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Unless you have studied, worked or operate within the field of systems-psychodynamics or whole systems approach, you’re unlikely to have come across a ‘Group Relations Conference’ (GRC). Despite the name, a GRC is not a ‘conference’ in the traditional sense - there are no didactic presentations, no structured workshops and no expert panels. Nevertheless, delegates who have taken part in GRCs, particularly those whose field of endeavour is the ‘human’ capital of the organisations in which they work, have found them deeply participative learning environments that have transformed their approach to building a premier HR function.
How so?
Here at the Tavistock we think of organisations as icebergs. There’s the part you can see and the bigger part beneath the surface which, if ignored, can be dangerous. GRCs concentrate on revealing the impact of ‘beneath the surface’ dynamics on the effectiveness of anyone in a key organisational role. As a result they provide managers, leaders and HR professionals with a powerful new way of understanding what previously may have been simply baffling, such as why strategies fail to gain momentum or employee retention rates suddenly drop.
Quite a claim. So how do they work?
Each GRC is created as a temporary organisation, lasting for the duration of the conference – typically three to five days. The conference consists of a series of events, designed to replicate the inter-group communication and decision making that take place every day in organisations within and across operational units, functional departments and corporate hierarchies. You can imagine that the results may mirror what goes on in organisational life. The difference here is that there are none of the distracting constraints of the day to day working environment, so you are free to experience, experiment, study and change what you observe and how you take part.
You have to be there.
It is difficult to describe the effectiveness of the GRC accelerated learning lab. On the final day of the conference recalibration of your strategy becomes the focus, as your real life work situation is analysed in the light of the learning from the conference.
Former delegates report that, due to their newfound awareness of unconscious processes and functioning in groups, they have gained new insights into the way they take up their roles, engage with others and deliver on demanding tasks. They have also shared with us how the GRC shed new light on the wider workforce dynamics that affect their and others’ ability to engage.
No speakers. No expert panels. You just need to be prepared to take part.
For details of our next Group Relations Conference, visit: Discovering Leadership in Organisations, 7th – 10th September 2015
For an informal conversation about the conference and its benefits, contact Dr Mike Solomon, Conference Director.
