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The Story Continues.......................................................................
The results of the first task they gave the groups.
There are some things that happen in all groups, especially with their first task.
"The Egg" was ideal for watching what happened and to see how people assumed roles.
Almost every new group has some people in them that show typical roles people assume naturally. Modern Group Dynamic pundits have really confused something that's pretty darn basic. Roles that people assume naturally are these:
Invariably there is some one who wants to be the leader.
Someone will pull out some paper and will start taking notes = The Recorder
There will be one who watches the time = the Time Keeper
Others will kind drift along and really aren't part of the group. We say they are in "Inclusion". They want to be part of the group, but feel left out. They fade away.
A good leader/team will pull them back into the group and make sure that they feel needed.
I want to talk about one particular group for a minute. It was so unique it had to be dealt with. I have worked with many groups of all kinds; this was a one and only kind of group. They could not elect a leader. After a verbal fight between two strong willed people. It was between a woman and a man.
The school gave the group 15 more minutes to elect a leader. They failed.
The school expelled them both on the spot. Neither was willing to take one for the group and defer to the other. No win-win here. You can rest assured a letter was sent to their Commanders.
They gave that group another hour to complete the task. They elected a leader immediately. They did well on the task too.
Sending that pair home was the last cut. We were on our way to graduating.
That left 160 of us and we would all graduate. We would be sent all over the world
in teams of 4. That meant there would be 40 locations that had an OE team.
Back to Group Dynamics.
Which is to say, back to process/content.
The Egg exercise was a way to break the ice in each group. Each group elected/decided on a leader. Once that was done, they could come up with ideas to save the egg.
The recorder would write it all down. Once that was done they picked the strategy that they would use and what extra items they could make. The observers watched us
work on the content = getting the egg protected. The process was how we came together as a group to succeed. If they saved the egg didn't matter at all. They just watched us as a new team. It mattered to us....big time.
After the hour was up they had all the groups meet in a large room and show them what we had come up with. Most of it was hilarious. Most broke the egg. Two groups did save the egg and were roundly applauded. Both had used the same strategy. Using the balloons as a cushion. The tie breaker came down to what extra items we had made.
One of the groups had made a paper airplane out of the card stock and rubber bands and it flew across the room.
Everyone was having a good time and they had succeeded in making each group cohesive and a team. That afternoon and for a few more days, they gave us many more tasks to complete. Each group got better and faster with each task. The last day, I remember the feeling in my group. Bring it on, we are ready and we were. Our group felt that no matter what they gave us, we could do it.
Later after working with groups in the field for a while, I was still amazed at what a group could accomplish.. .
Next up........how to facilitate groups in action.
To be Continued....................................................................................
The results of the first task they gave the groups.
There are some things that happen in all groups, especially with their first task.
"The Egg" was ideal for watching what happened and to see how people assumed roles.
Almost every new group has some people in them that show typical roles people assume naturally. Modern Group Dynamic pundits have really confused something that's pretty darn basic. Roles that people assume naturally are these:
Invariably there is some one who wants to be the leader.
Someone will pull out some paper and will start taking notes = The Recorder
There will be one who watches the time = the Time Keeper
Others will kind drift along and really aren't part of the group. We say they are in "Inclusion". They want to be part of the group, but feel left out. They fade away.
A good leader/team will pull them back into the group and make sure that they feel needed.
I want to talk about one particular group for a minute. It was so unique it had to be dealt with. I have worked with many groups of all kinds; this was a one and only kind of group. They could not elect a leader. After a verbal fight between two strong willed people. It was between a woman and a man.
The school gave the group 15 more minutes to elect a leader. They failed.
The school expelled them both on the spot. Neither was willing to take one for the group and defer to the other. No win-win here. You can rest assured a letter was sent to their Commanders.
They gave that group another hour to complete the task. They elected a leader immediately. They did well on the task too.
Sending that pair home was the last cut. We were on our way to graduating.
That left 160 of us and we would all graduate. We would be sent all over the world
in teams of 4. That meant there would be 40 locations that had an OE team.
Back to Group Dynamics.
Which is to say, back to process/content.
The Egg exercise was a way to break the ice in each group. Each group elected/decided on a leader. Once that was done, they could come up with ideas to save the egg.
The recorder would write it all down. Once that was done they picked the strategy that they would use and what extra items they could make. The observers watched us
work on the content = getting the egg protected. The process was how we came together as a group to succeed. If they saved the egg didn't matter at all. They just watched us as a new team. It mattered to us....big time.
After the hour was up they had all the groups meet in a large room and show them what we had come up with. Most of it was hilarious. Most broke the egg. Two groups did save the egg and were roundly applauded. Both had used the same strategy. Using the balloons as a cushion. The tie breaker came down to what extra items we had made.
One of the groups had made a paper airplane out of the card stock and rubber bands and it flew across the room.
Everyone was having a good time and they had succeeded in making each group cohesive and a team. That afternoon and for a few more days, they gave us many more tasks to complete. Each group got better and faster with each task. The last day, I remember the feeling in my group. Bring it on, we are ready and we were. Our group felt that no matter what they gave us, we could do it.
Later after working with groups in the field for a while, I was still amazed at what a group could accomplish.. .
Next up........how to facilitate groups in action.
To be Continued....................................................................................
for the gem reference. I lerved it!
