The Practice of Professional Consulting



Context of Group Dynamics

Peter Block (2000) explains that groups exist within a larger organizational context as an integrating mechanism. It is important to understand that relationship if we are to understand how and why a group is operating in a particular way: “Small groups are the vehicle for integrating activity in organizations. Two people can be a group—or forty. Small group discovery is one step more complex than individual discovery, for it encompasses the interaction among people” (Block, 2000, p. 201).

Block identifies the following set of factors within a group that members and the project leader can use to examine a group’s effectiveness.

• Attitudes about the project
• Attitudes about the consultant ...