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As executive director of Disability Rights Tennessee, social worker Lisa Primm manages lawyers and relies on information from researchers, analysts, community leaders and other social workers to do her job.

"There's no way that I could do this job in a vacuum," Primm said. "I rely constantly on others who are in other professions, who have other types of knowledge in order to inform the work that I do."

The ability to work on a team and collaborate effectively is a necessary skill to succeed in the field of social work. Whether they are working at a macro level to pass legislation to improve public health or providing direct client care, social workers at all levels often find themselves collaborating with different stakeholders.

Those stakeholders can include:

What Are the Benefits of Collaboration in Social Work?

For social workers, there are a number of advantages to working collaboratively:

Why Is Collaboration Important?

As Primm explained, social workers often can't solve problems alone.

Take, for example, the delivery of health care. While a more traditional model may have been physician-centered, practitioners in the field are increasingly recognizing the need for interprofessional collaborators to perform different functions to improve a client's health. A physician may be better equipped to provide treatment for a client, but a social worker plays an important role serving as an advocate for the client and bringing attention to social justice issues that may be overlooked by others on the team.

With the help of a team, social workers can take a more holistic approach to solving problems for clients. Indeed, many social workers believe teamwork results in the best outcomes for clients.

Who Do Social Workers Collaborate With?

Social workers have many specialties and collaborate with a host of professionals.

Many in the field also benefit from professional collaborations and affiliations that allow them to interact with their peers. They find support from organizations such as the American Council for School Social Work, Association of Oncology Social Work, Clinical Social Work Association, National Association of Social Workers, School Social Work Association of America, Rural Social Work Caucus, Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care and the International Federation of Social Workers.

Why Are Collaborative Partners Important?

While social workers play important roles connecting clients to appropriate resources to address challenges in their lives, they are still limited in their perspective. There are likely many people in a client's life who have pertinent information about their circumstances that will help a social worker deliver the services needed.

For example, child welfare social workers are charged with keeping children safe (PDF, 144 KB). They often make life-changing decisions informed by family history, behavioral concerns and environmental conditions. To do so, they may need to engage other family members, teachers and local authorities who can help them determine what is going on in a home.

"There's so much going on behind the scenes before you even see a child being taken from a home," said Cornell Davis III, a child welfare social worker in Pennsylvania.

The collaboration does not end there. If it is determined that a home situation is dangerous, social workers need to provide the resources to ensure that a child moves to a safe situation. That can require working with local agencies to find temporary housing or reuniting the child with a parent who may need help finding a stable job or housing.

Cooperation and collaboration aren't just recommended for social workers; they are, in many cases, a routine part of the job.

What Is Interdisciplinary Collaboration?

Interdisciplinary collaboration is also an important aspect of social work. This occurs when a team of specialists from different helping disciplines, such as psychiatry, psychology, counseling, medicine and public health, join the social worker to provide services to a client. Specialists may have the authority to perform tasks outside the social worker's qualifications.

Why Is Interdisciplinary Collaboration Important?

Social workers perform a variety of functions; some serve as advocates, while others are licensed to provide mental health treatment. However, there are specialists in other helping disciplines who have the authority to perform tasks beyond the social worker's qualifications that are necessary to improve outcomes for clients.

A physician may be able to provide medical treatment for a client, but that client and their family may still struggle with the financial costs related to treatment. Social workers can advocate for families, inform them of their options and connect them to financial assistance.

Ultimately, the client needs both perspectives to receive the care to address their challenges.

"Interdisciplinary collaborations are important because systems and people are vast and complex, so it's almost arrogant to think that you can see everything that your client needs from just your perspective," Davis said.

What Are the Challenges of Interdisciplinary Collaboration?

Because their training and education varies, each partner in an interdisciplinary collaboration may have different approaches and expectations, which can lead to a number of challenges, including:

How Social Workers Can Facilitate Collaboration

When social work collaboration produces positive results for the client, everyone wins.

