[F]or a very long time I was searching for a methodology to help my clients uncover group dynamics and behavioral patterns that were not useful for them. I was looking for a model that would go deep enough, and that at the same time would provide me, and most importantly them, with a language that would make sense to them. And I found it. Last Spring I came across David Kantor’s Model and after going through the ‘Making Change Happen’ training process myself first, I embarked on applying the model with my clients.

I was fascinated by the results for several reasons. First, I realized how user-friendly the audience found it. One CEO in our initial appointment said: “I don’t understand this psychobabble but I KNOW that the organization needs this, so do what you have to do with them”. When I briefed him through the process and he agreed to go ahead, he admitted he did not expect his team to react in this productive way and to have these positive results. This was a case, where the CEO was new, and the team had stayed without a CEO for quite some time after many years of authoritarian leadership style of the previous leader.

I have been using various tools and approaches since I started working with teams eight years ago, and I have to admit that the Structural Dynamics approach is the method that up to now, participants do not challenge because the model links the hidden dynamics to observable behaviors. They are able to “see” and make sense of the results, especially on the Team Profile, immediately.

Another case where I used this was to bridge the working relationship between two departments in a pharmaceutical industry, which, instead of working WITH each other seemed to enter into an automatic position of battling against each other, losing sight and focus of their common purpose and goals. We created the conditions that allowed them to speak the unspoken, articulate their hidden expectations and assumptions and find the path of their higher purpose beyond their differences.

I believe in a healthy dialogue where groups can articulate what is happening in their minds and is consequently expressed through their behaviors in a group setting and have powerful and productive conversations. Often, groups for various reasons have the illusion they have communicated, when they have not, and the Structural Dynamics model provides the context that challenges whatever may be taking place within a group and leads participants into a path of true transformation. So, for you as leader of a group or team, or for the interventionists and consultants or coaches, this is a methodology that will help you unlock true group and organizational potential.

Maria Katsarou