MUTUAL INFLUENCES OF SMALL GROUPS

According to John Donne, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of continent, a part of main. This particular quotation is seen widely used in our world today, which its content is clearly visible and true. Individuals are known to be the integral part of any group, for instance; families, study groups etc. Their personal commitments toward the objectives of the group determine the total productivity of such an entity. On the contrary, the sum total of the efficiency which such group produces generally, in return influences the individualism of the members that made up the group.  Therefore, this piece of essay has one simple aim; to unveil the mutual influences I experienced being in a small group called “Potential Builders International”.

Small groups are estimated to consist between three to nine persons. Generally, group can be defined as two or more individuals who are connected by, and within social relationships (Donelson R. Forsyth, 2010). Considering the interaction within the small-group context, it involves sharing and exchanging of knowledge, experiences, skills, ideas and opinions towards the betterment of the entire group. In our lecture note, small group communication is stated to be interaction that involves three to nine persons who are working together to achieve an interdependent goals (Miss Nita, 2011). 

Consequently, there are three main implications derived from the later sentence. First, it becomes evident as to discover that members are interdependent - the objectives of the group will not be achieved without individual contributions. In other words, they rely on each other to have a maximum performance. Similarly, the smaller the group, the more each one in the group becomes aware of the co-existence among them to get task done collectively. Next, you will find that effective interaction is the key tool that pools and coordinates the group together.

Potential Builders International is a non-for-profit group formed and initiated by me with the aim of rediscovering destinies, and empowering young people for a better tomorrow. It consists of seven members with five boys and two girls. This group can be said to be task-oriented in nature and focus.  As the founder, I became the major influence within the group.   One of the avenues I exerted my influence was via affection, knowing that it is the secret road map to get into people’s heart. In the first place, I needed to sell the idea to them, and secondly, they have to assimilate the vision and mission of the entity when bought the idea. The reason may be very simple; it is meant for all to have a mental picture of our destination. This vivid and clear mental image will help us to arrive at the destination quickly and safely.

However, this cannot be achieved without effective communication and love tool. I was able to influence everyone successfully with these two fundamental principles which yielded a great dividend for us. Aftermath, I discover that such influence is not achieved through manipulation, but via proper articulation of purpose. What a learning process for me that will ever remain indelible in my success story.

Other than that, I was influenced largely by these pools of people of like-minded and master mind. It was a two way thing. Literally, in life everyone was designed to function differently and uniquely. These differences in attributes make each person a model when such exceptional characters are enhanced.  Here, you discover the influence is based wholly on the person’s knowledge. One thing that affected me tremendously was, I learnt to stretch myself mentally and otherwise to reach further in results if I should coordinate the activities of the organization perfectly. The results gained began to erase one of my deficiencies which was a concern to me over the years– the fear of public speaking and contribution. From thence, I became a good contributor in group discussions.

On the whole, working as a team polishes each of us pre-existing tendencies; the average tendency of everyone within the organization was strengthened. The success of our objectives depends entirely on our ability on those our set objectives. Though, there are combinations of explicit and implicit exhibition of attitudes and motives, but the conformity that exist within the group overrides this weakness. Also, the most influencers in this organization have good command of communication skills, and they wisely utilize it. These persons are more flexible in nature, in coordinating and presenting solid ideas, and quickly synergize those ideas for efficient results.

All things considered, having examined broadly the interaction that measured between me and the Potential Builders’ members as a group. One can simply deduced that group pioneers more extreme and risky decisions for purpose accomplishment than when a single person is involved. Also, influence is a two way thing – from individual to group and from group to individuals.

Compiled by Victor UZOMA