Here are some ways to improve social work collaboration, adapted from the experts interviewed and National Association of Social Work's guide to making interdisciplinary collaboration work (PDF, 517 KB):
Create guidelines for how to work together. Understand what the other disciplines can contribute. Be transparent. Be fair. Maintain collegial rapport.
"We have to be able to work together to do better work and do greater work," said Davis, "but we have to be humble enough to say, 'Hey, somebody else might have a better perspective than I do.'"
More resources:

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As executive director of Disability Rights Tennessee, social worker Lisa Primm manages lawyers and relies on information from researchers, analysts, community leaders and other social workers to do her job. "There's no way that I could do this job in a vacuum," Primm said.

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"Groups [that] allow groups within an organization to work [...] to improve, update, and refine workers’ skills to improve client service" (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2019, p. 127).

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"Groups [of professionals and staff] that meet to establish, monitor, and coordinate service plans on the behalf of a client system" (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2019, p. 126).

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5 problems social workers on multi-disciplinary teams face. Caretivity. (2022, August 23). https://caretivity.com/2020/01/5-problems-social-workers-on-multi-disciplinary-teams-face/

Biggart, L., Ward, E., Cook, L., &amp; Schofield, G. (2017). The team as a secure base: Promoting resilience and competence in child and family social work. Children and Youth Services Review, 83, 119–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.10.031

Blomqvist, S., & Engstrom, I. (2012). Interprofessional psychiatric teams: is multidimensionality evident in treatment conferences? Journal of Interprofessional Care, 26(4), 289–96. https://doi.org/10.3109/13561820.2012.676108

Components - UNETASK groups. Google Sites: Sign-in. (n.d.). https://sites.google.com/site/unetaskgroups/components

Fernandez, L. M. (2019, April 2). Running an effective task group: The 5 C’s. SocialWorker.com. https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/practice/Running_An_Effective_Task_Group%3A_The_Five_C%27/

Heulwen James, A., & Stacey-Emile, G. (2019). Action learning: Staff development, implementing change, interdisciplinary working and leadership. Nursing Management, 26(3), 36–41. https://doi.org/10.7748/nm.2019.e1841

Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hull, G. H. (2019). Human behavior in the macro social environment an empowerment approach to understanding communities, organizations, and groups. Cengage.

Monych, B. (2022, October 18). 8 creative employee growth and development ideas. Insperity. https://www.insperity.com/blog/cost-effective-employee-training-and-development/

Social Work Collaborations. CORP-MSW0 (SWLM). (2023, January 25). https://socialworklicensemap.com/social-work-careers/collaborations/

Toseland, R. W., Rivas, R. F., & Chapman, D. (1984). An evaluation of decision-making methods in task groups. Social Work, 29(4), 339–346.

Using case conferences in treatment planning. Alberta Health Services. (2020, June). https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/info/amh/if-amh-ecc-using-case-conferences-in-treatment-planning.pdf

Why are there no communication tools for social workers?. Caretivity. (2022b, August 23). https://caretivity.com/2020/01/why-are-there-no-communication-tools-social-workers/

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4 Steps to Crafting Employee Development Plans That Fuel Success

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Post-pandemic, the debate on recruitment, retention, and performance seems to be stuck on location. Employers with return-to-office plans are looking to catered meals, commuter benefits, and even raises to draw people in. For the 83% of companies with a largely hybrid or remote workforce, the benefit is baked in-job seekers would take an average pay cut of 14% to work remotely.

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An Introduction to Group Work Practice, 7e Toseland and Rivas Chapter 11 Task Groups Foundation Methods

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inc. all rights reserved an introduction to group work practice

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7e toseland and rivas chapter 11 task groups foundation methods.

