Hey Doug, thanks for asking me to get more clear on this subject! I’ve only recently started thinking about this idea, which is why I am fuzzy speaking about it. What I believe I see so far has to do with perceived location of the self. That is, in the moments in which I/we think: “individual self” I am capable of leading my individual self … [Read More]
I just came across this picture of Bonzai from December 2010. Like many indoor cats, she had a thing for lying near—and ideally laying on—laptop and computer keyboards. She preferred our older Mac laptop, which put off more heat that our PCs and newer Mac laptop. Like many cats of her generation, she felt that lying on newspapers was just too old school, too 1995 … [Read More]
Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays are the three days each week that I consciously prioritize my family, my close friends, and my individual well-being over my work as a self-organizing groups researcher. I minimize my connection with the broader world on these three days each week—don’t use the internet (unless in service of my family, such as finding the perfect recipe for chocolate cake) and don’t … [Read More]
Last week I spoke to three groups at the International Society for Performance Improvement annual conference about how to rapidly foster self-organizing work groups. First attendees identified their own self-organizing groups by writing down the names of people and groups who came immediately to mind for them in response to the following statements: I get more from the group’s spontaneity than I do from my … [Read More]
Continuing from How do self-organizing groups make decisions? (1 of 2) … Short answer: These groups don’t make decisions. They find decisions, together, the instant that group members recognize and embrace their collective self. Long answer: Self-aware self-organizing groups don’t make decisions or design and plan things in the traditional sense. Within these groups, individuals become so close that together—as a collective self—they become able … [Read More]
I was sitting on a ferry last week with my friend D—coming back from our self-organizing group’s meeting—and we got to talking about what makes groups like ours last. She’s part of another group that she really wants to make work. So am I. She’s worried that her other group won’t last, because she and only a couple of other people seem really committed to … [Read More]
One of my self-organizing work groups is talking about learning styles this morning. Here’s part of our discussion (and yes, as usual, the long-winded one is me). If you’re a learner, trainer, teacher, consultant, employee, manager, administrator, instructional designer, researcher, or self-org work group that has an opinion on this subject, let me know what you think. I’d love to share it with my group. Group member 1: “I … [Read More]
How do I know when I’m self-organizing? How do we know if our group is self-organizing? Indicator #6: Behaving thoughtfully, demonstrating awareness and reflection I am self-organizing when I behave thoughtfully, demonstrating awareness and reflection. Demonstrated, for example, by: Talking about unexpected consequences emerging from your actions (in my study, people often spoke of difficult yet ultimately positive consequences emerging from collective actions) Talking about … [Read More]
I study self-organizing work groups of people in within, across, and outside of organizations. Self-organizing work groups can be difficult to see—even for some who are part of them—in part, I think, because they look and act differently from what many of us think of when we think “team,” “work group,” “department,” and so on. So how do I know when I’m part of one? … [Read More]
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