"Anything is possible!" Suzi took this life-changing message away from her work on the 2008 presidential campaign. A corporate marketing executive turned stay-at-home mom with two young children, she went from having nothing to do with politics to national involvement. In less than one year. All of this started with one simple question: What else can I do to help?
In Suzi's state, party caucuses select presidential candidates. People in neighborhood precincts select delegates, who attend a county caucus where delegates are chosen to go to a state caucus, resulting in national delegates who go to the party's national convention. Suzi attended her precinct caucus in February and at the close asked what else she could do to help. Six months and three levels later, she found herself at the national political convention. And she continued volunteering right through election day.
The amazing group in Suzi's experience involved about fourteen volunteers; sometimes more and sometimes fewer, depending on the phase of the campaign. These people, plus one paid staff member, showed up and worked tirelessly between caucus rounds. Their Purpose grew as the process unfolded. Initially they made sure pledged delegates showed up at the next caucus. As the campaign and group matured, they took on more responsibility. They assessed their candidate's vulnerability to other contenders; they assured a strong presence at all events; they strategized to assure diversity of selected delegates. They identified potential delegates who could use the title of "national delegate" to encourage new voters in the general election. As the weeks flew by, Suzi recalls that "we were beating the odds. We felt if we worked hard enough, we would make it happen!"
Geographically spread, members relied on technology to support their collaboration, which Suzi sees as a major strength of the group. They e-mailed, they texted; they relied on a campaign Web site and Google documents to provide them with guidance. "We were empowered to make a difference. We felt that everything we did would help to make a difference in the country and in the world." Everyone had a job to do; all were focused on getting their candidate elected. In addition to dealing with a strong opposing campaign, they were challenged to "stay in the loop with one another." Several times a week, conference calls allowed the group to discuss the more complex issues. They made very few Yes or No decisions. More often in their discussions someone would propose an idea or action and ask, What do you think? Each person involved was highly committed to getting their candidate elected. When tempers would flare and "things got heated, we would go back to that point and regroup."
Success depended on follow through. And people did. Collectively members seemed to have the right skills, "so that we could plug people in when we needed to" to get things done. Because of the trust in the group, people let others move ahead. This Bond developed quickly, primarily through the phone calls: "After just two weeks of working so intensely together, it felt like we had been doing this for much longer! Our energy got channeled so quickly! . . . With too much to do and operating in a dispersed way, we had to trust each other." When asked about bonding, she told us that "we all worked closely together through to the actual election, supporting each other's efforts"—whether working crowds at summer parades or ringing door-bells in neighborhoods. Understandably, there was an even tighter Bond among those who were delegates at the national convention.
Looking back on her extraordinary year, Suzi knows that her experience was transforming. "I volunteer a lot more now and am more locally aware." Now linked through a Google group to other national delegates, she knows that this difference in her life represents "a long-term change. It has changed me and my family. My six-year-old son tells people 'Mommy helped get the President elected' and my younger daughter went with me to knock on doors in Florida. My kids know that one individual can have a global impact." Suzi is clear: "For me this was life-changing."
The last chapter highlighted our needs for Acceptance and Potential; as individuals, we bring these two needs when we join a group. This chapter addresses the two Group Needs we meet within a group: the Bond that holds the group together and the Purpose that the group commits to achieving. As with Acceptance and Potential, Bond and Purpose are linked; they represent the two sides of the Group loop in our model.
At work, home, and in the community, we live in small groups; we express ourselves through groups; we form our identities within groups; we appraise who we are by what happens to us in groups. And as we do all of this, we hone our skills, giving and receiving from these smallish groups of people who Bond together in Purpose. Bond and Purpose are inextricably linked. We find it hard to think about one without referring to the other. As in Suzi's campaign group, the shared passionate commitment to their Purpose fed the Bond between them. Their mutual trust and collective identity fueled the energy and drive that was needed to sustain them through countless phone calls, meeting after meeting, late nights, and early mornings.
We now consider Bond and Purpose in some depth. Then we offer guidance, reflections, and actions to meet your own Group Needs for Bond and Purpose, as well as support other group members in doing the same.
Groups provide the human contact we need: We "be-long" to a group. As we Bond with other members, we establish our shared sense of identity and belonging. This is where "Everybody knows your name," as they say on that old TV show, Cheers. At their best, groups enfold us, they love us for who we are, and they are protect us no matter what. We like groups small enough that we can know everyone and large enough to give us a sense of shared power. Whether a neighborhood or a social club, joining with others of like mind helps us feel safe.
