Group Relations & Social Systems
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The study of Group Relations is important to the development of Agile practice. Software development is performed by groups of individuals. When individuals become a members of a group, behavior changes. The group becomes focal & the individuals become background. The group behaves as a system and exhibits system-level behavior. Groups as a system exhibit very primitive emotional behaviors that can derail the group from its stated primary task.
Group relations theory says that a group behaves as a system, and that the primary task of the group is……
This is a fast-paced, “lightning-like” talk. The intention is to introduce and orient you in new terrain.
I attended a Group Relations Conference in October 2008 and bring that experience to this session. I say candidly that the experience shifted my thinking as I gained new insights for weeks after attendance. The subject matter of a group relations conference is group-level human behavior, manifested in groups of various sizes, organized around various purposes. Each conference is empirical and one-of-a-kind.
The content and takeaways available to you at a Group Relations conference are widely applicable to Agile practice and life in groups generally. It’s fantastic leadership and followship training … unlike anything you’ll experience anywhere else. The conferences are typically 4 days long and are held in a residential, resort/retreat setting. If you are a hardcore Agile/Scrum person you are probably going to love the study of Group Relations. It helps to answer many puzzling questions about the hidden life of groups.
There is homework, which keeps the length to a strict 45 minutes. I assume you are complete on the homework when you arrive. You can expect a fast-paced, content rich presentation aimed at an Agile-experienced audience.
Homework: Examine this FAQ page and related pages on this site: Group Relations FAQ
See also: Boundary, Authority, Role and Task: BART Analysis
AGENDA
10 minutes …of Intro
30 minutes …of fast-pace content & concepts overview on material described here…plus my “trip report” to a GR conference. Q&A is event-driven and “inline” …… in this session questions are content, not “interruptions”
05 minutes …on where to find more resources, links and info on the study of Group Relations
More Details on Group Relations Theory
Group relations theory says that a group behaves as a system—and that the primary task of the group is survival. Although this primary task is frequently masked, survival as a group becomes the primary preoccupation— and latent motivating force— for all group members.
Understanding the undercurrent of group-level emotional behaviors manifested by all groups is important to effective Agile practice because these behaviors are a source of tremendous quantities of waste. Agile team members who understand group relations theory can more quickly pool their rational thinking, combine their skills, solve problems, and perform complex decision-making. Group relations theory helps explain the astonishing success of Scrum’s simple ground rules.
Under group relations theory, the group has a dual identity. The first identity is the work group, who are assembled to execute on the stated task. The second identity, the basic-assumption group, exhibits and manifests the latent aspect of group life. The combined wishes, fears, defenses, impulses and projections of the individuals in the group constitute the goals and objectives of the basic-assumption group.
A tension exists between the work group and the basic-assumption group. The behavior of the basic-assumption group has the potential to generate tremendous amounts of waste, while the behavior of the work group is capable of very high productivity. Basic-assumption behaviors can be minimized through the rigorous enforcement of simple ground rules and associated group norms. This is precisely how Agile methods like Scrum actually work.
Software development occurs in groups. Group relations theory helps explain the group-level sources of waste in software development.
Attend this session to participate in a deep-dive into the application of group relations theory in your Agile practices.
- AT THIS SESSION, YOU LEARN:
- The history, development and premises of group relations theory. Groups defined.
- The difference between stated (conscious) tasks and latent (unconscious) tasks that are universal in all groups
- How the hidden undercurrent of emotional life inherent in all groups automatically generates waste
- The four basic assumptions : Dependence, Fight/Flight, Pairing, and Oneness
- How the four basic assumptions affect leadership and authority in all self-organizing teams. How genuine Agile methods manage group-relations effects in these teams
- How genuine Agile methods like Scrum actively manage the hidden life of groups
- How SDLC/waterfall methods actively encourage the irrational wishes, fears, defenses, impulses and projections of teams—thereby leading to absolutely huge amounts of waste
- How Scrum’s clear and simple ground rules effectively manage the tension between the work group and the basic-assumption group by managing the focus of attention. The role of cognition in group relations
- How to apply group relations theory immediately in your Agile practice.
- Sources of more information on applying group relations theory in your Agile practices
