not understand the purpose of a group or work team’s tasks can
be very difficult to work with. Certain types of tasks at an incident
site, for example, can in such cases be difficult to conduct, even
if they have an important purpose in a larger context. Employees
may not have a clear perception of the big picture. But at the same
time, for a supervisor to explain in detail why it is important to
conduct a certain task in each situation cannot be warranted. Em-
ployees must feel a sense of security in relationships with their
superiors and in relation to the tasks that are assigned.
A person always acts rationally in some sense, but he or she can
only do so based on his or her present standpoint in the current
situation. An act or form of behaviour that may seem irrational
to an external observer can very well be perceived as absolutely
correct or rational by the person carrying out the act.
Unreasonable demands cannot be placed on individuals in a
group, neither on those in charge nor subordinates. All individu-
als in a group have responsibilities relating to task execution, the
relationships between individuals, etc., but this responsibility is
channelled in various ways through the person in charge. It is
ultimately the person in charge who bears responsibility, and the
higher this person is in the management system, the greater the
responsibility.
Leadership qualities
A leader has a significant role in the group. The group often has a
number of opinions and perceptions as to how the leader should
exercise leadership. Concepts such as trust, responsibility, setting
an example and fairness are often mentioned. Rubenowitz (1994)
provides the following summarising descriptions of desirable
leadership qualities that constitute the foundation of leadership
behaviour. A good leader:
- Has a positive outlook on people and has trust in the will and
ability of subordinates to participate in decisions concerning
their work. - Is primarily productionoriented but avoids applying such
leadership principles that on the short term can increase pro-
duction but negatively affect attitudes. - Has competent authority and strives to master his or her pro-
fession. - Has the ability to manage work through objectives and has coor-
dinating independence as a primary administrative principle.