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We often talk about changing your life, becoming empowered and living with purpose. All these terms are optimistic with that the key ingredient of hope. But what other ingredients are needed? Today I’ve got a thought on how groups improve lives, increase creativity, and in turn through the ripple effect, change the world.
When I say ‘form a group’ you might consider something that’s reactionary; the powerless joining to tackle the powerful. But let’s flip that around so it applies to your everyday life. A group (be it your family, a support group, a friend network, or your work colleagues) should not simply generate power, but empowerment. Finding others who support your goal is like pumping supreme gas into your car engine – it brings you to a better level of functioning; you not only have a goal, but you have the support to take a risk.
What kind of group is best? Well, whether you’re striving to find your purpose or simply have a relaxing and supportive atmosphere, the following three aspects are key:
These are three basic ideas taken from a paper I read on collective empowerment by Drury and Reicher in the Journal of Social Issues.
Do you work with groups to help obtain goals? What benefits do you find? What draw backs are there?
We’d love to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment if something’s on your mind.
Until next week!
Dr Marcelle
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Good afternoon, your blog was quite timely. I have belonged to a group for the past 5 years and 7ave been in a leadership role. I’ve been realizing off and on a few times the past few months that I’m quite tired and your blog has pointed out a few ideas that have got me thinking. I’ve been weighing the costs and benefits, & you have inspired me to think about my involvement a bit differently.
(btw, I couldn’t get to the linked article: it said it couldn’t find the cookies.)
Hi! Thanks for your comment. I’m glad the article has inspired some new thinking toward your group work.
I have tried to fix the link, but if it still doesn’t open, do a Google Scholar search using the title “Collective Psychological Empowerment as a Model of Social Change: Researching Crowds and Power”.
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Please, keep up the greet work and continue to post topics like this. I am really fan of your site!
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Hi Marcelle,
I like the suggestions you mention above:
1) find a shared identity;
2) define goals;
3) live your “ideal” reality.
I would like to add that when forming a team:
develop team guidelines which build respect and enhance communications and creativity within the group.
4) bring together a group of diverse people with different/complementary skills, different personalities, different preferences and different ways of perceiving and processing information;
5) through a facilitated team-building exercise, explore how the people within the group are different but have a lot to offer;
6) make sure that you have at least one person in the team who is a good facilitator and can see the different points of view of the team members and create cohesion within the team;
7) make sure roles and accountabilities of team members are clearly defined;
I have seen amazing results when a diverse group of people are brought together in a team and discover how to understand different behaviours and communication styles based on personality types such as Myers-Briggs or True Colours.
For example:
* the thinkers versus the doers;
* those who focus on what needs to be done (goal oriented);
* those who focus on why it needs to be done (relationship building);
* those who focus on how it gets done (process oriented);
* those who want to have fun doing it (ice breakers, get the ball rolling, celebrate milestones).
When you have a good balance of these types of people plus the specialized skills they bring to a team and the respect they have for each other, creativity expands and the team achieves more than the sum of its members.
It is within this type of team that people can accomplish amazing things and have fun doing it, whether at work, on a sports team, while volunteering, within a community or amongst friends and family.
I am fortunate to have been and still am in such teams.
Hi again,
I love watching Canada geese flying in formation. Many years ago when I was in an awesome team, we had a poster in our meeting room with this inspirational story. This story is how I feel about teamwork.
Lessons from the Geese (by Dr Robert McNeish of Baltimore, 1972)
When you see geese flying along in “V” formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way. As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the bird that follows. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew alone. People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front of it. If we have as much sense as a goose, we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.
When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position. It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other’s skills, capabilities and unique arrangements of gifts, talents or resources.
The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement is the quality of honking we seek.
When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two other geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock. If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.