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192 Chapter 10 Members and Leaders in Small Group Communication

s you saw in Chapter 9, you’re a part of many different groups, and you serve a wide vari-
Aety of roles and functions in these groups. This chapter focuses on both membership and
leadership in small groups. By gaining insight into these roles and functions, you’ll increase
your own effectiveness as a group member and leader. A good way to begin is to look at how
both membership and leadership are viewed differently in different cultures.

Membership, Leadership, and Culture

Because most of the research (and also the resulting theory) concerning small group commu-
nication, membership, and leadership has been conducted in universities in the United States
and reflects U.S. culture, it’s important that we look at both membership and leadership from
the point of view of different cultures.
All cultures maintain their own belief systems, which influence group members’ behavior.
Members of many Asian cultures, influenced by Confucian principles, believe that “the pro-
truding nail gets pounded down” and are therefore not likely to voice disagreement with the ma-
jority of the group. Members of U.S. culture, on the other hand, influenced by the axiom that
“the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” are likely to voice disagreement or to act in ways different
from other group members in order to get what they want (Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010).
All cultures also have their own rules of preferred and expected leadership style. In the
United States, the general and expected style for a group leader is democratic. Our political
leaders are elected by a democratic process; similarly, company directors are elected by the
shareholders of their corporations. In other situations, of course, leaders are chosen by those
in authority. The president of a company will normally decide who will supervise and who
will be supervised. Even in this situation, however, the supervisor is expected to behave dem-
ocratically: to listen to the ideas of the employees; to take their views into consideration when
decisions are to be made; to keep them informed of corporate developments; and not to dis-
criminate on the basis of sex, race, or affectional orientation. In the United States people ex-
pect that organizational and other group leaders will be changed fairly regularly, much as we
change political leaders on a regular basis. In some other cultures, leaders get their positions
by right of birth. They are not elected, nor are they expected to behave democratically.

IndIvIdual and COlleCtIve OrIentatIOns
Small group cultures and cultures in general differ in the extent to which they promote indi-
vidualistic values (e.g., power, achievement, hedonism, and stimulation) versus collectivist
values (e.g., benevolence, tradition, and conformity).
One of the major differences between an individual orientation and a collective orien-
tation is in the extent to which an individual’s goals or the group’s goals are given prece-
dence. Individual and collective tendencies are, of course, not mutually exclusive; this is not
an all-or-none orientation, but rather one of emphasis. You probably have both tendencies.
Thus, you may, for example, compete with other members of your basketball team to make
the most baskets; but in a game, you’d likely act in a way that will benefit the entire team (and
thus emphasize group goals). In practice, both individual and collective tendencies will help
both you and your team achieve your goals. Still, most people and most cultures have
Communication
Choice point a dominant orientation.
In an individualist culture you’re responsible to your own conscience; responsi-
asserting Yourself bility is largely an individual matter. Examples of individualist cultures include those
in a Group of the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada, New Zea-
In your meetings at work, the land, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden (Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010;
supervisor consistently ignores your cues Singh & Pereira, 2005). In a collectivist culture you’re responsible to the rules of the
that you want to say something—and
when you do manage to say something, no social group; all members share responsibility for accomplishments as well as for
one reacts. You’re determined to change this failures. Examples include the cultures of Guatemala, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela,
situation. What are some of your options for Colombia, Indonesia, Pakistan, China, Costa Rica, and Peru (Hofstede, Hofstede, &
addressing this situation? Minkov, 2010). Individualistic cultures foster competition, whereas collectivist cul-
tures promote cooperation.