An Interesting Aspect of Group Dynamics…….

This will be a short post and part of the reason for that is that I am engaged in a project that has taken a complicated turn. It is related to previous posts when I’ve discussed mistakes that people make and how to respond to those mistakes when you are on the receiving end, and how you might react if you are the one making a mistake. This is the time when by “mistake”, I don’t mean you forgot to buy ketchup when you went to the store and you have to go back for another trip or do without. I am referring instead to one of those types of mistakes where you impact multiple other people to the point of risking both the end goal of a project and the deadline. Discovering a major error is one thing. Discovering a major error when there is a serious time crunch is another.

That also leads into two issues – the first is resolving the error and meeting the deadline, the next is how to handle the error with the individual who made it. That happens to not be my concern here, although I will get drawn in simply because it is a small group and that’s part of group dynamics. In helping resolve the error, we are working to do so in a manner that will permit everyone to save face. However, that may not be a perception shared by everyone in the group. In that event, as they say, “Things could get messy.” Hopefully, despite the significant extra work, all will be smoothed over. So, how about it, readers? Care to share tales of similar situations?

2 thoughts on “An Interesting Aspect of Group Dynamics…….

  1. ggggggggItIt’s difficult to balance ‘saving face for most concerned’ with someone who might want to ‘get even’ especially if ‘getting even” includes the desire to express one’s anger in the process. But, if anyone can accomplish this balancing act, it’s you! Good luck!

    • Thanks for the confidence and it really has more to do with what another key player decides. However, these things are not confined to only the Fortune 500 world, but can occur in almost any situation where strong personalities are involved. I remember a situation from my youth when a church split up over what should have been a minor issue. Of course, at that age, I didn’t know what group dynamics were.

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