Real Communication An Introduction

Chapter 9  Communicating in Groups 269

hence, play a significant role in group decision making
(Limon & La France, 2005). In meetings, for example,
individuals who are more argumentative are perceived
as more credible communicators (Infante, 1981), and
within small groups they are more often perceived as
leaders (Schultz, 1980, 1982). Interestingly, research
has found that leadership appears to be most strongly
associated with higher levels of argumentativeness
in combination with lower levels of communication
apprehension (Limon & La France, 2005).
You might think that group harmony would
suffer when people openly assert or argue their
positions, but argumentativeness can actually rein-
force cohesion within a group (Anderson & Mar-
tin, 1999). This is because group members are
advocating for the solutions that may be most help-
ful at accomplishing the group’s tasks. Indeed, in most group situations, assertive-
ness and argumentativeness are perceived as constructive traits (Infante, 1987). It
is important to remember, however, that we must distinguish these constructive
forms of speaking up with the destructive tactic of “verbal aggressiveness” that we
discussed in Chapter 8 as a negative, hostile way of handling conflict.

Team Rubicon

At the beginning of the chapter, we were introduced to Team

Rubicon, a team of military veterans who provide disaster relief.

Let’s consider what we’ve learned in this chapter, and how it ap-

plies to the experience of these inspiring veterans.

c The name “Team Rubicon” sends two messages. “Team” speaks

to the small, cohesive nature of military units. “Rubicon” is taken from

the phrase “crossing the Rubicon,” a military metaphor that dates back to

classical Rome and refers to making a commitment to a difficult course of

action from which there is no turning back. By establishing its goals right in

the group’s name, Team Rubicon makes both its goals and its means clear.

Although the organization has many members, it consists of many small

teams that are able to adjust plans and adapt tactics to administer immediate

aid in the most dire of circumstances.

c The only people who can truly understand what combat veterans are going

through are other veterans. Team Rubicon draws on this unique bond, as

well as the specialized skills of veterans, and the group’s impact comes in

the form of small, platoonlike groups that share a goal and a purpose. That

unity, identity, and cohesiveness mean a lot. “It is a brotherhood—or a sis-

terhood,” explains Danielle Harrington, an Army reservist and Team Rubi-

con volunteer who joined hurricane relief efforts in New York in 2012. “It

is nice to be around like-minded people, who have the same values and the

same ethos” (Harrington, in Hameed, 2012, 2:30).

T

Ah

BACK TO

INITIALLY IN Pitch

Perfect, Aubrey leads the

Bellas with an overwhelming

assertiveness that leaves little

room for any of the other a

capella girls’ input. Ultimately,

the key to the group’s success

lies in a more balanced partic-

ipation that allows for shared

ideas and cooperation.

Universal Pictures/Photofest