Group bonds develop over time, seldom instantaneously. They are built from the continued contact of those involved. Members joined with Purpose in mind may be surprised to discover that somehow they have bonded along the way. Developing that Bond is like dipping a candle. The strength comes from reinforcing the connection, layer upon layer, time after time. Some groups discover they have a Bond even more important than their original Purpose. When group Bond is working, members are likely to agree, individually and collectively, with these statements:
We know who we are together.
We create a safe space for each other.
We each play our parts.
Synergistically, each statement builds on the others. Here are some elaborations and connections. Think about Suzi's experience as you read ahead.
Members joining a new group arrive with a sense of themselves and their futures—strongly or weakly formed. However we show up, we build from here. The previous chapter supports arriving more strongly, but whoever we are at this moment, we want to know each other and build our actions upon that. We need to know ourselves individually to help build our collective sense of our ourselves as a group. And our group is more than a collection of individual selves. The chemistry among us will give our group its own identity. As we join with others, we get to know each other in the context of our Purpose. An identity begins to form for the group that includes "who we are, what we are capable of, and how we do things here." These understandings help define the group. Extraordinary groups lay a foundation based upon getting to know one another because they know they will need to rely on each other soon.
A group needs a place—even if it is in cyberspace. Members need a place to meet, where the individuals can become the group. And it must be safe enough to learn about the diverse talents, backgrounds, and perspectives available in the group. Safety within the group is important to risking together out in the world. We have enough to worry about "out there" as we pursue our Purpose. We don't want to complicate our work "in here" with murky dynamics, mistrust, and a energy-consuming internal process. What happens inside the group is predictable—in the best senses of that word. Even passionate disagreements can feel reassuring—when we expect them. Even expressing mistakes can feel good—if "that's the way we do things around here."
Members of extraordinary groups often develop a commitment to each other that is beyond reason. They can feel so close, so tight, as to feel even tribal. One interviewee spoke of being a "blood brother" with other team members! "Tribal" callsup from the past our more primitive notions of self, where we came from. We may have overlaid those ancient dynamics with more sophisticated twenty-first century forms, but they have not disappeared. The iPhones and Blackberries that connect us in the twenty-first century are often meeting ancient tribal needs.
Do not start looking for your script; it is much more intricate than that. Your group is a "play" in which you write your own role while others write theirs. And you do this simultaneously, all in search of your place in the group, a place that can continue to shift through time. As others redefine their parts, as circumstance changes the demands on the group, as group purpose shifts, as your life priorities change, all of this affects the part you play. In extraordinary groups, members know what to expect of each other. And they know that all of the parts are key to their success. They know who the strategist is. And the detail person. And the optimist. And the clown. And the action people, the cautious people, the reticent people, and who gets this group moving. They love seeing all this come together in ways unique to this one amazing group.
Our various parts are affected by having an explicit, declared Purpose but are not dependent on that; we gravitate toward our roles because of the talent we bring and want to contribute and because of how we want to grow into our Potential. While Bond is mostly about internal dynamics between members, Purpose links those members to the world outside the group.
Just as we need to connect with others, we also long to be joined with others in shared Purpose—the reason we come together. We group to extend our reach and influence, or to do work, or to, as in Suzi's example, help get a particular candidate elected president. We come together in an effort that is larger than ourselves, where collective energy and capacity combine to achieve something that could or would never be done by individuals alone. At their best, groups know why they exist, where they are going, and their members are ready to give what is expected of them to fulfill the common Purpose.
We see two primary group purposes: (1) Purpose focused outward on change in the world outside the group. Groups in the workplace and community typically set out to affect their outer world. Whether for pay or not, they join for Impact. These groups tend to be task-driven and externally oriented. We refer to them as External Change groups. (2) Purpose that supports individual group members, who in turn go out into the world and make a difference in their own unique ways. Examples include workshops, support groups, book clubs, hobby clubs, social organizations, and families. These groups are typically more socially and internally oriented and we call them Individual Support groups.
Purpose works in a tight creative dynamic with Bond. While Bond knits the group together from the inside, Purpose pulls the group forward and often outward in a common direction. Members caught up in Purpose might make statements like these:
We move in the same direction.
We influence each other.
We count on each other.
