Posted by Dr. Bob on September 19, 2004, at 15:03:32
In reply to Virtual large groups, posted by Dr. Bob on September 9, 2004, at 17:54:31
Hi, everyone,
I liked this chapter, too. Plus I know him from when he was in Chicago. The specific LG he's referring to is on a ward in a state psychiatric hospital, so it wasn't a VLG, but some of his comments may apply online, too.
> I sought to make the manifestly public events available for all to attend to and comprehend.
>
> I saw my task as making a space for coherent public discourse.
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> As these LG meetings progressed, I was able to have more time for post-meetings. We discussed what had just taken place and what I was trying to accomplish.
>
> These developments confirmed my belief that treating the ward as a whole, as an interacting social system of staff and patients, would result in benefits for both. Focusing on individuals would have been counterproductive, intensifying primitive feelings of deprivation and rageful competition.
>
> I managed my role boundaries with deliberate consistency by minimizing contact with individual patients.
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> I was not to be defeated, damaged, or captured. The persistence and consistency with which I pursued my vision were critical to the positive outcomes. Commitment to task, desire to make the most of this rare opportunity to test my training and confidence in my clinical approach, as well as the predictability of my attendance and role behavior -- all were manifest and all had a positive impact.
>
> Leadership should function in as consistent a way as possible with regard to advancing work on the primary task and managing boundaries in as sensitive yet as firm a way as possible. As the primary task and the leadership functions become more apparent, then these LG meetings become more coherent, more useful, more supportive, and less threatening.
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> Successful meetings require that those present experience themselves as needed or relevant.
>
> One thinks twice before responding directly to the needs of an individual and instead looks for ways to respond to the impact such request or questions have created for you, the solicitor, and the group. One endeavors to participate creatively in the here and now. One does often have to risk being perceived as remote. Leadership is participatory as well as independent. The group situation must be dealt with as something other than a collection of individuals.
>
> Leadership must be capable of providing interpretive as well as administrative structure based on insightful responsiveness in the here and now to covert as well as manifest group processes.--Lipgar RM. Experiences in large groups: Bion's influence. In: "The Large Group Re-Visited". Schneider S, Weinberg H. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 2003.
Bob
poster:Dr. Bob
thread:388862
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20040902/msgs/392665.html