Have you noticed how people are different in a group than they are one-on-one?
In this video, Michael Grinder, the pioneer of nonverbal communication, touches upon Tuckman’s stages of group development and discusses how we’ve been over-trained in one-on-one communication. However, we’re not trained in facilitating relationships between the individual and the group as a whole.
Boost Group Foundation + Dynamics To The Next Level: An Introduction
Read the modified transcript to “Boost Group Foundation + Dynamics To The Next Level: An Introduction” below.
I want to start off by thanking Bruce Tuckman, 1965. Wonderful, good way of thinking about group formation. I want to add to that. I want to stand on his shoulders very respectfully just like I stand on the shoulders of what I previously wrote. I think it’s different now. So what is group formation?
Bruce did a wonderful job of talking about: Forming, we’re Storming, then we’re Norming, and then we finally, Performing. Lovely, lovely, lovely. I think that’s absolutely true. It’s just that we have to make more distinctions as we understand group dynamics more.
Here’s what I want to suggest in this video. I am sitting in this chair and there’s a chair to this side and there’s a chair to this side. I am trained as most of us are — in fact, I want to suggest over-trained — in one-on-one communication instead of group dynamics. So I go to this person before the meeting, before they ever met each other. I establish a relationship. There’s rapport, there’s safety. We have clarity in terms of what we’re going to focus on. I go to this person, separate meeting, do the very same thing.
Now here’s what’s surprising, you get in the meeting and you realize that the person, that you met individually, is not the person that showed up. People are different in a group than they are one-on-one.
So therefore we, as the leader, facilitator, owner, we have to figure out what is group dynamics.
We’re over-trained, we’re over-trained, we’ve got to figure out the group dynamics.
Now what’s a symbol of this? I want to suggest this is a wonderful symbol of group dynamics. Here’s me at the top, I’m in charge – facilitator, mediator, boss, supervisor – and I have over here in the corner called the individuals. Then we have in this corner, all of the people together. So it literally spells out, Person in charge, Individual, and the Group. If you want, it’s really easy. The animal pig, not chauvinistic. The animal pig is just P I G. It is the relationship between all of these. This relationship we’re trained on one-on-one, one-on-one. If you’re in the military, sports, you’re trained in this.
But what about the relationship between the individuals and the group as a whole? It’s going to take more than just one video. This is the first, understanding group formation. My name, by the way, is Michael Grinder. I’m the author of many books. I specialize in managing groups. See ya in the next video.
Want to take this to the next level? Get customized coaching with Michael!
Help your team master group dynamics, move from reactive to proactive, and make difficult conversations easier — learn more about Freedom Through Perception, my half-day training for groups of 10 or fewer. Available in-person or online.
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Additional videos in this group dynamics series:
5 Ways to Identify A Dysfunctional Team
6 Ways to Tell If Your Group is Formed or Unformed
Group Formation: How to Form Groups The E-A-S-Y way
Group Dynamics: Why Team Members Are Like Dogs And Cats
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