PART THREE
SHARING LEADERSHIP THROUGH TASK PROCESSES
The previous sections established the premises for this book, introduced concepts, and started
students on team work and team building. This section takes them more deeply into the skills of
task processes. They will start learning how to identify and analyze their tasks, the questions that
they must answer, and the resources they will need. They will learn some skills of information
gathering and information analysis for a team’s task. This will lead them into the logical and
critical thinking necessary to analyzing the validity and applicability of their information. From
there, students will learn approaches and skills for creative and logical problem analysis and
decision making.
CHAPTER 5
TASK QUESTIONS AND RESOURCES:
LAUNCHING YOUR INQUIRY
Many, perhaps most, teams need to engage in some degree of inquiry and information gathering.
This chapter helps students analyze what they need and plan their inquiry together. To pursue
that, they learn to find and phrase the questions they will try to answer (and to see the
Chapter Outline
Planning the Team’s Inquiry
Identifying Questions for Analysis
Questions of Fact
Questions of Value
Questions of Policy
Questions of Prediction
Phrasing Questions for Discussion
Planning Research
Identifying Needs for Data
Making a Team Plan
Sharing Information as a Team
Working Through Information Together
Making Clear Reports
Summary
Exercises
Discussion Suggestions For Boxes
Team Builders: Habitat for Humanity
This box identifies the importance of shared dedication to a cause as an important value in the
long-term success of Habitat for Humanity construction teams. Ask students how the two
ingredients of success relate to this chapter.
Talking Points:
• How can planning a good team inquiry help discover the information needed to find out
what kind of causes a local community would most likely support that are related to an
organization like Habitat for Humanity?
• How might the skills taught in this chapter help in the planning process for a community
project?
Suggestions For Guiding Chapter Exercises
If you’re using Syllabus A, your students are already working in their teams. In that case, you’ll
want to have your teams substitute their own topics for the exercise. If you’re using Syllabus B,
use the example in the exercise, or you may want to adapt it to some other issue. In either case,
the five exercises in this chapter are designed to work in unison. Each exercise builds upon the
previous.
Exercise 1: Setting Up Community Task Force Investigating Health Care for the Elderly
• Ask students to frame the question first in its largest sense – as a “should” question,
asking what the federal policy should be on long-term health care for elderly citizens;
• Next have students identify other kinds of questions, such as:
o What is the policy?
o What other care is available?
o How effectively does present care meet needs?
▪ This question includes such questions of value as:
• How important is elderly health care to us?
▪ Questions of prediction might include such items as:
• What will health care needs for the elderly be in the future?
• How much will health care cost in future years?
• How important will the elderly be in the society of the future?
• What changes (social conditions, medical conditions, technology)
will affect health care for the elderly in the future?”
• Students might next create a map of their questions—similar to the ones in Figure 6.1 and
6.2—to help them locate any point of logic the may have overlooked.
• As students discuss these questions, you might ask them to think about which ones seem
loaded with emotional impact.
o These will be questions where values and ethical choices come into play. Ask
students if they see a way in which identifying the questions like this can help
them see where ethical questions might arise.
• Lastly, students should examine how answering questions of fact might raise questions of
value.
Exercise 2: Question Phrasing for the Task Force
This exercise provides a good opportunity, as students near the half-way point of the term, to
1. Have students individually write questions of fact, value, policy, and prediction.
3. Have each student edit another’s questions.
5. Ask students what techniques helped them in creating good questions.
Exercise 3: Planning the Inquiry
Students may need some direction on this exercise. You can take an example and help them
1. One governmental agency might be the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and
3. One good periodical might be Modern Maturity, put out by the American Association for
Retired Persons.
5. At your college, you may have a school or program in nursing; geriatric care; a social
Exercise 4: Executing the Inquiry Plan
After students have worked out an information plan, you might ask them:
• As you worked out the plan, how was it helpful?
• Did the plan show you any problems you didn’t realize you might have?
