? Belonging. Young people need to feel that they are sincerely welcome, that no one objects to their presence, and that they are valued for who they are rather than for what they have.
? Planning. Young people need to be involved in planning the ground rules and goals of the group.
? Expectations. They need to know in some detail what is expected of them.
? Goals. Young people need to feel that their goals are within reach.
? Responsibility. They need to have responsibilities that challenging and within the range of their abilities.
? Progress. They need to experience some successes and see some progress for what they want to achieve.

? Levels of Interaction. "Every group operates simultaneously at three levels." It is often difficult if not impossible to clearly separate the levels.
? Group. This is what we have referred to as group process--what goes on between people within the group, "the ongoing nature of interpersonal relationships in all their dimensions."
? Content or task. "What is the group discussing or trying to achieve?"
? Personal. What is going on within each person. "Each person brings his/her individuality" (priorities, needs, kinds of relationships he/she is seeking with other members and the leaders, expectations) into the group.

Recognizing level priorities: Each level is significant although "at some points one may be more important than another;" e.g., when you have a deadline, task completion may be the priority; when members are having a hard time getting along with each other, the group level may be the priority.

Possible level interventions: A leader can intervene in a variety of ways at any of the three levels. This possibility increases a group leader's options for intervention; e.g., if you are delivering a lecture and the group/class seems disinterested, a task level intervention would be to change the content level. A group level intervention would be to address the group (look at the group), smile and say, "It looks like everybody here would rather be somewhere else. Where would you rather be? What's your thought about being together and listening to me?"

The goal is to get into a discussion of what happened in the class and how to work better together in the future. A personal level intervention would be to turn to an ally and say, "Bob, what do you think about what I've been saying? Is it relevant for you?" or to an adversary and say, "Barbara, why aren't you listening?" (That would get the group's attention but with the potential of strong negative side effects.)

In addition to three levels of interaction, a group goes through stages of development which also affect group process and how the group functions.
? Stage 1: To Be Or Not To Be. Deals with whether or not the group is going to exist as a viable group with good attendance and committed members. Members have to agree to come and want to belong.
? Stage 2: "Here We Stay" Or "Here We Go." "The group determines how it is going to operate." ("Each member works on finding a place for him/herself within the group, the group as a whole determines the group rules, expectations of one another, how group decisions are going to be made and whether the group goal or purpose is a manageable one." This stage is generally a rough period as "members jockey for position, test the leader and try to find mutually acceptable ground rules.")
? Stage 3: Close To You. If Stage 2 is successfully completed, "the group usually goes into a phase of being very close to one another, very cohesive and develops a strong feeling of unity." This is not a time of great task completion because members often hesitate to challenge or question each other for fear of destroying the good feelings of being together.
? Stage 4: I've Gotta Be Me. People feel safe enough with each other and comfortable enough with the group to "risk being more open and direct." This gives rise to challenges and questioning as well as a great deal of support. Most of the content or task is mastered in this stage.
? Stage 5: It's Hard To Say "Good-bye." Members need time and the opportunity to say good-bye to each other and the group in order to successfully cope with ending/leaving.

Most of these components are initially resolved in Stage 2 when the group is struggling with how it is going to operate. These components of group process "are not rigid but once they are established, they are difficult to change."
? Norms. "A norm is an expectation for behavior which the members of the group agree should exist, whether or not they follow it." "Agree" is the key word. Rules are enforced outside the group (i.e. imposed by the leader or members of the larger organization but not agreed on by all). Norms are enforced internally because they are worked out and resolved by the group. Rules may or may not become group norms.

Norms may be constructive or destructive. It is important for the leader to help the group develop constructive group norms because they are hard to change once they are established.
? Roles. Functions which are assigned to individual members. "A role is a set of expectations for a person occupying a position within a given system. Role assignment is a two-way process." For any person to be in a role, the group must be willing, consciously or unconsciously, to accept that role.
? Basic maintenance roles "are necessary for the functioning of a group."
? Leader. Someone indigenous to the group who leads others in a constructive or destructive way.
? Nurturer. The person who cares for people, sees that their needs are met, comforts emotionally, and otherwise, does a good deal of giving. Generally, someone widely accepted by others.
? Enabler. The person who sees that everyone is heard. The enabler sees each member as significant, tries to include everybody's point of view, "gets the group to slow down so it doesn't run over people" and reaches out to all members.
? Subject changer. This person takes the temperature of the group. She/he is "in tune with the pulse of the group and somehow knows when the topic is too heated, too boring or irrelevant" to the group and moves in to help change the subject. This could be done verbally or non-verbally.
? Negative roles are "symbolic of a problem in the group process."
? Scapegoat. There are two ways of scapegoating: an individual who is set up to act out for the group; an individual, usually different from others in the group, who gets picked on by the others.
? Monopolist. The individual who takes over in a group, doing all the talking, taking up too much space, not letting others have a chance.
? Isolate. The individual who is "truly shutout," not allowed to become a part of the group, never really accepted.

Because role assignment is a two-way process, negative roles are symptoms of group dysfunction (not one person's problem) and need to be dealt with as a group issue not simply at the personal level.
? Crisis. Most crises result in the group functioning temporarily in a way which is different from its usual way of operating. Crises are transitions.
? Cohesiveness. Members have a warm feeling toward each other and toward the group as a whole. "Cohesion results from the intensity of the members' involvement with the group."
? Conflict. How a group deals with the inevitable conflicts of group life becomes important to the feelings of members about the group as a whole.