When I did my graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University, my professor Roger Karsk taught us about facilitation. He conveyed the importance of noticing Task, Maintenance, and Individualist Roles in a group, and especially in a meeting. Effective meetings balance all three of these behaviors. Many organizational cultures rely on task behaviors to the detriment of the project.

Here’s a great list of the behaviors to consider in your groups:

Task Roles

Task role behaviors include:

• Initiator: proposes goals, plans of action, or activities

• Information giver: offers facts, information, evidence, personal experiences

• Information seeker: asks others for facts, information evidence, personal experiences

• Evaluator-critic: analyzes suggestions for strengths and weaknesses

• Clarifier: makes ambitious statements clearer, interprets issues

• Elaborator: develops an idea previously expressed by giving examples, illustrations, explanations

• Recorder: takes notes on the group discussions, important decisions, and commitments to action

Relational/Maintenance Roles

Relational/ Maintenance role behaviors include:

• Supporter: encourages everyone, making sure they have what they need to get the job done

• Gatekeeper: helps members gain the floor and have opportunities to speak

• Harmonizer: helps manage conflict within the group, facilitating common ground, helping define terms, and contributing to consensus

• Tension-releaser: uses humor and light-hearted remarks, as well as nonverbal demonstrations (brings a plate of cookies to the group), to reduce tensions and work-related stress

• Compromiser: focuses on common ground, common points of agreement, and helps formulate an action plan that brings everyone together towards a common goal, task, or activity

• Standard Setter: sets the standard for conduct and helps influence the behavior of group members

Individualistic/Self-Centered Roles

Individualistic/Self-centered role behaviors include:

• Aggressor: belittles other group members

• Block: frequently raises objections

• Deserter: abandons group or is very unreliable

• Dominator: demand control and attention

• Recognition-seeker: frequently seeks praise

• Confessor: uses the group to discuss personal problems

• Joker or Clown: frequently uses distracting humor or other attention-seeking behaviors

When trying to determine why a group is effective or why it is not, pay attention to these behaviors. Who talks to whom? Who supports others’ ideas? Who talks over others? Who is impatient to reach a decision? While both task and maintenance behaviors are helpful, more than a few individualistic and self-centered roles will derail your meeting.

One of the ways you can improve your meetings is to teach attendees these behaviors since oftentimes simple awareness will change the dynamic. I welcome you to try it and let me know what happens! If you could use additional support, please contact me.

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