Leadership Styles and Therapeutic Relationship Analysis

This assignment explores the dynamics of therapeutic relationships within a group setting, focusing on leadership styles and group cohesiveness. The student analyzes two sources related to group cohesiveness and leadership styles, discussing their implications. The assignment includes activities where the student reflects on personal experiences with different leadership styles, contrasting transformational and reactive leadership approaches. It defines and emphasizes the importance of cohesiveness in group settings, and it also identifies leadership qualities such as honesty, inspiration, decision-making, creativity, and communication. Furthermore, the student addresses conflict resolution strategies in personal and professional contexts and examines the role of conflict in therapeutic group performance. The assignment highlights the importance of clear communication, impartiality, and positive interactions for effective group functioning, supported by relevant references.

Running head: THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP
THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP
Name of Student
Name of University
Author’s Note

1THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP
Activity 1
One source of information that refers to group cohesiveness
Heesen, M., Macdonald, S., Ostner, J., & Schülke, O. (2015). Ecological and social
determinants of group cohesiveness and within‐group spatial position in wild
assamese macaques. Ethology, 121(3), 270-283.
A source that referes to leadership style
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and
leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Activity 2
1. I had been under numerous bosses but according to be my best boss was the one
who cooperated with me in my work, one who did not scold me when I made
mistakes but taught me the right way to do it and helped me with my work
(Fairhurst & Connaughton, 2014). The leadership style used by my boss was
transformational leadership style. Some of my classmates written similar answers
to mine and one of them had said that best boss is the one who does not order but
request for getting a job done.
2. The worst boss is the one who acts selfish and wants to get his job done, he does
not understand from the side of employees or their problems (Heesen, Macdonald
& Ostner, 2015). The leadership style followed by worst boss is reactive style
where anything makes hum to react badly and abuse employees. Some of my
fellow classmates had similar answer to mine.

2THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP
Activity 3
1. Cohesiveness: cohesiveness can be defined as a quality by which a leader or
supervisor can form a united whole (Thibaut, 2017).
2. Cohesiveness if important for a group to function therapeutically because
cohesion in group allows the member in it to work as a whole, this also makes
them feel more positive regarding their work.
3. Group participant can foster group cohesiveness by maintaining positivity among
all the members and keep a clear channel of communication within them (Bolman
& Deal, 2017). A group leader can maintain group cohesion by staying impartial
to every member, cooperate with them in their work and in case of any conflict,
take active participation to sort it out.
Five leadership qualities that are important are as follows
 Honest: a leader should be honest to his team members and not fake
regarding his qualities or abilities.
 Inspire others: inspiration is a vital characteristic that a leader must have.
 Decision making: decision making of a leader should be very good
because leaders often face situations where they have to take tough
decision.
 Creativity and innovation: this quality helps a group to perform even
better with new ideas and innovations.
 Communication: good communication is a mandatory quality in a leader.
Good communication can help in fostering the relationship among
members and help them to perform well.

3THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP
4. In personal situations conflicts can be handled by talking to the person and
clearing out the matter.
In professional situations can be handled by just talking or informing the leader
and it would be his responsibility to solve it.
5. The response differs because in personal cases, no organization is involved but
professional conflicts occur within an organization and not in personal manner.
6. Conflicts are not always necessary for a group to perform therapeutically because
conflicts bring forward all the misunderstandings and they are cleared as well.
This brings clarity in the thoughts of group members and improves
communication among them. In some cases conflicts might worsen the situation.

4THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP
References
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and
leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Fairhurst, G. T., & Connaughton, S. L. (2014). Leadership: A communicative
perspective. Leadership, 10(1), 7-35.
Heesen, M., Macdonald, S., Ostner, J., & Schülke, O. (2015). Ecological and social
determinants of group cohesiveness and within‐group spatial position in wild
assamese macaques. Ethology, 121(3), 270-283.
Thibaut, J. W. (2017). The social psychology of groups. Routledge.