</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
"Groups generally aren't very productive until people get fed up with each other and start challenging what other people have to say"

Any thoughts?

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Hi Fuzzy,

Hmmmm, that takes some thought.

Over the years I've noticed how quickly 'group dynamics' sets in, and how strong the dynamic is when it's set.

Often no one challenges the pecking order for ages, if most people in the group are happy to go along with that. When a challenge does come, it usually means that someone leaves the group.

After a lot of years teaching (in adult ed) I've seen this pattern over and over again. Adult groups are a good way to see how stuck some people are in their behaviour patterns, and how the dominant/submissive behaviour gets played out ad infinitum.

Last night I went to the Xmas meeting of a poetry group I dumped months ago, but I got a phone call and thought - Oh well. It was exactly the same as before, and I knew why I had dumped it. Challenge? couldn't be bothered, I just went somewhere else.

I guess the anathema to adult groups is when someone in the group becomes both dominant and boring and the formal leader of the group lacks the guts to deal with it. That's when the rest of us give each other the pained and knowing looks!

Here's a thought - That can't happen here on the boards, because others don't have to read your post, they can just skip over it. reading the posts is a voluntary act, and that's what makes the boards so special, in my view. I've been ignored a few times (rarely on this board) and I think it is a learning experience, good for my 'rejection sensitivity'.

An interesting subject Fuzzy.

Cheers, Myzen