Leading Groups and Teams

1.3 Discussion: Group or Team?

Getting Started

What we call a thing matters. If I ask my wife to pack me a pair of shoes for our trip to the beach when I really want her to bring me a pair of flip-flops, I can’t be upset when she packs me a pair of tennis shoes. Being accurate and specific with our language helps clearly communicate what we mean. When it comes to leading groups and teams, we must be able to differentiate between the two concepts. Then, when a problem presents itself, you will know what type of solution to employ: a group or a team.

Upon successful completion of this discussion, you will be able to:

· Differentiate between groups and teams.

Instructions

1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.

2. Review the Getting Started section of the workshop.

3. Read Discovering Leadership (Middlebrooks et al., 2020) Chapter 12 (this is a book you would have used in some previous courses. You will use it several times during this course.)

4. Watch the first 20 minutes of  Teams and Groups in an Organization(new tab)  by Genius Educations. (You can stop when the author begins discussing communication).  

5. Initial Post of 300-400 words responding to the question prompts due by the end of the fourth day of the workshop. Two additional 100-to-200-word responses to other students’ posts due by the end of the workshop. Any questions posed by the instructor to the student must also be answered.

6. Discussion Prompts:

a. Identify one group of which you are a member and one team of which you are a member. Explain why one is a group and the other is a team.