Purpose statements are deeply informed by what the group intends to do in the World, as reflected in the World loop of the model discussed in the next chapter. The world out there gives the Group its reason to Bond and its Purpose. Nationally, we see Suzi's group as an example, or groups focused on reforming health care or education or safety. Locally, we see people claiming a seat at the table of civic dialogue. We see unions pursuing of the rights of their members. The possibility of making a difference in the world calls people together and forward in action.
This statement is about both the direction and the movement; we know what we want and what we are doing together. We can see ourselves move and that builds our collective motivation; it reinforces our belief in our ultimate success. We are excited by discussions of Purpose and progress toward fulfilling it. We need to repeat, sometimes almost ritually, those discussions to reinforce our shared commitment. When we are not moving together or not moving at all, our sense of shared Purpose is at risk.
We are defined not so much by our individual purposes as our collective Purpose, and to reach that we listen to each other. In the process, we refine what we are about together; we influence each other as we search for what we agree upon together. Without this, our shared Purpose is not clear, is not held deeply and collectively. When we have few opportunities to influence each other, we risk uninformed individual actions that damage the group. We need a process that assures us that we have our individual say in pursuit of group Purpose, and we need to know that our voice can make a difference. That is, because of what one person says, a group could alter its direction; one person can make a difference.
In more extraordinary groups, it is a source of pride that we do not have to look to see if our teammates are beside us; we know they are. And we know this is a unique experience and one that we treasure. Counting on each other comes with shared participation in great outcomes in which each person carries out his or her role as the group expected. Often these are roles well discussed and rehearsed, but other times a member improvises and does so in a way that demonstrates her deep understanding of and dedication to the group and its Purpose. In doing so, she reinforces, "You can count on me." And counting on each other includes regular reminders that members of the group are counting on each other; that they must do this together; that they cannot achieve their Purpose separately.
Joining with others can be fulfilling beyond the limits of an isolated, individual experience. Grouping creates the possibility of building something larger than we ourselves imagined. With more minds, more muscle, more ideas, more motivation, more support, who knows what we might be able to do? Maybe discover a new place for ourselves in the world. Maybe create and sustain an effort for years making a huge difference in our organization. Maybe spark a magical group experience of the kind we would like to replicate again and again. These "maybes" are among the reasons people choose to Bond together united in Purpose in the creative dynamic shown in this next table.
Table 5.1. The Creative Dynamic of Bond and Purpose
Bond: Our Shared Sense of Identity and Belonging | The Creative Dynamic ↔ | Purpose: The Reason We Come Together |
|---|---|---|
We know who we are together | ↔ | We influence each other |
We create a safe space for each other | ↔ | We move in the same direction |
We each play our parts together | ↔ | We count on each other |
So far, this chapter has been an elaboration on the statements listed under Bond and Purpose above. The extraordinary groups we studied were notable in their interplay of these two needs, using Bond to support Purpose and vice versa. They saw and built upon the creative dynamic between these two needs. In Suzi's evolving campaign experience, the skills and talents of group members were employed in various ways to help their candidate successfully pass through the next hurdle, on the way to the national nomination. "At the very minimum," she recalls, "we behaved like coworkers and most of the time we were very dependent on each other. Different people had different skills, knowledge, leadership, and time. We'd leverage different items from different people as we needed to." The Woodlands Group offers another fine example of this.
We interviewed Frank, a thirty-year member of the Woodlands Group. He joined a few years after the group was founded in the late 1970s when ten men began meeting weekends once a quarter to discuss their roles as corporate training directors. Over the first fifteen years of its life, the group reshaped itself radically in membership, its structure changed, its Purpose evolved. Today the Woodlands Group is fourteen independent consultants, seven men and seven women plus spouses or partners. They still meet quarterly around North America for three days at a time, but their Purpose has shifted to exploring individual, organizational, and societal change. The Woodlands Group has intentionally altered its course, reflecting regularly on its Bond and Purpose. According to Frank, "The group has deepened in community, trust, and love. We've challenged ourselves about how well our ideas really work. We've become much more intentional about our purposes. We have suffered together, born each other's burdens. We are a small loving community that has made real contributions to each other and to other organizations."
