Recent Additions
Congregation and Community
From a recent news item from the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA):
To support the growing interest and engagement in congregation-based
community organizing the UUA Office for Congregational Advocacy and
Witness has produced a new guide on CBCO entitled "Congregation-Based
Community Organizing: A Social Justice Approach to Revitalizing
Congregational Life." The guide is posted on the UUA CBCO website at
http://www.uua.org/programs/justice/CBCObooklet.pdf ....
Life Cycle of Groups
The forming / storming / norming / performing model of the group life cycle is derived from work by Bruce Tucker.
Here are a few useful links in explaining the concepts and helping to identify the stages:
- Leadership of Special Project Teams
- Best Practices: Strategy and Leadership - Strategy and Vision
- Forming / Storming / Norming / Performing presentation materials - PDF file, free Adobe Acrobat Reader may be required
- Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing - Mourning
- Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing - a .doc file (Microsoft Word) - note that if you don't have Microsoft Office (for the .doc file), you can still read Office files with OpenOffice, a free substitute
- This survey should help you figure out what stage a particular group is in.
Original article on the stages:
Tuckman, B.W. "Developmental Sequence in Small Groups," Psychological Bulletin, vol. 63, 1965, pp. 384-399.
The Art of Holding Good Conversations Online
Howard Rheingold, Virtual Community guru, has some helpful tips for those who are hosting conversations online, especially ones that are oriented to building community: The Art of Holding Good Conversations Online
Teleconference Call Tips
Have committees that meet via teleconference? Here are some helpful hints for facilitating telephone conference calls: Telephone Conference Call Tips
Virtual Organization
Looking to create teams online? This site may provide some useful tips.
Virtual Organization: "This site is concerned with various aspects of virtual organization such as leadership, structure, collaboration, teams, technology, methods, and learning."
Conflict: Interactive Online Training
A fascinating self-study course on "Intractable Conflict" -- this page is a shortcut menu showing all the sections offered. For each topic, there's a summary, plus a selection of readings for further exploration and understanding. It's not something you'll finish in an hour -- but then, the topic would not lend itself to simplistic solutions if you want effective conflict strategies!
International Online Training Program On Intractable Conflict