Pictures adapted from wikipedia
Knowing that the sources for my blog need to come from a variety of media prints, my attention fell on the latest issue of ‘Teens’ as I was on my way home. Not surprisingly, I managed to spot an article in which I can apply the concept of group communication on. It is an article under entertainment page 48 of the ‘Teens’ October issue, titled “So Keen”.
The article focused on a British band, Keane who have make remarkable results in their music career and it also went on to talk about how they managed to get together as a band. Apparently, the debut album of the band Hopes and Fears “went straight to #1 on the UK album charts with the album eventually reaching sales of five and a half million copies worldwide and counting.” Their second album, Under the Iron Sea “sold over 200,000 copies the week on its release in June 2006. They are now on their way to releasing their third album. Apart from their wonderful achievement, the article described how the band was eventually stabilized when a member of the group, Tim Rice-Oxley decide not to leave the band for another, Coldplay.
It was indeed impressive that Tim did not leave the group for Coldplay, a famous band but rather he chose “stuck to his guns” and develop their own music which revolves around piano. I strongly believed that being loyal is an important factor in a group as it helps to build the trust of the members and give them a sense of security that the band is not scattered nor divided. Being with a group from the very beginning also enables the members to understand each other better which is another major factor to work together. Different people have different thinking thus being with the group and understanding each other can helps them to hopefully see from the other party’s point of view and thus avoid unnecessary conflict that might arise due to different in perceptions. In addition, I believe that for Tim to make the decision of staying with his original group requires that full support of the other members so as to encourage him to stay on and work towards their goal in making their very own music.
Another major factor that the group has make decision on would probably be to stick to piano and omitting guitar in their music. Though the reason was not mentioned, agreeing with such decision is never easy because not all the members specialized in piano. Personally, I feel that the band had invested lots of time coming together and discussing over this issue before they finally agree to use only piano for the music. Probably within the group, there is either a compromiser or follower who helps to enhance the social climate of the group. Their easiness prevents conflict that will emerged when perceptions differs.
Personally, I believed that in order for a group to exist in the first place is never an easy task. There are various factors that need to be sorted out before a group can decide if they can work together as it would implied that individual’s thoughts are no longer the key factor but rather the idea in which majority of the members agreed upon become the central idea.
Therefore, the group’s decision to stay united and work together with each other based on terms they have agreed upon is something worth applauding.
8 comments:
Firstly, there is an apparent difference in the idea of a "team" and a "group"
That is - a group is made up of a few individuals who act on their own, while a team exhibits unity where individuals move along together.
Like any group or team, Keane definitely has differences arising between them before. How did they manage to solve them? Probably as a team, they managed to resolve them and display a sense of unity shown in their public appearances and music.
In the resolving of conflicts, this can be due to various reasons, for example, through situational communication and consultative communication styles and considering situational variables such as time, information, acceptance when selecting the communication styles.
In order to select a communication style, one have to
1. diagnose the situation
2. selecting the appropriate communication style for the situation
3. use the appropriate communication style for the situation
I believe that in Keane, or in any teams/ groups, communication is an important factor, otherwise, it will lead to a fragile relationship that might not withstand adversity.
Keane is a great example of good group communications, but could other factors have played a role in their success?
I think the most fundamental criteria for a group to come into existence is the people sharing something in common; be it interests, goals, or others. It is obvious that Keane's existence is brought about by music, which, in itself is a form of communication. The people in the group probably came together because they loved music, and wanted to share their music with the world.
The next thing for a group that has come into existence to do is the stay together. This is where communication plays a crucial role. Communication helps to bridge the gap between the individual's differences and help them understand and thus, accept one another. The importance of group communication is hence, the essence that keeps people together. Through proper communication, they will learn to know, trust and appreciate each other. This creates loyalty amongst the members to the group, which Huishan mentions as being very important for a group to stay together. Without loyalty, members will eventually leave the group when problems and conflicts arise. Through proper communication too can members of a group work as a team to work towards the goals of the group, and not let that journey be encumbered by in-group fights.
I do think that Keane exhibits evidences of being able to communicate effectively. However, this observation is still superficial, as I do not know the details of their everyday interaction with one another. Even so, this following incident seems to prove that at least its members are still loyal to the group. In a newspaper article I read weeks ago, it is revealed that the band's lead singer, Tom Chaplin had gone into rehabilitation for substances abuse. In fact, they were in the middle of their tour in 2006 when Chaplin decided to check himself into a rehabilitation centre to get some professional help for his escalating problem with cocaine and alcohol, and Keane had to cancel a string of performances that were lined up in their itinerary. However, recently, the band declared that they are going to release their third album, 'Perfect Symmetry' (the first ever since Chaplin checked into rehabilitation) sometime this month. Though the band had problems, its members stuck by the group and waited till Chaplin could get well again to start working together. Now, that is what I call loyalty to the group.
Well said on the unity that this band
has forged since their very beginnings. I however wonder, has their success been mainly due to good group communication, or the presence of a capable leader to lead the band?
The strong bonds that the members of keane share is admirable. Does it take years for such bonds to be created? or simply just fate that allows people of common beliefs and passion are able to meet each other.
If it does take years for such bonds to be forged, is it worthwhile seeking complete trust and going over our comfort zone when working with new acquaintances, which otherwise would not require any more interaction once their work is complete.
communication is the way to go!
if one does not communicate and keeping one's feelings his own, it is difficult to have mutual understanding and conflicts usually arise.
i am positive that keane has got good communication which led to teamwork in their music
When it comes to communicating and connecting with our small group members, we're constantly looking for new and better ways to increase it, since that's one of our top values of small groups--relationships. Thankfully technology has made that easier in a lot of ways, allowing our small groups to email each other updates, prayer requests, thoughts, etc. And now small group members can be-friend each other on Facebook and MySpace.
Recently in the small group I lead, one of our members emailed the rest of the group a list of tough questions about God that they were wrestling with, and others replied with their thoughts. A couple weeks later, the small group was having a fun time bombarding each other's email inboxes with some "inside-joke" type emails (some with photos!).
So a week ago at group, someone mentioned that they really like getting the small group emails throughout the day, because they give them a mental break from work and get them thinking about our small group discussions and relationships. Then someone else spoke up and asked why we don't try doing a blog just for our small group, so we could share all of this stuff and connect there. Fortunately my apprentice is very computer-saavy, so I asked him to take this idea and run with it. And a day later, there it was--our small group blog!
Now maybe this idea isn't all that new (you tell me), but it's new to me--I hadn't heard yet of any small groups yet having their own blog that everyone can contribute to. And after just a week in existence, so far I'd say it's working out great!
Post a Comment