Exercise 5: Designing a Survey
Questions for students to consider when evaluating another’s survey:
• Was the survey structured according to the guidelines in the chapter?
• Are the questions clear?
• Do the questions coincide with the main points brought out in the research process?
• Can the questions be easily misinterpreted by the respondents?
• Will data collected from the survey give a comprehensive look at what the target
demographics think about the issue?
Additional Exercises
These mystery exercises work extraordinarily well. They are among the favorite experiences of
students, and they seem to help students see the importance of systematic examination of data
and of avoiding quick assumptions and closure.
Group A
EXERCISE 1: THE WHITE WATER MURDER
Objective
To demonstrate processes of sharing information without using visual posting.
Time
One half hour
Materials
1. Paper and pencils
3. Situation Description
5. Detective Team’s Instructions
Procedure
1. Select a group of five to seven members to be the detective team.
3. Give members of the class Observers’ Instructions and Situation Description sheets.
5. Shuffle the hints.
7. Tell the team to use whatever process seems effective to solve the mystery (but do not let
them use the blackboard.)
9. When the team has found the solution, give them a round of applause but do not debrief at
this point.
Preparation of Materials
1. Situation Description
The team of detectives is trying to solve a mystery. They are to determine:
The Victim
The Murderer
The Weapon
The Motive
The Time
The situation is this: It is late afternoon and evening on a small, wooded island in the Colorado
River, where a white water rafting group has pulled ashore for a picnic. This section of the river
is classified for beginning rafters—some white water but not too difficult to navigate. The group
is composed of:
2. Observers’ Instructions
As you observe the team at work, please consider the following:
A. What did the members do at the beginning of their discussion that helped their
process, or what did they need to do that they did not?
B. How completely and accurately did the members share their information?
C. In what ways did members make assumptions about information? To what extent
did their assumptions slow up or impede their progress?
3. Detective Team’s Instructions
You are a team of detectives trying to solve the mystery described in the Situation Description.
You must determine all of the following:
The Victim
You will each receive some hints. These have numbers on them, but that’s only for me to be sure
I have all of them for you. They do not mean anything in terms of the solution.
4. Hints
The hints are numbered so you can check to see if you have them all—they are randomly ordered
so numbers will not give away answers.
1. Just after they had pulled ashore, Emily noticed some wildflowers in the woods; she went
to see what kind they were.
3. Shelley spread the cloth on a smooth area on the ground and Alaina set up a gourmet
picnic.
5. After the raft was secured, Bill volunteered to find some kindling for a fire and walked
into the wooded area.
7. At 3:55 p.m., the raft pulled in to the rocky edge of the island.
9. At 5:00 p.m., Alaina asked Lilimae to find Bill and bring back the kindling so she could
get the fire started.
11. “It takes about 15 minutes to walk across this island,” Alaina said, “So it could be as
much as half an hour before they all get back with the wood.”
13. Lilimae, in hysteria, told the group that Bill was lying face-down in water at the other
edge of the little island.
15. At 4:45 p.m., Shelley mentioned it was getting cold and she was getting hungry.
17. Tom looked up from Bill’s body and said, “It’s useless. He’s dead.”
19. Tom said that he thought Bill had drowned because he was lying face down in the water.
21. At 5:10, Tom said he’d go after Lilimae and Bill—maybe they’d need help bringing back
the kindling.
23. When Emily recovered her breath, she and Shelley walked to the other side of the island.
25. Tom noted that a drowned person has water in the lungs.
27. Alaina said Lilimae had told her about the gun before they started on the trip.
29. Lilimae felt she needed protection because she’d been mugged back in St. Louis once.
31. Lilimae mentioned to Alaina that there were some people who didn’t like Bill because
he’d lost all their money, but they were back in Missouri.