In early years the Woodlands Group excluded visitors, including spouses, and met only for the benefit of individual members; during this period, it was an example of Individual Support groups. Thirty plus years later, the group now it invites significant others and visitors; it gives its time consulting to community organizations and government. This group's Purpose is now a combination of External Change and Individual Support. In this way, Woodlands is similar to other extraordinary groups we learned about, in which Purpose can shift, broaden, and deepen over time. As members listen to each other, they loosen their hold on their initial assumptions. A finer expression of Purpose can emerge, usually related to the former Purpose, but more compelling, challenging, and meaningful. Their strong intentions allow members to refine their Purpose as they move forward.
Frank believes these shifts in Bond and Purpose have been essential to the Woodland's Group's continuing vitality. His words—and words from other interviews—encourage us to emphasize the richness of the creative dynamic between Bond and Purpose, the two sides of the Group loop. We heard words like loyalty, love, history, suffering, commitment, performance, protection, ritual, frustration, habit, celebration, and competition. This fertile field between the group's internal relationship needs and the external task needs is full of possibilities. Possibilities fed by deeper needs behind the issues of the moment, possibilities that reach beyond the rational and the balance sheet toward larger needs members experience individually and collectively. And the tighter members are bonded in joint Purpose, the more powerful they will be out in the world.
Our field work also suggests that extraordinary groups are drawn to discovery, moving from known toward unknown. This mystery adds to the thrill of getting involved. Where individually members may not have the power to move, as a group they build power by reinforcing each other and moving beyond what they have ever done before. Our small group of two, as authors of this book, fits with this description. We have been excited by our exploration, not by knowing but by discovering our way. We have given each other courage to explore beyond our edges. This same pattern surfaced in Suzi's group, the Woodland's Group, and many other extraordinary groups we studied. The feelings within these groups are of latitude leading to creativity and discovery. Yes, there are boundaries provided by Purpose, but they are off in the distance, allowing plenty of room to move and discover.
Extraordinary groups embrace both the Bond and the Purpose sides of the Group loop. Seeing through this third view, it's about all six messages summarized in the table above, coming into play. Those intentions and actions come from seeing the whole Group loop and doing what's necessary to bring it to fuller life, perhaps creating a bit of transformation along the way.
In many ways groups of two to twenty are the world writ small, having close boundaries and dynamics that make them more manageable than the whole of the world. Within group boundaries, members can decide how they want to operate together. In groups, individuals do not have to take on the whole world by themselves. Members benefit from the belief that together they can make a difference—one that they could not make by themselves alone.
In Chapter Four, you thought about Acceptance and Potential separate from other Group Needs. But what happens when those very personal needs meet needs clearly centered in the group—Bond and Purpose? That's what the rest of this chapter is about; it joins you with the group, moving you from the detached "Me" to the connected "We." As in Chapter Four, we offer guidance on thinking about these two Group Needs that includes reflection questions and sample actions you can take to further your understanding.
Here's a typical situation that this chapter is written to address: Imagine that at work you have been asked to join a task force of ten people from different departments and positions in your organization. You approach the first meeting with many questions: What will they be like to work with? How should I present myself? What will they think of me? What do I want to accomplish? What will I gain from this? What should I wear? What will it cost me? A few minutes before your arrival, you are still considering these questions, many related to your self-Acceptance and Potential. Other members will arrive with their own Group Needs and similar questions in mind. Each of you will wonder how you will do and how this group of separate individuals might get something done together. If this sounds familiar, the rest of this chapter should be helpful to you. We begin with four suggestions useful in the integration of individual and Group Needs:
As in the previous chapter, we will elaborate on each of these suggestions as well as offer questions for you to think about and actions for you to consider taking with your group. Look in Appendix A for exercises that give you further practice in meeting Bond and Purpose needs.
What a graceful entry this first strategy provides! You are there to serve the group's Purpose; you are there to learn from others and the situation. Enter in this open manner as a model of generosity and service above self. Your positive intentions and constructive behavior are appreciated by your colleagues. You model openness to information and ideas along with commitment to the reason that brings you all together. Your example encourages others to do the same. Ideally, you enter a group with a good sense of yourself, who you are and what you need; you integrate those needs by looking at how you can be useful to the group and its purpose. Yes, you want to meet your own needs and you also want to meet the group's needs; you enter with that positive bias.
The selflessness of this strategy may challenge you, but we look to our sixty extraordinary groups for reinforcement. Time after time, when groups were highly successful, members were impressed by the generosity, the lack of ego, the openness of members. This infectious strategy opens the group to alternatives never considered in groups of more self-serving and all-knowing individuals.
