Group 22: Raise the Woof

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Megan Koch

November 9th, 2017

Project Runway’s Disastrous Teams

 

Part 1

A relevant scene in this episode of Project Runway was the scene when Michael C. was trying to figure out how to sew his neckpiece for the outfit they were designing. Each person in Team Luxe was assigned a piece of clothing to finish for each of the outfits they had planned. The group decided to give Michael C. the neckpiece of a certain outfit. When Michael C. went up to Ivy, she explained, “I don’t have time to explain how something as simple as a cowl needs to be constructed. Michael C. doesn’t know the fundamentals of creating a garment.” Ivy helped explain to him briefly how to make the garment after he asked her for help, and Michael C. replied: “Okay, I can do that.” Afterwards, Ivy replied, “That’s what you said the last time and you said you could do that, but it didn’t work out.” Michael C. saw this response of Ivy’s as rude and ended up storming out of the group’s workplace. Gretchen, the group member that rose to the leadership position, asked what was going on with the group. She asked Christopher what was happening, and he let Gretchen know that Ivy was being mean to Michael C., and suggested that they coddle Michael C. while he is working on the project. While Gretchen did agree with Christopher in the moment, she did not follow through with what they had agreed on and let Michael C. struggle for the rest of the episode.

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The second relevant scene in the Project Runway episode is when Team Military was working on their Pieces for the collection. Tim Gunns came in to talk with them and see how their work was going and told Casanova that he did not approve of the top that he was creating. Tim commented that it looked like it could be worn by an old woman. Casanova then got discouraged because this was not the first time that he had received a negative comment about his work. After this critique, he got upset and stormed out of the workspace. He decided to take a break in a separate room, but then Valerie from his team came to check in on him and see if everything was fine. Casanova was crying, saying that he didn’t want to be there anymore and that he wanted to go home. Valerie quickly believed that he was done with helping the team, so she then announced, “We are f*****.” Valerie began to get very anxious about doing Casanova’s piece and finishing in time. Valerie was trying to encourage him to stay because the team needed him, but since Casanova did not give her a clear answer, she went back to tell the team that Casanova was quitting and that someone was going to have to finish the top. This sent Team Military into distress because they only had so much time to finish their collection and everyone else had other pieces they were responsible for finishing as well.

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The last relevant scene in this episode was in the beginning of the episode when Team Luxe was deciding what categories to choose from for their design project. Michael C. was complaining that everyone was agreeing with Gretchen’s ideas, and did not respond or enjoy his suggested comments. He did not speak up in the group even though he did not completely agree with what Gretchen and the group were deciding on, A.J. commented after the group decided that they were finished, that the meeting went a lot quicker than he thought it was going to be. This most likely occurred because everyone was agreeing with the ideas presented by Gretchen only, and not opening the floor to other group members, like Michael C.

Part 2

Leadership and Conflict Chapter Concept #1: Leadership Style

The first concept that we saw in the Project Runway episode that related back to our Leadership and Conflict Chapters was the example of Autocratic Leadership. Autocratic Leadership is a type of leadership style where the leader of the group/team does not seek input from the team and focuses on the task, not the relationships within the group (10/24, Slide 19). A leader who is classified as Autocratic will tend to ignore or not do anything about the team members if they are dissatisfied or upset with one another. They are leading the group only because they wish to finish the task at hand. We saw this within team Luxe because when Michael C. got upset by some comments made by Ivy, Gretchen (who rose up as the group’s leader), asked what was going on, but she did not act or make a move to make sure that Michael C. was okay. It was Christopher, another group member, that had mentioned Michael C. was upset and that the group should coddle him. Gretchen ended up replying, “We are not going to win if there is one bad look,” and “I’m not playing no game over some guy who can’t sew.” Gretchen’s responses to the mistakes that Michael C. made where an example of the type of leader Gretchen really is. Gretchen is an Autocratic Leader because she never went to Michael C. to see if he was okay or what she could do to help him. Instead, she was selfish and went on with her own project and work, trying to make sure that the task would be finished in time. Any viewer would have been able to tell that Gretchen would have done anything in order to make sure that the project was finished and they would win, even if it would be at the expense of the other teammates. She even did this at the end of the episode when she threw Michael C. under the bus and said he was the weakest link when they all agreed they would not name any names.

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Leadership and Conflict Chapter Concept #2: Task Cohesion

The second concept that we saw in the Project Runway episode that related back to our Leadership and Conflict Chapters is the example of Task Cohesion. Task Cohesion is the degree to which members work towards a common goal. When the group member feels more “successful” they are willing to contribute more to the group (9/26, Slide 5). This was demonstrated in the Project Runway episode, but it was an example of Negative Task Cohesion. The scene when Casanova was working on his piece for Team Military and Tim Gunns came in to give the group a “pre-judging,” he told Casanova that he did not like the top he was working on. Tim commented that it looked like a top for old women. This comment then upset Casanova and so he stormed off from the group’s workspace. This was an example of Negative Task Cohesion for the group because Casanova was not feeling successful at all, and he then became unwilling to contribute anything more to the group’s project. Casanova went into another room to take a break and commented that he was thinking about quitting and leaving the show. This comment also had a negative reaction to the group, because Valerie then believed that the group would not be successful anymore with Casanova leaving, and another piece would not be finished. Her response to the group showed that Casanova’s unsuccessful feelings, made the group feel there was no hope as well.

