Reading the Room: Group Dynamics for Coaches and Leaders

chapter SIX

Level IV: Stories, Identity, and Structured Behavior

We move now below the behavioral profile to Level IV of the structural dynamics model. (Again see Figure 1.1.) The best way to describe the relationship between Level IV and the behavioral profile may be to say that Level IV takes us down to some major sources of the profile. No single concept is more ubiquitous in our lives, and none more difficult to unravel, particularly in close relationships, than what is commonly called identity; and no question is as great as Who am I?

Humans answer this question with stories—a surprisingly small set of them. These identity-forming stories are the essence of Level IV. The stories and what we make of them accomplish two fundamental human needs: ...