33. There was an empty flask in Bill’s back pocket and he reeked of whiskey.
35. Lilimae told Shelley that Bill had a serious drinking problem.
37. Lilimae said that Bill was very popular and nobody would wish him harm.
39. Lilimae told Shelley she hated it when Bill flirted with other women, and he seemed to
do it a lot.
41. Shelley noticed the bag of skewers under a bush—“Hey, look, Alaina,” she called. “We
can have our marshmallows.”
43. When the raft pulled ashore, the rafters all jumped out to pull it in and bring ashore the
picnic containers.
45. Tom found a tiny, bloody hole through the back of Bill’s jacket.
47. Lilimae told Shelley her mother was retired and put all her time into gossiping with the
garden club back in Kansas City.
49. Emily told Alaina that this was her first vacation in twenty years because she’d been
ruined financially by a scoundrel.
50. When Emily and Shelly arrived, Emily screamed. “My God,” she said, “He’s dead.
Who did it?”
52. When they were chatting, Emily mentioned to Lilimae that she used to live in St. Louis.
54. Emily said there certainly were a lot of mud holes in that little woods.
56. Shelley and Lilimae struck up a friendship at the very beginning of the trip.
58. Alaina admitted she had done time for armed robbery when she was a kid.
60. Emily told Alaina she wished she’d had Shelley’s financial advice long ago—maybe she
wouldn’t have lost her full inheritance.
62. Emily commented that Alaina was extremely athletic and strong; Alaina admitted she
was a body builder as well as a river guide.
64. Tom mentioned to Alaina that he was surprised Emily came on this trip—she didn’t seem
the type.
5. Answer Sheet
Victim: Bill Shank
Murderer: Emily Norris
Group B
EXERCISE 2: THE PERILOUS PEARL PILFER
Objective
To demonstrate the use of posting information to aid in sharing and analyzing it.
Time
Half an hour
Materials
2. A set of hints, placed on index cards or separate pieces of paper.
4. Observers’ Instructions
6. Answer Sheet
Procedure
1. Select a group of five to seven members to be the detective team.
3. Give members of the class Observers’ Instructions and the Situation Description.
5. Shuffle the hints.
7. Tell the team to use whatever process seems effective to solve the mystery.
8. Instruct the team to make a grid on the board and use that to help them record their
information. It should look like this:
CHARACTERS
FACTS
TIME
WEAPON
MOTIVE
Dr. Doreen
Harrington
Jason
Trout
Louwanda
Stanton
Dr. Louise
Cranston
Nicholas
Reiger
Cara
McNabb
10. When the team has found the solution, give them a round of applause and debrief the
exercise.
Preparation of Materials
1. Situation Description
A team of detectives is trying to solve a mystery. They are to determine:
The Perpetrator or Perpetrators
The Time
The Date
The situation is this: A royal crown, once belonging to a principality in Eastern Europe, has
been stolen from the Museum of Fine Art. The curator discovered the burglary when she came
to work at 8 A.M. The crown exhibits an enormous, rare black pearl in heavy gold, encrusted
with diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. It’s value is estimated at $10 million. The
curator is frantic; the display was supposed to be absolutely burglar-proof.
The crown was set on a velvet cushion, inside a bullet-proof glass case, the sides of which were
joined by heavy metal bands. The case was in the center of a room in the top floor of the museu-
2. Observers’ Instructions
As you observe the team at work, please consider the following:
A. What did the members do at the beginning of their discussion that helped their process
or what did they need to do that they did not?
B. How completely and accurately did the members share their information?
C. In what ways did members make assumptions about information? To what extent did
their assumptions slow up or impede their progress?
D. In what ways did posting the information on a grid help or hinder the process?
3. Detective Team’s Instructions
You are a team of detectives trying to solve the mystery described on the Situation Description
sheet. You must determine all of the following:
4. Hints
The hints are numbered so you can check to see if you have them all—they are randomly ordered
so numbers will not give away answers.
1. The museum had hosted a special party for inner city children in the lobby of the
museum.
