Creating new thinking and a new book: dialogue in making a book about dialogue
Creating new thinking and a new book: dialogue in making a book about dialogue – ‘The art and science of working together: practising group analysis in teams and organisations’
Several of us have recently worked on a new book crystallising our best thinking about using group analysis in our work with organisations. The word that summarises this is ‘dialogue’.
Dialogue as a group analytic concept was elaborated by Pat De Mare, Robin Piper and Sheila Thompson in ‘Koinonia’ (1991) specifically in relation to work with larger groups. I have noticed in my own practice that working with organisations has much in common with how I work with larger groups. Dialogue is the essence of the practice described in the art and science of working together, people talking together, as a result of which something new emerges. Dialogue was also the method through which the book was created.
The book began as the germ of an idea I had following publishing a successful book for coaches describing Foulkesian concepts applied to organisational practice (Group and team coaching 2010, 2016). My aim was, and is, to share a group analytic approach with as wide an audience as possible, in a world which so obviously needs all the arts of conversation it can muster. It was also to develop and bring together the best thinking among group analysts (mainly those in the UK) about this work.
The book developed through individual conversations with many of the contributors, in particular Gerhard Wilke. We had many exchanges through which we discovered a very similar praxis, which in turn sparked more conversations. This, and my role as course director of the IGA’s organisational training, helped me develop the list of contributors I wanted to invite to write on these themes.
After several conversations with potential contributors and having variously commissioned, cajoled or invited contributions, most of the contributors came together for a day’s engrossing dialogue on 9th December 2017. It was a rich and creative dialogue, convened by Gerhard, with excellent food and drink. Absorbing conversation ensued. We were able to share our thinking together and be more aware of the resonant variations and links. At this time some chapters were more or less complete and some were still gleams in contributors’ eyes. It felt important to include the voices of leaders and managers as well as practitioners, and a whole section of the book is written by leaders, as well as the closing sections which Gerhard and I co-wrote about working with leaders of whole organisations.
Dialogue is not only in groups, and my linking work continued with individual and pairs of contributors. I asked two people to comment on their experience of the process: here are their thoughts, first Farideh Dizadji:
Dear Christine,
I am going to have another ‘dialogue’ with you about writing these few lines! I am thinking as I am writing without knowing what the outcome will be!
As you know by now, I am not a keen writer and, despite being able to think systematically, when it comes to writing creatively and reflectively, my mind is usually all over the place to start with.
Over last few weeks, I was emotionally preoccupied with the sad news from Iran, my birth country. Its political unrests have brought back memories of my own past traumatic experiences.
It is within this context that I am wondering about my ambivalences in responding to your question of ‘Would you enjoy writing a few sentences about how the process was for you?’, which you mentioned in your above email. Thinking about it, my immediate and honest answer would be No – not a right time for me to ‘enjoy [the] writing’ – neither have the time and the mental/emotional effort to think about it.
However, upon reflection, I can recognise the similarities and the parallel processes between this experience and the experience of our conversations, our ‘dialogue,’ in developing my chapter. I recall how difficult it was to have the mental capacity to think about my chapter, following the recent traumatic experience which I was dealing with at that time. I remember how many times I wanted to give up. I felt as if I had nothing worthwhile to share in comparison to some of those contributors with long histories of written contributions. At the time, I felt envious and numb. However, you didn’t give up on me despite my late responses — our ‘dialogues’ didn’t stop and kept me going. You generously provided me with additional supports, by sharing your thoughts/experiences, and offering to edit my paper. With your feeding being part of the group of contributors to the book it became exciting; gradually I was able to appreciate the uniqueness of the contributors, including myself. Witnessing the process of the development of the book, including my own chapter, was a great experience. Your capacity, as the editor, in holding a group of diverse contributors, felt as if you were a mother who was looking after her baby as she is going through the pregnancy process. In parallel to that I felt that by committing myself to contribute, I was also became pregnant and I have to go through the process of giving birth to my chapter; the task which I couldn’t have done it without our continuous ‘dialogues’ and your support, for which I am grateful.
With warmest wishes
Farideh
Abdullah Mia and Vince Leahy also embodied dialogue in their writing together, through many iterations, a chapter on working with difference and diversity. Here are Abdullah’s comments on that, echoing their emphasis in our dialogue day on the importance of translation.
Writing a chapter on the dynamics of difference within organisations, from a group analytic base, when one embodies difference relies on feeling out the boundaries of oneself and one’s work. The iterative process of reflecting on our experiences build a tension between being true to one’s personal experience, and that which is perceived to be acceptable by the professional community. It is in no small part that this was also reflected in the experiences of the group of contributors meeting to discuss the development of the book.
Embodying difference, combined with the anxieties of being attacked for speaking about the impact of difference, is something that is common to many multicultural groups within organisations. This anxiety can often be mutated into anger, which is delivered in the form of academic writing that discusses the state of play. During our [the authors] discussions about the contents of the chapter we were clear in hoping it provides practical suggestions on how to work with difference. Ensuring the book was able to build on the importance of using group analytic principles applied to -, as opposed to group analytic theory about -difference in organisations. This reflects the need often experienced in organisations that are not familiar with group analytic theory, for an accessible and acceptable approach to applying group analysis within organisations.
My final act as editor was to complete it by compiling the index myself, as experience suggested this would be the best way to achieve a good quality index. Once again, this intensive immersion in the shared language of my colleague’s writing underlined to me how deep ran the links between us, despite the broad diversity of our ideas and ways of practising. Group analysis is not a method but a shared way of thinking.
We celebrated our achievement in July with a book launch at the Freud Museum, with speakers Earl Hopper and Peter Hawkins, who is a well-known leader in the coaching world. Earl’s remarks are reproduced as the next piece, Some brief remarks for the launch of The Art and Science of Working Together: Practising Group Analysis in Teams and Organisations edited by Christine Thornton.
With the agreement of Peter Zelaskowski, I also invited Sarah Hanchet, who is an experienced organisational practitioner who has completed the IGA’s organisational course, to review the book for Contexts. Sarah has honoured us with a very personal response to the book, which is reproduced in the book review section.
For those who are curious about what is in the book, a contents list is reproduced within the material at HERE
And it is possible to download, free of charge, the opening chapter HERE
At the time of writing I have just heard that my previous book, Group and team coaching, has been selected by Routledge to be the first coaching book in a new audio-book venture. Perhaps our shared group analytic offering will also in time reach many more people through this new(ish) medium.
Christine Thornton
hello@thorntonconsulting.org