Having an observer or consultant is an essential part of a successful group because it allows the members in the group to see multiple perspectives without any bias. As stated in the book, having an outside consultant or observer is an important source of growth and development because it allows the group to think back and reflect and what they did correctly as other areas where they can improve. Aside from the observer giving neutral feedback, this observer can also point out any areas that they think certain group members are participating more than others or where one person is taking too much control of the group. Also, at times when a group is stuck or has an obstacle, they often tend to look at things the same way and can't find a solution. An example of this can be used in my own life. For instance, I work at a bank and at the end of the day when I have to balance my money I will sometimes be over or short. This can be very frustrating because I end up counting my money about 3 or 4 times. If I don't find the outage, I have a co-worker (the observer) come and count my money because they have absolutely no idea how much I have and it is easier for them to catch the mistake because otherwise I'm counting the same way and not finding the problem. Overall, having a consultant or observer provides outside knowledge and neutral opinions towards how the members function as a group.
I agree with you on having someone else(observer) count money. When I am closing registers at Macy’s sometimes I am short too, and when I count again I usually get the same amount, but sometimes when I have a co-workers recount they might be short to, but a different amount. In that scenario, which is a lot of times likely I feel relieved that someone else counted too.
ReplyDeleteI feel like one of the important reasons a consultant or observer is essential is because they provide an unbiased opinion, and the group may take their opinion with more consideration.
Hi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteYour example of the incident at your job was an excellent way to show how a consultant is beneficial as a fresh perspective to a situation. I also liked that you mentioned a group can fall into the wrong pattern if things are being done and analyzed the same way by the same people over and over. A consultant is an outside source functioning neutrally to essentially fascilitate mediation between members of a group so that they can achieve their goal. Your post was clear and allowed good understanding of the concept of an consultant/observer!
Hello...I really like your post and I noticed that we mentioned many of the same things. An observer really is an essential part of a group because like you mentioned they are a neutral third party. That observer can point out things that have gone unnoticed by the group and the observer can help them fix them. I also really liked you example because I never thought of an observer in that kind of scenario. I usually only thought of observers as helping out in groups or even in a social situation but not in a business situation. You really help me look at this in a different way and now when I have anything go wrong in a business aspect I will have someone step in and help me see what I’m doing wrong.
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