It's easier to redirect movement than it is to stop it!
The one thing that two decades in the Marine Corps can absolutely guarantee is a lifetime of experiences in a very short period of time!
While recently studying the topic of the Dynamics of Group Decision Making at #pennstate, I found myself drawing unexpected similarities to non-traditional experiences I had throughout my career. For the years I served with the Diplomatic Security Service as a Marine Embassy Guard I distinctly recall the defensive tactics training that we received, specifically the lessons we learned about the "physics of the attack." In many of the operations we conducted we were "reacting to an aggressor" and one learns very quickly that it is easier to redirect and refocus the movements of an attacker than it is to stop them #PhysicsMimicsGroupDynamics!
Just like in a physical encounter, when working in a group it is hard to start or stop movement. As seen in the #DiamondOfParticipatoryDecisionMaking, as published in the Facilitator’s guide to participatory decision-making authored by S. Kaner, you often see a slow start when your new group is working towards a new idea but as group members become more comfortable with their environment the ideas begin to flow more freely. As the group travels through the #DivergentZone these ideas seem to spark at an exponential rate and as tangents begin fly, and emotions and tempers begin to be tested, you have wandered into the #GroanZone. Once in the Groan Zone, just like in martial arts, it is exceedingly difficulty, and often times "dangerous," to halt movement abruptly. In a physical altercation, even an opponent smaller in stature can cause you harm if the point of impact is abrupt. In the team environment, if the facilitator quickly #InterruptsTheStack or halts the process altogether, you diminish spontaneity and you will likely cause a rift among the team that will lead to diminished participation from those members that take it most personally and have the least resilience. In the realm of personal protection, we train to use the attacker's momentum against them and through coordinated refocusing of their movements we deliberately send them on another path. With regard to a group stuck in the Groan Zone, a well versed facilitator can use deliberate #Framing to help remind the group the purpose of the discussion and carefully redirect the momentum of the group so that they can begin to transfer to the #ConvergentZone on the way to the #ClosureZone.
