4-9
THE WORKINGS OF A GROUP (group dynamics)
When a group of
persons from different
villages comes together
for a training program,
at first it is usually hard
for everyone to share his
thoughts openly with the
others.
POOR GROUP DYNAMICS-ONE
PERSON TALKS, MOSTLY TO HERSELF.
Many people at first
find it easier to listen
than to talk, while a few
find it easier to talk than
to listen. A good group
leader looks for ways
to help those who are
silent to speak out.
At the same time, he
helps show those who are quick to speak how important it is to give others
a chance.
Above all else, an effective group leader learns how to keep silent—and when he
does speak, to limit himself to asking questions that help draw ideas out of others,
especially those who say the least.
Getting the members of a group to talk openly with each other as equals is not
easy. It is especially hard when people come from villages or communities where
public meetings are controlled by officials or rich persons who have power. In such
meetings, only certain individuals are expected to talk. Usually they make a speech,
or just give orders. Lies may be told, facts covered up, laws violated, and the people
listen silently. Often they feel they have no choice. Even when a vote is taken, most
persons will not raise their hands until they see the man who owns the house they
rent or the land they plant raise his. Long experience has taught them the cost of
not remaining silent. {Silence can be enforced in many ways.)
In addition, because the group has come together to begin a training program or
‘class’, many persons will at first think of it as ‘school’. As we discussed in Chapter 1,
for most of us school is a place where the teacher, or schoolmaster, is boss. When
the student is asked a question, the ‘right’ answer is not what he thinks or deeply
believes, but rather what the teacher reads from the textbook. What the student
thinks or feels is of small importance. In fact, the less he manages to think or feel,
the better he is likely to get along in the classroom.
The experiences of many of the group’s members, then, both in village meetings
and in school, often make them reluctant or afraid to speak freely and openly—
especially in the presence of a leader with authority. It therefore helps if the group
leader, or instructor, is himself a villager from the area. From the very first, the leader
needs to do all he can to show he considers himself on the same level with all
the others.