Working in a group can be a very positive or very negative experience. How a group functions together determines how positive or negative that experience becomes. They all go through four stages of development: formation, norming, assault, and performance. Unfortunately for our group, many members have experienced some of these phases together and others have missed that original growth opportunity. Kirst-Ashman and Hull describe these stages as a developmental model. This allows group members to see how they are working together but also allows observers to see what stage the group is stuck at. I hoped that my group would get through the first phase of development quickly, however overall we couldn't get past this limbo of being a group in formation or standardization. Our group wasn't functioning at its best, but working together taught me the important aspects of being a group member and working within a group. Leadership Choosing the first week to be the leader was a strategy for me to get concrete things done but still try to make our task as clear as possible. I was aware that I don't have the strongest personality in the group. I normally just listen, unless the topic is something I have strong feelings about. With this in mind, I tried to ensure that everyone in the group had the opportunity to speak. This is the most important thing I look for in a leader, I wanted to make sure my group could experience it too. I felt this made the first meeting go quite well. The topic we agreed on involved discussing the positives and negatives we would face during our field placements. During the first lesson, everyone seemed very tense and nervous about how the camp would work and what to be… middle of the paper… filling that role rather than keeping it to myself. If my group sees me as a leader, I immediately feel the need to step up and meet their expectations. It allows me to gain a little more confidence that I normally lack in group settings. On the other hand, if I am not identified as a leader but simply as another member, I often fall back into my shyness. When discussion interests me, I am generally more outgoing and talkative. When I have more information to bring to the table, it allows me to see how I am a helpful member of the group. Knowing my strengths and weaknesses within groups will be extremely helpful to me while I am in the field. After learning how important group work is to clients, I hope to work on making groups available during my internship. Knowing my weaknesses makes me more aware of how to try to change them in the future.