Group work: To elect a leader or not?

Group work is a big part of university, college, school and even working life. People work in teams for various projects or assignments lasting anything from a day to several weeks. A big part of group work is determining if there will be a group leader and who this will be.

Some groups may be automatically allocated a leader or sometimes the group may be asked to choose someone. It may be the most senior person (in terms of job title) or the person with the most experience. Perhaps someone may be chosen by a group vote or drawing straws. In some cases, it may be down to the group to decide whether or not to have a leader.

This article will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of electing a group leader.

Advantages

• Having a group leader has been proven to lead to better group structure, a greater likelihood of group members following the agreed rules and more efficient running of the team.
• It’s useful to have someone there to control the discussion to ensure everyone gets a chance to speak. This means encouraging quieter group members to share their views and politely asking the chatterboxes to maybe let other people talk!
• If there is any conflict within the group the leader is usually responsible for resolving this.
• During any decision making a group leader could perhaps have the casting vote assuming there is a deadlock.

Disadvantages

• Sense of superiority for the elected leader which may lead to hierarchy in the team. In other words the leader may feel more important than the rest of the team which is not nice for the other members.
• The rest of the team may feel that the task is not their responsibility anymore or that they are not accountable for the team’s progress.
• Electing a group leader will take up some of the group’s time. Not ideal if there is a time limit.
• Some group members may resent having a leader especially if it is a person they generally do not get along with.

Another option is for group members to take turns being the leader. Obviously, this would only work if the project intends to last several days or even weeks. So each day or week a different team member will be appointed leader.

Some groups may choose only to have a leader during team meetings (or in other words a chairperson). This means that someone will be there to ensure any team meetings run smoothly but otherwise all group members are equally responsible.

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