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Group Process: Gestalt |
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Group Process: Gestalt
Whether it’s a weekly management
meeting, or an annual leadership strategic planning offsite, a group
meeting holds the potential for greatness! Why don’t we feel this way
about meetings?
Very often leaders are focused on the content:
should we invest in a new direction, fire that client, add employees.
Meetings get stuck when the content seems to represent competing
options. As a facilitator, I have the opportunity to focus on process.
It turns out, when a leadership group creates good group process,
even difficult content can be handled in a way that is focused and
productive. Decisions get made, closure happens. All in a mutually
respectful way.
Working with executive teams in this way, one of
the approaches I offer is a Gestalt Group process also referred to as
the Cape Cod Model. This involves highlighting the strengths a group
has, by reflecting back and summarizing what has been observed at a
group process level. It’s noticing at a “systems level” what is
happening with the leadership group, rather than just at an individual
level.
It turns out, we are not all that good at being aware of
strengths. Especially when it comes to being in a dialogue with others.
Each group, whether it’s just a few, or a whole room full, has
strengths. This Gestalt Cape Cod Model approach begins with an
appreciation of those group strengths. That alone liberates members to
consider expanding beyond routine habit.
Awareness opens up
choices. This is a core philosophy of mine. In one case, a manager was
advocating for a certain direction, and his colleague was suggesting
more caution, a slower pace. When the feedback was offered that this
“system” had very well represented “brake” and “accelerator”, they were
both able to see how they had polarized. Yes the system needs both
enthusiasm and caution, but each of them, once they had the feedback,
did not want to limit themselves to one side of that polarity. |
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