The group dynamic is at its most challenging in the power phase, as members compete for influence, prestige, and power. If you do the previous activity, power plays are minimised, but they will show up. If they do, revisit the exercise with “conflict” being the topic.
Things can get heated as people and personalities clash and, if you are an inexperienced manager, you may fear that your group is collapsing into anarchy. You might find yourself being drawn into misunderstandings or playing peacekeeper. The Power Phase is a normal stage of development that groups pass through in order to establish a hierarchy.
As people get more comfortable in the team, team members lose their need for group approval, and their hidden agendas become common knowledge. Individuals and cliques argue about how they will achieve the group's aims, listening declines, criticism increases, and creativity wanes, keeping team identity and spirit weak. In meetings, members might interrupt each other, talk over one another, or simply bow out or retreat.
Some members relish this stage, whereas others withdraw, so different roles emerge:
- Dominators exert influence to control the group.
- Aggressors diminish another members' status.
- Followers accept other people's attempts to influence them.
- Harmonizers try to balance individuals' needs with group needs.
- Compromisers make concessions and deals for the common good.
- Gatekeepers get everyone heard.
The most competitive and self-confident remain in the struggle, pushing aggressively and rising to the top, while others sit back or quietly take sides. For your group to progress from this phase, you need to do all you can to encourage team harmony.
This is when you need to lead more than ever before. How you show up in these scenarios signals to the team what is OK and what is not OK.
How To Lead Through This Stage
- Role model positive conflict, calling out negative behaviours, praising positive ones.
- Stronger personalities could mean conflict arises within the team, make sure you are expecting this and how to courageously lead in these situations.
- Consider what you could do to encourage positive conflict and resist artificial harmony during this stage. Some ways you could do this include listening to the views of your team or observing the team dynamics to understand what is they need to move forward.
- Do not expect to see performance results during this stage.
- It is important your team move through naturally but guided by you. Do not try and avoid the conflict.
Healthy conflict cannot arise without trust. People need to feel safe, so try out the team activity below to set the boundaries for conflict and trust.
Activity
Gather the team together and pose this question.
When in a meeting and another person challenges your idea or decision, what are acceptable and unacceptable behaviours for you?
Ask members to write down as many behaviours. You may need to prompt them by explaining it might be around use of language, body language, tone, expectations of involvement of others, how they like to receive challenge or feedback etc.
Then ask team members to share their views with the rest of the team. A facilitator captures the views.
As a team, discuss the preferences, highlight areas of difference, and agree a common approach to engaging in debate, challenge, or conflict.
Emphasise that you want healthy conflict in the team as it pushes each other towards better ideas and approaches, you don’t want unhealthy behaviours or mediocracy.
Formally record it and ask each member to hold one another accountable.
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