3. A huge “spider’s web” of black cord had been erected across the lobby stairs, both as
decoration and to keep children from going up to the other floors.
5. The guards were on duty until immediately after the party clean-up was completed.
7. At 12 p.m., Trout told Stanton to go on home, he’d lock up the museum.
9. Harrington attended the party dressed as a black spider.
11. Reiger attended the party as a mountain climber. He was carrying a pick and two twenty-
five-foot coils of rope.
13. Stanton said that by the time she’d returned, picked up her purse, and left the museum
again, it was 12:25 a.m. Trout was still locking up.
15. Harrington’s doorman said he had seen her come in to her apartment building some time
around 10 p.m.
17. Stanton said she was sure she’d seen Harrington slip through the web and go upstairs at
about 12:05 p.m., when Stanton was starting for home.
19. The gallery was about twenty-five minutes walk from the museum.
21. The museum, an ancient building, is five stories tall, with stairs winding from floor to
floor.
23. The police learned that Cranston was in serious economic difficulty, perhaps going
bankrupt.
25. You can reach the basement and the attic by a system of back stairways.
27. All doors into the display room were locked.
29. The display case was made of eight pieces of bulletproof glass, joined by metal bands.
31. Reiger told Cranston he was responsible for designing the display case.
33. The president of the museum association told the police that only Reiger and Harrington
knew how to lock the top of the display case into place.
35. A supply closet is located just off of Harrington’s office.
37. Trout tipped the police that they should examine Stanton’s arrest record.
39. According to her mother, Stanton came home at 12:45 a.m.
41. The crate the police found in the closet was labeled as having in it ten powerful magnets.
43. An employee of the museum observed Cranston lunching with Trout and Stanton on
several occasions.
45. McNabb had turned down Trout’s offers because she was suspicious the objects were
stolen.
47. Stanton told the police she enjoyed working with Trout because he was so knowledgeable
about rare art.
49. Stanton told the police that she and Trout had checked the display before locking up and
the crown was still there at 12 a.m.
51. McNabb said she saw Harrington leaving the East entrance to the museum at 1:10 a.m.
53. The security firm told police it was impossible to penetrate the electronic screen without
setting off the alarm.
55. Museum personnel told police there was a lot of gossip about Harrington and Reiger.
57. Reiger had a reputation around town as a big spender.
59. McNabb told police that a lot of people would love to get their hands on that crown.
61. The East European Museum sent a representative immediately; this was the first loan
they’d arranged since the Berlin Wall fell.
63. Harrington called a press conference and said everything possible would be done to
retrieve the crown.
65. Cranston had a modest, but valuable, collection of crowns.
67. The display room measured about 25 feet from floor to ceiling.
69. The crown was estimated to weigh seventy-five pounds.
71. McNabb told the police that Reiger would not fly to Europe to bring the crown home
because he was afraid of heights and afraid of flying.
5. Answer
The perpetrators: Dr. Doreen Harrington, Nicholas Reiger, and Jason Trout
The time: 1 A.M.
The date: November 1
Debriefing
There are a number of ways to debrief these exercises. This one works well:
1. Ask the participants how well they felt the exercise went. What process did they feel they
used? How effective was it? What made it easier or difficult?
2. Ask the observers to comment on what they saw. Did participants share all of their
information? Were important facts excluded? Did the members make assumptions about facts
that threw them off? In the first group, for example, did students initially suppose Emily was too
old to murder someone? How long did it take to realize that Emily and Bill had both been
3. Note that the second mystery was more complicated than the first, since the detectives had
to determine how the robbery was committed. Ask observers and participants in what way they
thought posting the information affected the process? It’s possible that inexperience will make it
Additional Resources
Print Resources
Gudykunst, W. B., & Kim, Y. Y. (Eds.). (1984). Methods for intercultural research. Beverly
Hills: Sage.
Media Resources
Discussing the problem. Carlsbad, CA: Coronet/MTI Film & Video. 28 min.