 

Previous Chapter Concept: Groupthink

The last concept that we saw in the Project Runway episode related back to our Decision-Making Chapter. This concept was the example of Groupthink. Groupthink is the mode of thinking members engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive group, which overrides their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action (10/17, Slide 13). When a group falls into Groupthink, they stop thinking about the ethical and moral decisions and just focus on getting the task done. In the episode, Gretchen assumed the role as the group leader as they were choosing the type of categories they wanted for their design project. Everyone in the group agreed with everything Gretchen was proposing except for Michael C.. Michael C. had made some comments to the group, but they were bashed or ignored, and overruled by Gretchen’s ideas instead. Michael C. then believed that he could not speak up because the group reached a decision by going with Gretchen’s ideas and ignoring any fault in her plan. Groups that fall into Groupthink limit their alternatives, thus limiting their success because there could be alternative ways of doing things. Similarly, in the episode, Michael C. might have had some more good ideas to present, but the group never gave him a chance to speak up, limiting the amount they could have prospered too.

Part 3

            For the Leadership Style Concept, the team members should have learned that Autocratic Leadership is probably not the best solution or method of leadership style when it comes to group projects with other people. Because the team lost, Gretchen should have learned that her leadership style was not the best choice. The team would have performed better and done well, had they not been grabbing at each other’s throats and making rude comments. Everyone in the group had the mindset that they should be getting the project done, and no one seemed to care that Michael C’s feelings were hurt in the process. I believe that this concept truly does play out in the real world. There are leaders who get carried away with the task and do not focus on the relationships or the feelings of the people they are working with. I have had experiences in the past where people have disregarded my feelings and do not listen to any input I have to say towards the group just like Michael C’s scenario. I disagreed with Gretchen’s style of leadership. I believe that if she was going to take the responsibility as the team leader that she should have chosen a different path when it came to leading the group. Autocratic is very rarely ever a good option for a Leadership Style. After this experience, I learned that there are a lot of different concepts that go into group work and you have to really communicate effectively with one another to make things work and to reach your goal. If someone is afraid to say something, or someone does not express what they are feeling, then huge conflicts occur that could have been avoided if someone spoke up. This will impact my future interactions with groups to make sure that if I am in a leadership position, I will not become an Autocratic Leader and that I will genuinely care about the other member’s feelings and relationships during the process. Also, if I am not the leader of a group, then I will be making sure that other member’s feelings are expressed even if the leader may accidentally look past those factors.

For Task Cohesion, the members should have learned that even one change of feeling towards the group by one of the group members, can change the outcome of the group. Casanova’s reaction to the comments made by Tim changed the mood of the group to panic, and Valerie’s reaction to Casanova’s reaction only made things worse. I believe this course concept plays out in reality because people portray how they are feeling or get upset about something, and that rubs off onto the team then affecting how the team acts as well. Feelings and emotions are contagious throughout groups. This is effective for positive and negative reactions as well. I disagree with the actions that Casanova and Valerie did in this episode. Casanova should have talked to the group about his frustration and asked for their input on how to make the top better, instead of storming off and pouting about the comments Tim made. For Valerie, she should have let the team know what was going on, but managed to make a strategy to get Casanova back into the team’s work. I learned that a group’s emotions are very valuable to the team’s performance. Someone can change the whole mood of a group in a single second and group members have to be prepared to deal with people’s emotions in an effective way. This will help me in my future interactions and groups by remembering to have a positive mindset when it comes to speaking and interacting with groups/group members in the future. If someone is upset, it is easy to match their mood, but the best strategy is to make sure that the group does not fall victim to Negative Task Cohesion.

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For Groupthink, I believe the concepts that were played out in the show, happen in real life. People who work in groups together are usually exposed to some sort of Groupthink because it is very easy to agree with the majority of the group when they have already come to a decision. I do not believe that we have experienced Groupthink in our group, but I do see how easy it can happen. I think that in order to avoid Groupthink, every group member should agree to make sure that everyone has presented their idea or opinion before reaching a group consensus. I disagree with the actions in the episode because the group failed to give Michael C. a fair chance at presenting his idea. Although he could have spoken up, he was knocked down by the suggestions he made and everyone had already decided to go with Gretchen’s ideas. After watching this episode, I learned that even though it may seem like everyone in a group has presented their opinions and ideas, someone may be too quiet to speak up and may fall into going along with the group's decisions instead. A good group must make sure that everyone is comfortable with the decisions being made before continuing to advance further. From what I have learned in this episode, I will always make sure to give everyone an equal opportunity to speak up before suggesting that the group moves forward.