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© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved An Introduction to Group Work Practice, 7e Toseland and Rivas Chapter 11 Task Groups Foundation Methods. - ppt download

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Varies in scope relative to size and resources of agency

May involve outside organizations

Leaders are experts, various learning formats used

Focused on enhancing staff's ability to effectively and efficiently provide positive service outcomes

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Group members might not have a working relationship as a unit

Held infrequently, so less cohesion, bonding

Might have a different configuration of participants at each meeting as client needs change

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It is a kind of business axiom that every solid company (which is serious about progressing on the market) should have an adequate Staff Development Plan - a written document explaining specific ways in which the company is going to invest into its workforce: improve performance and explore talents of its current employees in all available ways, to be more competitive in business.

Consistent and effective Staff Development Plan is a basis for a company's growth as it determines direction for strengthening its personnel and brings specific strategy in this area of improvement. With a help of this plan you can hit the following objectives:

Employees are encouraged to develop: they have a vision, definite goals and expectancies;

Employees are directed and supervised to develop: they are professionally supported;

Company controls its workforce: plans and utilizes it to be strong among competitors;

2) Why the Staff Development Plan is so important?
When a company wants to prosper, it needs to have a qualified and powerful staff which is loyal and thankful to this organization. One of the special ingredients making the relationships between employers and their employees strong and fair is a transparency: transparency in mutual intentions and policies applied. Staff Development Plan is what clears up expectations between employees and their managers. A staff development plan fulfills these important missions:

Identifies current performance gaps or future demands for skills and staff capabilities;

Outlines the career objectives for the company's employees (and the path towards them);

Explains how the company is going to support and direct employees towards these objectives;

Expresses how strongly the company is interested in development of its employees and their talents (it shows how the company values its employees to nourish their loyalty);

It is the company's policy to recognize and develop obvious and unrevealed yet talents available in the company's staff to appreciate them and benefit from employing them;

Outlines employees' current promotional prospects (important for all professionally ambitious employees);

3) Actions to plan staff development:

1. Determine the development needs of your staff: for this you need to use inputs gained from your employees and their supervisors. You may complete this task in the following way:

1. Core competencies (define them for all positions in the staff): skills and other characteristics that a person needs to be successful and prospering at this position. Can be a combination of both psychological traits and technical capabilities;

2. Competency gaps (assess deficits for each competency): check the levels of competence you have at every workplace due to a person occupying it and pick out competencies which need further improvement (where a person has certain gaps). The same procedure is required for identifying future competency demands connected to expected business growth;

2. Define the development objectives for every staff member to obtain a better performance, cover gaps in their specific competencies, and to increase their competency level for future needs;

3. Identify the skills, knowledge and practical experience needed to achieve these goals;

4. Select development techniques to close identified gaps and to reach outlined goals:

1. Training courses of different types;

2. Delegation to seminars;

3. Cross-trainings with more experienced employees;

4. Increasing of time spent on specific types of jobs;

5. Acquiring and providing tutorial materials;

5. Meet each of the staff members and discuss these developmental goals with them. Reach a mutually favorable agreement upon a shared vision, and win everyone's further commitment;

6. If, though a discussion, some of your employees have certain development goals which cannot compromise anyhow with what you have projected, then this should be a signal for the company to review their employment (to reexamine if they fit requirements to be your staff members);

7. Define how progress on the path of development can be measured, towards the goals you have set (formulate them in specific and quantifiable terms), for example a specific rate of defectless production or errorless operation you demand from employees;

8. Once development goals are approved, document these goals in your Staff Development Plan;

9. Decide on the time limits suiting your development plan. Focus on due date to check results: usually it is done in terms of annual performance reviews;

10. Create a more specific schedule of trainings and other arrangements aimed to develop the staff (break down the goals into smaller tasks and set up a calendar for them);

11. Make your staff highly interested in adherence to the development plan: associate improvements they can achieve with some "tangible" rewards, such as a promotion or annual salary increase, or probably paying out a one-time bonus;

12. Establish close collaboration between employees and their managers focused on achievement of the developmental goals set for them. Regularly review and appraise the progress done;

