but will not reach the level stated in the objective. You may have expected too much too soon. It is better to follow the shaping procedures and set a series of small-step objectives that are achievable. When a small-step objective is accomplished, set another objective and try to achieve it.
