Last night I spent some time with a group that meets on a semi-regular basis to discuss, in general, groups and the facilitation of group processes. We call this group the Group Interest Group (GIG). There are some amazing individuals who contribute to this conversation: Greyling Viljoen, Jean Cooper, Sonja Blignaut, Raymond Salzwedel (try saying that after two glasses of red wine) and some other like-minded folk.

Each time we meet I walk away with an amazing sense of how powerful groups can be. Now, I suppose you can break groups up into two categories: those that are formed for a purpose (e.g. teams, meetings & forums in organisations) and those that just seem to come together (e.g. friendship circles). Which ever the formation, there is a magic when people come together that is rarely harnessed. Often this magic is hindered by personal agendas, politics and a plain inability to function together. Last night we discussed the concept of group space – that intangible, invisible, ephermeral quality to a group where it's participants meet on an almost unconscious level. In the words of the inimitable Dave Matthews, this would be the space between. We all know this concept .. .we might often call it the spirit fo the group, its vibe or its mood. And so, there are words and actions that we can perceive in a group, but then there are also things happening under the surface that if unlocked can release the latent potential of the group to perform for any goal.

So, here's some theory. From what I gathered last night, people engage fully in a group when 3 elements are present in the group space:

1 – the reason for the group forming is made known and verbalised (e.g. friends coming together because they enjoy each other)
2 – there is no censorship (people can just plain be in the group and not be censored by an authority), and the finally,
3 – group members feel that they can be themselves.

Leaders and organisations somehow need to wake up to this power and find ways of achieving group space in organisations.