4) A simple way to plan staff development with VIP Task Manager:

VIP Task Manager is a client-server product that stands for collaboration between people, so it enables the managers to plan staff development in specific terms of particular tasks and projects. Let's consider simple step-by-step instructions to plan staff development using this product:
Instruments to be used:

Resource List;

Task Tree mode;

Calendar mode;

Resource List mode actions:

1. Add users accounts to the list (set their logins and passwords);

2. Enter users' departments, personal phones and other details;

Task Tree mode actions:

1. Create a task group called "Staff Development";

2. Fill this group with personal folders for every person in the staff;

3. Identify personal development goals for everyone and schedule an appointment to discuss these goals with the staff member: create tasks (meetings) and set their time settings;

4. Once every meeting is finished ("Complete") and goals are agreed with the staff members you can go next to more detailed planning of their development;

5. Create a more specific schedule of developmental arrangements: schedule the dates for trainings (along with specific trainers assigned), for delegation to seminars, daily time periods allocated for self-education, etc;

Calendar mode actions:

1. Switch to Calendar mode and select appropriate View, for example Month view;

2. Set filter by folder "Staff Development";

3. Turn on "Group by Resources" option;

4. Review the schedule of trainings for this month by each employee;

5. Schedule reports to be submitted to you after a period of time (for example via attaching it as a file to a task);

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What is Staff Development Plan? It is a kind of business axiom that every solid company (which is serious about progressing on the market) should have an adequate Staff Development Plan â€" a written document explaining specific ways in which the company is going to invest into its workforce: improve performance and explore talents of its current employees in all available ways, to be more competitive in business.

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Interprofessional psychiatric teams: is multidimensionality evident in treatment conferences?

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Interprofessional psychiatric teams: is multidimensionality evident in treatment conferences?

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Task Roles and Maintenance Roles in Groups

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"A group of two or more people gathered together to work collaboratively and interdependently in pursuit of a designated purpose" (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2019, p. 119)

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As an employee, one of the most frustrating things to experience is a lack of control and autonomy at work.

Having to ask for constant permission from a manager is demoralizing and frustrating. Trust between leaders and team members begins to crumble. Employees can feel undervalued and that they are not reaching their full potential.

When team members lack the motivation and authority to take charge, positive changes in the workplace fall to the wayside.

But with the right team empowerment approach, leaders can give their team the support they need.

Here are the best practices for managers and leaders to empower their teams at work.

What is team empowerment at work?

Team empowerment at work happens when a group of employees has the responsibility and authority to make decisions.

Instead of waiting for a manager to issue instructions or approve requests, an empowered team organizes itself around a leader. Despite that self-organization, every member of the self-managed team plays a role in making group decisions.

Empowered teams are often cross-disciplined and based around specific projects. For example, a team may be empowered to:

Conduct an audit

Amend or create new company policies

Develop a new service or product

Teams usually create their own rules about decision-making, communication, and implementation. These rules apply to the entire team.

There are three types of empowered teams:

Work unit teams work together daily, focusing on their unit's primary output.

Project teams, such as a new product development team, are cross-disciplinary. They're usually composed of employees from finance, manufacturing, marketing, and other departments.

Total customer satisfaction teams focus on business as well as customer issues. These teams are selected after a particular problem that requires a solution is identified. The teams usually disband after resolving the issue.

Why is group empowerment important, and what are its benefits?

Empowerment is linked to job satisfaction, employee retention, and commitment to the company. There are also links between psychological empowerment and good task performance.

Team empowerment in the workplace is important for another reason - it addresses a real need.

A 2019 Employee Engagement Report revealed that 33% of employees feel undervalued at work. The report also found that employee loyalty is decreasing.

43% of workers would be willing to leave their companies for just a 10% salary increase. They said that weak company cultures are to blame.

Luckily, the right team empowerment strategies can address these issues. Let's take a look at some of the most important benefits of group empowerment.

