I was itching to write this post for a couple of weeks now but rather chose to sleep over the matter for some time! The main reason for doing so was that I wanted to be doubly sure that my views are least influenced and clouded by my experience of a T-group as one of the participants.
T-groups should be more sensitive with their sensitivity training!
I am no expert on T-groups but what I know that one of the purported objectives of T-group facilitation is to be “more aware of the diversity-related sensitivities and issues that typically arise among work group members from different racial, ethnic, religious, gender. age, socioeconomic, etc. group identities, and better able to approach individuals from different identity groups in sensitive and positive ways” [ Source: http://www.ntl.org/]
Precisely for this reason, T-groups are often referred to as sensitivity training also. I had heard about T-group procedures earlier also where participants were strangers to each other before the lab. This one was rather unique in the sense that the participants knew each other as co-workers! Within the first hour of the lab it was evident to me that the processes were anything but far removed from being sensitive to others feelings and emotions! A heterogeneous group that you can expect coming from the same workplace, this had a very chequered participants.
What really nudged me off from a learner’s perspective was that the facilitator started attacking one of the participants for not being expressive and contributing at par with the rest of the pack. I knew the person as to be reticent and in fact, challenged with verbal communication. Talking to a group was always a uphill task for him and I had given him the feedback and some tips from time to time. A T-group set up was possibly too much for him to reconcile especially in the very beginning of the process.
In my opinion, which I expressed candidly to the facilitators, the intent was to make him realize his behavior in a group and try help him but the instrument being applied was explicitly inappropriate.
Seeing the facilitators acting in a specific way, some of the more expressive group members adopted the same even though they knew him and his challenges! This made him go even further into a shell and kept unnaturally quiet for most of the program.
The experience posed to me two serious questions about the behaviors of the facilitators- one, does a T-group advocate a ‘shock-and-awe’ kind of approach to change behaviors? and two, can strength-based approach to behavioral change not be a better way to facilitate such lab where self-awareness building is the key?
In fact, Appreciate Inquiry based labs are the subsequent branch out from NTL’s experiment with T-group.
As I mentioned, I am no expert on T-groups, but I am convinced on one thing that ‘Whale done’ approach of behavioral reinforcement is far more effective than ‘Gotcha’ approach! (Those of you who’re not familiar with these terms might take a look on the book titled ‘Whale Done!’ by Ken Blanchard)
As a learner, I will be interested to listen to any experienced T-group facilitator about the approach which could have potentially damaged the self-belief of the participant for long! I am yet to reconcile with the process of ‘Shock & awe’ to bring any meaningful change in behavior.
After all, you can’t be insensitive in a sensitivity training!
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