Imagine intentionally building your excitement about joining a new group. Imagine entering in a positive spirit, leaning into the experience, with these questions in mind:
What do you need to know or understand to be an effective member of this group?
Who can help you learn what you need to know right now?
How might you best serve what the group is doing?
How might you contribute to the learning of other group members?
Continue to use these questions long after your entry to the group. Continue to serve; continue to learn.
Consider how you might practice acting differently for the sake of learning.
If you are one to speak and act quickly and early, try an alternative approach. Instead of making statements to others, ask questions of others. What do you learn because of this shift in the way you normally do things?
If you are one who typically sits back and observes, use your quiet time differently than you usually do. For example, note how other members demonstrate service to the group and learning from the group. What action might you take to be of service or actively encourage learning in the group?
Ask the group to take some time to discuss what motivates members, why they choose to belong. Then ask what the group could do to meet more of these needs.
As you listen to the group, consider what Group Needs members are trying to meet, what might be motivating them to behave as they do. When you act, do so with other's needs in mind.
You are in a group to help it move toward success. You may not be the leader or facilitator in a formal sense, but as a member you can help the group join in common action and Purpose. Like the previous strategy, this requires a group-serving rather than self-serving mind-set. The actions you take, the questions you hold are quite different from a more self-centered orientation. You see the group through the eyes of someone who wants the group to be highly successful; you want to see movement toward Purpose and unity within the group. You've read here what's required to create an extraordinary group and you can see the needs the group is trying to meet. Do your part to make this happen.
During a group meeting, keep these questions in mind; look for opportunities to use one or two you have never used before. Mentally replay a recent group meeting and review it from the framework of these questions:
What did you do to help your group, a group meeting, or other group members be more effective? Be specific.
What else could you have done to increase effectiveness?
How does your behavior in this meeting fit with your typical behavior in meetings?
What could you do next time to help this group progress?
What would be rewarding to you about changing your behavior?
Of the many behaviors that might help a group progress, these pay particular attention to the group needs for Bond and Purpose:
Before meetings, do your homework and arrive focused. Set aside concerns and distractions; keep group Bond and Purpose in mind.
Show your support for other's participation by looking at them, using their names, asking for their points of view, building on what they say, praising their contributions, thanking them.
Point out important common ground when you see it, helping the group understand what they have created together so far.
Keep to the task or agenda that the group has agreed upon. Be exemplary in this regard. Don't hesitate to ask, or remind the group, of where they are in their work.
Here is a set of useful questions for tracking group progress: Please help me understand—what are we doing right now? Who is going to do this? Who wants to help? What is it that we seem to be saying? Remind me again; how does this serve our purpose? What do you think we have learned from this? What have we accomplished so far? Make a point of using at least one of these questions in your next group meeting.
A difficult notion to capture, but important to note: A light touch wins out over heavy-handedness in exceptional groups. Just-enough, just-in-time. Just enough clarity. Just enough structure. Just enough role definition. Just enough boundaries. Too much structure, role clarity, or definition of Purpose limits the creativity on which amazing groups thrive. "Just enough" creates a sense of unified Purpose and clarity, so that people feel grounded, safe, and free to move forward. Structure is most useful when provided just-in-time, just when the group needs it to move the work ahead. For example, rather than creating a long list of ground rules as the group gets started, consider creating one or two at a time, when the work calls for it.
Another aspect of lightness so apparent in extraordinary groups is delightful, joyful humor that happens spontaneously and generously. Its spirit is warm and appreciative of others, not cutting or competitive. Humor is creative, and creativity often springs from humor and its irreverence. With humorous observations comes the chance for a different take, a new idea, or an original thought. And humor often reflects a larger or balancing perspective on the situation. In effect, it says, "This isn't all as serious and important as we have been treating it . . . there is life outside this meeting and this work." Humor allows people to laugh at themselves and with each other, implicitly recognizing that as wonderful as we are, we are also flawed and funny. In that there is the suggestion of lightness and forgiveness. All of this supports groups surpassing their own expectations. A last point: When everyone is laughing together, at that moment they are all in the same place—just what groups need to increase their Bond and move forward toward Purpose together.
With one particular and important group in mind, consider these questions as a way to prepare for discussions in your group about how to go about the work.
What do we currently use to structure our work? How are those elements working for us? Are there any that seem to get in our way?