Greater accountability

The improved morale that happens when you offer leadership and empowerment to a group leads to a greater sense of accountability.

Each member of the team knows senior management is confident in their abilities. That confidence inspires them to make decisions and perform their relevant tasks to the best of their abilities.

The team is happy to be accountable for the project's successes, and it faces up to the responsibilities if the project fails.

Efficient problem resolution

Getting better at solving problems is another benefit of team empowerment.

Empowered teams have the confidence they need to tackle issues they face. Instead of feeling uncomfortable or wishing the problem would go away, they face it head-on. And that's the first step for efficient problem-solving.

If a cross-disciplinary team isn't empowered, issues arise. They have to get authorization from the right managers. Or they might have to wait a long time for a supervisor to make a decision.

This can all take a frustrating amount of time.

Empowered groups can solve problems much faster. They're aware that if they put their heads together, they have the skills to solve problems themselves.

Improved productivity

Group empowerment boosts morale, increases accountability, and offers faster problem resolution. These result in greater productivity, which benefits the entire company.

How to empower others at work: 7 strategies for your team

No single strategy is the final word on how to empower others at work. Try implementing several or all the following strategies to empower your employee teams.

1. Support the team's empowerment

Support team empowerment by supplying employees with what they need to do their job. This means giving them the opportunities and resources needed to complete a project or another task.

Avoid micromanaging. Be clear about the final expectation rather than the means of achieving it.

Give them the items they need, as well as the authority to implement procedures themselves.

2. Clarify vision and roles

Empower the group by ensuring everyone understands the team's goals and vision. Let each member know why you selected them for the team and define their role clearly.

Once everyone understands the expectations and their roles, then you can let them get on with the job.

For example, if you selected specific employees because of their ability to crunch numbers, let them know.

3. Encourage open and honest feedback

One aspect of team empowerment consists of changing the leadership-team dynamic from one of a top-down hierarchy to a dialogue.

Show you mean it by encouraging open and honest feedback from each team member and from the group collectively. Listen attentively and respectfully to their feedback and concerns and provide feedback of your own.

For example, schedule a weekly meeting with the group as an opportunity for updates and feedback.

4. Institute an open-door policy

Support the team's empowerment by instituting an open-door policy in your office.

Having an open-door policy establishes an environment of trust and mutual respect. Employees knowing that they have someone to turn to and that their voice is heard is important for a positive work culture.

Instead of telling group members that you're approachable or your office door is open, show them. Literally leave the door open. This should encourage them to approach you with feedback or concerns at any time.

5. Motivate self-improvement

Enhance group empowerment by encouraging each member toward holistic self-improvement.

Appointing them to the team probably gave them a boost of self-confidence. It showed you are confident in their abilities.

Even so, there's always room for improvement.

Motive the group members to learn new skills that will benefit them, the group, and the company. This will encourage them to strive for growth in other areas of their lives too.

For example, offer them the option to work remotely. This can give them time for other commitments, such as working on their physical well-being.

6. Forgive their mistakes

Support team empowerment by forgiving mistakes and failures. The group members aren't likely to feel empowered if they're afraid of leadership whose first response is anger.

Forgiving the team's mistakes will enhance their sense of confidence in you. Plus, it will encourage them to continue taking risks and making their own decisions instead of playing it safe.

7. Show appreciation for their contribution

Acknowledging and appreciating the team's efforts is one of the keys to leadership through empowerment.

Yes, the work is expected of them, and yes, they get paid to do it. However, when you empowered them, you encouraged them to put something of themselves into it. Remember that.

Give credit where it's due.

For example, have pizzas and thank-you cards delivered to the team after they unveil a flawless product design.

5 facts to consider to make team empowerment work

Team empowerment will not work if the following factors are absent:

1. Trust

Trust is the foundation of leadership and empowerment. Senior management appointed you to a leadership position. It's because they trust you are the best person for the job.

