There has been much written about teams with an ongoing debate about the primacy of environment or dynamics as the most important element to effective teams. Yet the need for groups to be able to consistently tap into the collective intelligence present in the team is more and more important. This requires teams to move beyond cooperation, goodwill and consensus and be able to challenge individual and collective assumptions to see new alternatives. This book provides a simple but elegant model to understand how teams move past the mediocrity of consensus to innovative thinking that comes with Collective Learning. Collective Learning occurs when teams become aware of their assumptions and it challenges them to create a new understanding of what is real and what is important. When that happens, lasting change can come from within the team. There are four distinct abilities that must be present to provide the infrastructure for a group to learn collectively, and here is the 'how to' to dramatically increase team effectiveness. This book is focused on how a facilitator can help groups and the individuals in those groups slow down the emotional and belief processes in order to create opportunities to choose responses rather than being on automatic pilot. The purpose of the facilitator's effort is to move experiential learning beyond the traditional notion of teambuilding. Teambuilding has become a catchall phrase for helping a group get more comfortable with one another and develop trust. It is our opinion that to unlock the power of these experiential tools, facilitators must think about developing two Meta-skills - Emotional Maturity and Critical Thinking. Using experiential learning to develop the attitudes and skills to continually learn provides a real hope for creating fundamental change in the way people and groups interact.
Picture This Cards are a tool that can help to create respectful ways of working with people. An image, especially a photograph, can have a unique ability to help develop relationships with people and stimulate the imagination, memory and emotions. The 75 original, evocative photographs that make up Picture This offer opportunities for people of all ages to reflect on their experiences and communicate with others. Some of these full-colour images are poignant, some are heart-warming and others are tinged with humour. This highly interpretive tool can open up... More info
'Solution-Focused Groupwork (2001) was a major contribution to the literature on group work. It has been one of this author's most influential books. The Second Edition contains much new material including the uses of 'problem talk', an activity normally avoided by solution-focused therapists. Preparation for groups, client motivation and collaboration are all explored in detail. The role of (or necessity for?) social time to be built into the therapy model is an interesting and novel idea. Suggestions are made for client evaluation and for creative exercises to enhance the... More info
This wide-ranging collection of essays explores how social work theories are applied to practice in Australia and New Zealand and offers insights into the cultural issues involved in social work. The authors discuss the challenges faced by indigenous populations and ethnic minority groups and how they can gain control over their situations, and offer valuable guidance on cross-cultural work. The authors present the key principles of four theoretical approaches frequently used in social work - ecological systems, community development, strengths-based approaches and attachment theories. They explain how each of these... More info