Six Common Roles in the Workplace
By: Charqweshia Tucker

Teamwork is becoming more common in the workplace, more and more companies are utilizing the concepts of teamwork or group dynamics. The two words are similar with different meanings, teamwork can be referred as "a group of people working together in a group" and group dynamics can be referred as "individual roles and interactions". There are more roles that are played in the workplace outside of a leadership role. The roles can be formal or informal and can be played by one or more members. During my research I found six common roles that are played in the workplace, which include: the agenda setter, the cheerleader, the critic, the gatekeeper, the joker and the leader.

The Agenda Setter The Agenda Setter is "who regularly puts new ideas and issues on the table" (pg. 136). This role is important within a group because this role is responsible for providing an agenda and supporting materials ahead of time. By doing so it will help maximize the time that the group has to ensure that everything is covered in a timely manner. This role can be done by The Leader but it will make things run smoother if an Agenda Setter is assigned. According to the textbook, The Agenda Setter is very important and most meetings cannot survive without one (pg. 137).

The Cheerleader The Cheerleader is "who encourages any sign of progress"(pg. 136). This role can be played by one or more people at a time. "An effective Cheerleader will point out the common ground between two apparently opposed positions and can be evolve into a Consensus Builder"(pg. 138). The Cheerleader can also be referred as The Supporter where one would "encourage the other group members and provide emotional support as needed" (section 14.2). During a group meeting The Support may take time to address members individually. For example, "Tayesha, you seemed kind of down today. Is there anything you'd like to talk about?"(section 14.2). The Supporter will use a listening skill called active empathetic, which is used to "connect with group members who may seem down or frustrated"(section 14.2)

The Critic The Critic "who sees the problems with others' ideas but has none better to offer"(pg. 136). The textbook compares this role to the one of the Devil's Advocate however, the primary focus is more destructive agenda(pg. 137). In most cases, you will find that The Critic will often argue with other group members not because they disagree with the ideas but because "they don't want to see another succeed"(pg. 137). In a group setting you do not want to attack another group members idea unless you have a better one to offer. The textbook gives a great tip on how you should deal with The Critic, "accommodate the strong points in his argument but be prepared to challenge either a specific criticism or a general pattern of obstruction"(pg. 137).

The Gatekeeper The Gatekeeper "who tries to keep to the agenda"(pg. 136). In this role the person is responsible for particular topics or task assigned and accomplish those assignments. Others may define the responsibility of The Gatekeeper as the one who 'manages the flow of conversation in a group in order to achieve an appropriate balance so that all group members get to participate in a meaningful way"(section 14.2). Often The Gatekeeper uses invitational phrases like "Let's each share one idea we have for a movie to show during Black History Month"(section 14.2). This person may also contribute to each person speaking, help to find the balance between those who have share many ideas verses the one who share little to no ideas.

The Joker The Joker "who tries to break the ice or insert disguised barbs"(pg. 136). This role can be important in meeting where there maybe tension or conflict. According to the book A Primer on Communication Studies, The Joker is defined as "a person who consistently uses sarcasm, plays pranks, or tells jokes, which distracts from the overall functioning of the group"(section 14.2). The book also references The Joker as the "class clown". The Tension Releaser is more common with the textbook definition. The Tension Releaser "is someone who is naturally funny and sensitive to the personalities of the group and the dynamics of any given situation"(section 14.2).This person will use those qualities to create balance in the meeting to control the frustration levels.

The Leader The Leader is the one "who all tacitly agree has the final word"(pg. 136). This role is one that is earned more than one that is giving. One typical, will have earn such a role by "playing all the right roles at the right times over a long period"(pg. 140). Such as a manager or authority figure usually is the one that is running the meeting. Some can also refer to this role as The Task Leader, the one who has been given the assign position because of his or her leadership experience.

All of these roles are important to have in order to conduct a successful meeting. Some of these roles can be played by one or more people and other cannot, they can only be played by one person at a time. The Agenda Setter can be played by one or more people, this role could be split between The Leader and The Agenda Setter. The Cheerleader is also a role that can be played by multiple people but works best when the role is not overdone. Other roles like The Critic, The Gatekeeper, The Joker and The Leader can be played by only one person. The Critic and The Joker is usually one person out of every group that fulfill this role. While The Leader is a popular role that many would like to play all at one time however, the meeting will not be so successful if there was more than one person playing this role.

The six roles are all needed in a meeting at the workplace, so I have decided to place them in order from very important to important. At the top of the list, I would list The Leader as number one. The Leader is very important as it give the meet structure. Then, The Gatekeeper, The Agenda Setter, The Cheerleader, The Joker and then The Critic. Once again all of these positions are important and is needed to run a meeting, they are all apart of the team. In my opinion, I feel like I play the role of The Cheerleader. I use to cheer back in high school and they say once a cheerleader as a cheerleader. I actually enjoy cheering people on, I like to uplift people and provided them with encouragement. However, I do not mind being The Leader, I only try to play this role as a last resort. My friends tend to say that I am bossy so I try not to play The Leader role unless it is necessary. There was one time I could recall that I played The Leader role and really would have preferred not to. In high school I did two sports, I cheered and ran track, so on the track team we did not have captains this particular year. So most decisions were made by the coach but this particular day the coach decided to leave the decision up to us. It had came down to the end of the track meet and the very last race of the night. At this time I have already participated in three other running events and the I just finished running the 200 meter at this point so I was still trying to catch my breath. It was time for the 4x400 meter relay, anyone that runs track or is a track fan know that the 4x400 meter is the best and most exciting event that is why it is usually at the end of the track meet.

So it came down to time for us to enter the track as a team in get in order from 1 to 4 as to who would run first, second, third and fourth. I usually ran third but this day no one wanted to run the first leg, it made me upset because I just finished running not to long ago and still wanted more time to catch my breath, as they are call all first legs to the start line I ask the other 3 girls who is running first no one replied. I then asked "so no one wants to run first" they all replied at once saying "I'm tired and just finished running" I was shocked because I was tired too. They said last call if you are not at the line in the next 10 seconds your team will be disqualified. I grab the paton and headed to the start line. I was mad and nervous. I was nervous because it is a lot of pressure placed on the first person, they set the tone and position for the team. We ended up winning and I got stuck with the position because we perform well. I think that when on a team it is easier to excel because you have team members there to encourage you and help see you through. The goal of a team is to work together to get the job or task done. It is to prevent from having one person to do all of the work. That is the key in team work, its to work smarter not harder.

References

Group Members Roles. (2012). In A Primer on Communication Studies (Vol. 1) ((section 14.2) Retrieved from http://2012books.lardbucket.org

Hattersley, M., & McJannett, L. (2007). Management Communication: Principles and Practice, 3rd Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://digitalbookshelf.argosy.edu/books/0077383176/id/ch10