You appointed employees to the group and empowered them to do what they need to do because you trust in their capabilities.

If you do not trust your employees, any talk of empowerment goes out the window. You wouldn't be likely to leave them to get on with their work. Instead, you'd probably micromanage them.

Similarly, your team needs to trust and respect you.

As a leader it's important to understand the difference between power versus influence. When you use influence to lead, you'll build deeper trust and loyalty with your team.

2. Transparency

Transparency and trust go hand-in-hand.

Both are essential for the open communication that's needed for group empowerment at work. Team members will feel assured that nothing is being hidden from them if you provide transparency.

The team will know that it is an integral part of the company's workforce if you keep them informed. Always update them on changes that affect them and include them in the decision-making process.

Transparency on your part will also encourage open communication on theirs.

3. Communication

The importance of communication in team empowerment at work is impossible to overemphasize. The lines should be open and communication clear from the outset.

IBM found that 72% of its employees don't understand the company's strategy clearly.

Communicate the team's purpose and each member's role. Communicate the company's vision, and offer 360 degree feedback regularly. You should also ask for feedback in return.

Don't limit your communication to talking shop.

Include the human element by introducing or making space for small talk. Ask them about their interests or hobbies outside of work. Talk to them about the well-being of their families.

Communication isn't limited to expressing or communicating ideas and information. It also involves listening.

Hone your listening skills. This way, you truly hear what is being said before giving an emotional knee-jerk reaction.

4. Flexibility and openness to new ideas

A boss who is inflexible and closed to new ideas will not succeed. They won't empower groups or individuals at work.

There is an element of delegation involved in team empowerment. If you delegate some authority to a group, then you should be flexible.

Be open enough to accept that they will complete the project in their own way.

Group empowerment demonstrates the truth of the saying, "Two heads are better than one." An individual may become so set in their ways that no alternatives get considered.

Among several people working on a project, two might come up with a new, more efficient way of doing something.

5. Recognition and appreciation

Employee recognition and appreciation are other recurring themes when empowering others at work.

Recognize employees as individuals and for the role they play in the company. S how appreciation for their efforts.

This reinforces their sense of individual and collective empowerment.

A field experiment by Harvard Business Review highlighted this concept.

In this experiment, thank-you cards were publicly handed to the top three performers in various groups. After, it found that overall group performance improved after acknowledgment.

Take leadership through team empowerment

A company cannot thrive if its employees are not engaged. If employees don't feel empowered, they're less likely to feel engaged at work.

Empowerment is a proven way to engage employees. Take leadership through empowerment by giving your employees the resources, responsibility, and authority they need to do their best.

Get in touch with BetterUp and let us help you with your team empowerment competency today. Together, we can take team management to the next level.

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As an employee, one of the most frustrating things to experience is a lack of control and autonomy at work. Having to ask for constant permission from a manager is demoralizing and frustrating. Trust between leaders and team members begins to crumble. Employees can feel undervalued and that they are not reaching their full potential.

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From Same Agency
1. Only social workers
2. Professionals from various disciplines
3. Social workers working with non-professionals or paraprofessionals

From Different Agencies
4. Only social workers
5. Professionals from various disciplines
6. Social workers working with non-professionals or paraprofessionals

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Module 3, Segment 7: Barriers to working together

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Team vs group: what’s the difference? There’s a fine line between work groups and teams, and each has its own purpose. Learn more with us.

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The team as a secure base: Promoting resilience and competence in child and family social work

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The team as a secure base: Promoting resilience and competence in child and family social work

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Running An Effective Task Group: The 5 C's

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Running An Effective Task Group: The 5 C's

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Many social work students may ask themselves, "What is a task group? Why should I be concerned with what makes a task group run more effectively?" The majority of students have already participated in a task group, but may not have called it by name. Knowing the skills that contribute to being an effective task group leader will help ensure that your task group experience is a positive and productive one.

