Managing Group Process

MARVIN R. GOTTLIEB is President of The Communication Project, Inc., a consulting firm based in Greenwich, CT./e For more than 20 years as a management development specialist and trainer for consulting, manufacturing, travel, and financial services companies worldwide, Dr. Gottlieb has been at the forefront of computer-based distance learning instructional design. He has also completed a 30-year career as Associate Professor of Communication at Lehman College-CUNY. Among his recent books is Managing the Workplace Survivors (Quorum, 1995, with Lori Conkling).

Aimed at front-line and senior managers faced with ongoing reorganization and an increasingly reluctant workforce, this book examines what it takes to facilitate problem solving, decision-making, and workforce retention and commitment. Gottlieb explains that managers can most effectively facilitate by adopting a hands-on strategy for processes rather than tasks. This book describes the skills and tools needed for leading and managing groups with consistency, commitment, and courage.Six core skills essential to facilitating group processes are presented:^L ^DBL Initiating^L ^DBL Questioning^L ^DBL Active Listening^L ^DBL Responding^L ^DBL Resolving^L ^DBL Closing/Committing^L Gottlieb discusses the most helpful tools a manager can use for facilitation, including planning, organizing, and directing group processes. Ethical guidelines are provided in conjunction with a discussion of the manager's role in the facilitation process.

Figures and TablesIntroductionGroups as a SystemThe Group as a SystemThe Role of Groups in Today's OrganizationsGroup Leadership StrategiesTypes of MeetingsGetting Things Done in GroupsInitiating Group ProcessQuestioning to Stimulate and Control DiscussionActive ListeningResponding and ResolvingClosing and Getting CommitmentFacilitation ToolsPlanningConductingEvaluating Group PerformanceNonverbal Behavior in GroupsThe Ethics of FacilitationAppendix A: Example Agenda for Visioning MeetingAppendix B: Facilitation Planning KitAppendix C: Problem-Solving Rating ScaleAppendix D: IAF Statement of Values and Code of EthicsBibliographyIndex