Who among our group seems to have the right skills or talents for the various things needing to be done?
What do we really seem to enjoy about working with each other?
How does humor show up in our group? On a scale of appreciate to competitive, where does it stand?
What type of humor do you contribute? What intention do you have when you say things that cause others to laugh?
Encourage a discussion of the way your group works—the roles, the procedure, the measurements, the meetings. Check on member satisfaction with these various elements.
Notice tendencies of members to control the group, and notice the impact when that happens. Talk with the group about when controls are more and less helpful. Discuss the effect of task controls on group membership.
Notice how often your group joins in appreciating humor. Notice how light or heavy the atmosphere is in your group. What does this suggest the group needs more or less of?
Make a point of interjecting humor into your group's work. Describe an experience with the intent of getting a laugh. Or make fun of yourself in a way you believe others will identify with. Or gently tease members who obviously enjoy that kind of attention.
We know conflict often results in miscommunication, hurt feelings, ego bruising, competition, and time wasted. All true, but conflict also presents the opportunity to consider separate ideas and how they might be joined. Disagreements and conflict are inevitable in groups and they are essential for innovation and collaboration. Our extraordinary groups showed a pattern uncharacteristic of other groups: they know that tension can lead to creativity; they lean toward it, pushing through the discomfort of the tension to the other side. They know that for the group to do its best work it first has to hear what members have to say and that members will disagree with one another. Relevant ideas left unsaid cannot be used by the group. The group's creative success depends on getting all ideas on the table. The risk is conflict that damages; the reward is creativity and deepened relationships. Conflict can lead to creativity; both are rooted in the interplay of disparate ideas. In conflict, two ideas compete for dominance. When conflict leads to creativity, two ideas join and break through to a new position.
Belief in the value of diverse contributions enables groups to pursue more constructive alternatives. Groups advance when members have confidence that conflict can be productive and creative, rather than destructive and polarizing. Early conflict of ideas is often at the source of transformation. The strength of individual members helps them to accept their current selves as they become their better selves. With that solid sense of self, they are more able to meet with others equally confident; they can display their ideas, be open to possibilities, and not be afraid of conflict.
Notice your comfort or discomfort with the idea that conflict can lead to creativity. Think for a moment about recent conflicts before answering these questions:
Why is disagreement useful to groups? Do you really believe that?
What in your behavior shows that you respect other people and their viewpoints?
What is the source of your personal comfort-to-discomfort with conflict?
Who are the individuals you are more uncomfortable disagreeing with? Why?
What are some responses you could use that show your respect for others while still disagreeing with them? How often do you use such responses?
How could you demonstrate that you appreciate ideas that conflict with your own?
Individual and group discomfort with conflict is often deeply seated. Here are some small steps you can take to bring disagreements into the open so that they have the chance to spark creativity, accomplishment, and better relationships.
Ask your group to read this chapter and Chapter Eight about embracing differences. Set aside time in the next meeting to discuss how the ideas apply to the group.
Present the idea that conflict can lead to creativity. Ask the group how this notion might influence your work together.
When someone in your group says something you disagree with, paraphrase that person to make sure you have really understood the point. Deliberately find out what the other person is interested in or needs.
When you have demonstrated that you understand, state your view. If you can, highlight your common interests as well as where and why you differ. Then move on to a discussion of possible solutions that would be mutually agreeable. Use your joint commitment to your group's Purpose as the motivation to compromise when necessary.
Ask your group to describe the kind of interactions it would like to have. What would produce feelings of being energized, connected, hopeful, and positively changed by the group's work together? Ask, What do conflict and disagreement have to do with what we've just talked about?
This Group loop of our model is particularly important. The extraordinary groups from our field study spoke often of a deep individual and collective sense of Purpose. So deep that members could count on each other to make good decisions on behalf of the group; they didn't have to always turn to a formal leader; they knew what to do next. And the Purpose bound them together tightly. As they celebrated Purpose and accomplishment, they grew even tighter. There is nothing like being in the trenches together to build connection, trust, and even love.
All of this works best when members enter the group well prepared for what they will face. Imagine a member joining a group with a healthy Acceptance of self and a sense of his individual Potential. In that group, he joins his talent and energy with that of other members; together, they get a sense of their shared Purpose and in the process begin to Bond as one entity, one group. In the coming chapter, all that concerted talent will be brought to bear on the world with the intention of making a difference.