Task groups are groups of individuals brought together to accomplish a specific action or produce a product. If you have participated in an educational planning meeting, been a member of a committee, attended a treatment team meeting, been elected to student government, or joined a social movement group, you have already experienced a task group in action. For some, the experience may not have been a positive one, because running an effective task group takes many different skills. Many social work students will be in the position of leading task groups while they are in school or very shortly afterward. Developing an awareness of the ingredients that go into a successful task group, with satisfied members, is crucial.

Five areas that are frequently cited by the experts on task groups are the five C's: Control, Conflict, Communication, Consensus, and Cohesion. The five C' can make or break a task group experience.

Groups are dynamic and fluid, which often means that the five C's will be interrelated and interconnected. All can influence member satisfaction and ultimately the level of success the group will have attaining its goals. Thinking about some of the pitfalls that task groups can experience, and some strategies that may help you avoid them, may help you prepare for your own task group experience.
Control
Have you ever experienced the leadership vacuum? A leader has been appointed, but the group feels like a ship with no one at the helm. No one clarifies the purpose of the group or establishes concrete goals that can be evaluated. There is no agenda and group discussions meander through many topics. Members feel they are wasting their time, because nothing is being accomplished. On the opposite extreme is the super controlling leader who makes the members feel as if they are working with a control freak. The leader imposes his/her own agenda and refuses any member input. The leader is insensitive to the members' needs or inflexible about allowing extra time to process an important decision.

Social workers may feel uncomfortable about assuming a leadership role, but many groups need someone to carry out the leadership functions to fulfill their purpose. Leaders are often responsible for convening meetings, chairing discussions, and facilitating the processes of meeting goals.

One strategy for leaders is to prepare for meetings by having a written agenda. Leaders should orient group members at the beginning and as new members join, so that all members understand who is in the group and what is the group' purpose. Leaders should start meetings as close to on time as possible and end on time. Also, avoiding long meetings is usually a good idea; members may have a hard time remaining focused in meetings that are longer than two hours. Discussions should be refocused when members remain stuck on one point endlessly or drift on long tangents.

Leaders should use social work skills such as asking open-ended questions, paraphrasing, and summarizing to help facilitate productive discussions. Someone should be appointed to keep minutes of meetings. Minutes should be reviewed before the next meeting to remind members and leaders what was accomplished and what still needs to be done. Setting some realistic goals that can be reached early on will help group members feel the group has a purpose. Involving group members as much as possible in establishing group rules and task assignments will send a message to members that their contributions are valued.
Conflict
Many social workers have been part of a group where the whole meeting was spent arguing over every decision. The members end up feeling as if they are participating in World War III. Some people may get frustrated and drop out. But the conflict-free group can often be just as frustrating. Being part of a group where no one feels they can raise a differing point of view for fear of creating conflict, often forces members to go along with decisions they don't agree with and will not support in the long run.

Group leaders should expect some level of conflict as part of a healthy group process and not see conflict as a sign of failure. Group members should be encouraged to give their input, while at the same time, the leader should help members anticipate that there may be differences of opinion. Leaders should not switch topics or end discussion whenever there is a sign of possible conflict, but should intervene when a conflictual discussion moves to a personal level or goes on for so long that it feels unproductive. Negotiation, mediation, and arbitration skills can help resolve conflicts in a productive manner. Leaders should avoid leaving the most conflictual items until the end of the agenda, because meetings should not end on a conflictual note.
Communication
In any type of group, communication is very important, because miscommunication almost always leads to problems. In task groups, different communication styles can create a situation in which group members misinterpret messages and fail to have a true dialogue. This can be especially true in task groups made up of members from different professions or of community groups with many nonprofessionals. A doctor may use professional jargon which is meaningless to other group members who are involved in a discharge conference. A community organizer may arrive at a meeting to plan a voter registration drive in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood, unable to communicate anything because he or she doesn't speak Spanish. And nothing is more painful than being in a group where no one will say anything. The silence is deafening.

Communicating ideas and having a dialogue among members is very important in reaching group goals. Leaders should encourage and model good communication behaviors, which include no talking over others, no interrupting, and the use of "I statements." Leaders should intervene when members are potentially misinterpreting messages and ask for clarification from the member who has just spoken.

Leaders need to be aware of nonverbal communication, such as eye rolling, frowning, and shaking heads. Jargon should be avoided if members have different backgrounds. Members who use language that is racist, sexist, or homophobic should be addressed either during the group or afterward in private about the negative consequences of using this type of communication. Leaders should try whenever possible to reframe different communication styles as a positive addition to the diversity of the group.
Cohesion
Being a member of a group with no cohesion or no sense of belonging can be very disheartening. Members may have difficulty expending a lot of energy in a group where members have no sense of connectedness or common purpose. Some groups err in the opposite extreme, creating a group with an intense sense of connection which is closed to any new members or suggestions from outside the group. Sometimes, a few members within the larger group feel closer and cliques, claques, or fractions are created which contribute to negative feelings between group members or subgroups.

Cohesion is often linked to group member satisfaction. Leaders should strive for a sense of belonging among their members by involving members in group activities and encouraging interaction between members. When assigning tasks or delegating authority, leaders should try to include everyone, even if the task is very small, because members may feel more a part of a group where they are making contributions. The leader can also encourage and model the benefits of working cooperatively instead of competitively. Never forget the importance of frequently recognizing and praising members' commitment and contributions to the group.
Consensus
Task groups are frequently in the position of having to choose between different options. This means that groups must decide, in advance preferably, how they will arrive at a final decision. One pattern that can develop occurs when a small group of members is in contact outside of the formal meeting and makes a decision. This agreement is then presented to the whole group as if the whole group has already agreed to its mini-consensus. Striving to achieve complete consensus, especially in larger groups, can be aggravating to members. When a social action group has been meeting weekly for three months and is still trying to come to complete agreement by all forty members on the purpose of the group, members may lose interest and drop out.

Strategies for leaders include reaching an agreement early on in the life of the group as to what consensus will be when a group is formed: a simple majority? over 75% of the members? or 100%? Deciding the procedure for coming to consensus is also crucial: hand raising, secret ballot, and voice votes are all possibilities to consider. These strategies will vary a great deal depending on group size. A five-person treatment team may work well with 100% consensus, while a social action group with 50 members may need another type of decision-making.

Group processes will vary depending on group objectives and group membership. Sometimes a group will need a controlling leader or be able to tolerate high amounts of conflict. Flexibility and some understanding of group processes/dynamics are very important in helping leaders meet the needs of diverse groups. Leading or being a member of a task group can be very challenging to social work students, so don't be too hard on yourself if your first experience feels like less than a total success.

Remembering what it felt like to be a task group member will help you stay in touch with what your group members may be going through. Learning from any mistakes will help you to be more prepared for future task group experiences to come.
Laura M. Fernandez, MSSW, is a 1996 graduate of Columbia University School of Social Work. She became involved in a social action group, The Action Coalition for Social Justice, in January 1995, and began a one-year term as Student Union Treasurer in September 1996. Through these experiences, she has realized the importance of task group leadership to the success of the group. Copyright © 1997 White Hat Communications. All rights reserved. From THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER, Winter 1997, Vol. 4, No. 1. For reprints of this or other articles from THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER (or for permission to reprint), contact Linda Grobman, publisher/editor, at P.O. Box 5390, Harrisburg, PA 17110-0390, or at linda.grobman@paonline.com.

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Running An Effective Task Group: The 5 C's

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Many social work students may ask themselves, "What is a task group? Why should I be concerned with what makes a task group run more effectively?" The majority of students have already participated in a task group, but may not have called it by name.

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Addiction and Mental Health Outpatient Clinic Conference Information

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Addiction and Mental Health Outpatient Clinic Conference Information