Emergence and teambuilding

Emergence is the process of complex pattern formation from more basic constituent parts or behaviors, and manifests itself as an emergent property of the relationships between those elements. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence

Emergence and the facilitator's role

This idea is the foundation of the DrumCrazy approach to teambuilding. DrumCrazy work is a combination of the facilitated drumcircle and a percussion orchestra. It could be assumed on first sight  that a DrumCrazy facilitator is acting like a conductor of an orchestra. The players are all seated in sections and appear to be playing a complex set of  rhythms. However look deeper and you will notice that the facilitator is not really directing the content of the orchestra at all. All the rhythms and most of the interactions are created by the participants. The facilitator is simply supporting the Emergence of those rhythms and interactions.

This does not mean the facilitator has a passive role. If  he/she does nothing then  Emergence can be a long and torturous process. The facilitator's role is to create the optimum structure within which Emergence can take place, to watch out for it and to bring it to everyones' awareness. So from the definition above, the facilitator is looking for the emergence of  "constituent parts or behaviors". When they are spotted they are supported in such a way that the rest of the group become aware of them. The group's behavior and the part each person plays then has a direct relationship to those "constituent parts or behaviors"

How supporting emergence builds team.

Think in terms of a team with a fixed leader. If the leader is fantastic then he/she drives the team forward counting on full support from the members. Everyone in the team feels valued and committed to the team goals. A poor leader however struggles to move things forward and the team members struggle to give support to someone they have little confidence in. In this second scenario the team either fails or another leader emerges to fill the vacuum and the result is another layer of conflict. Most teams with fixed leadership fall someway between these two extremes. Just google in "emergent leadership" and you will have access to a host of articles discussing this theme.

Creating team with emergence in mind there is no fixed leader. Leaders emerge in relation to specific tasks, they may be recognised for their leadership or go unnoticed,  but the result is a level of teamwork that is much more spontaneous and creative . A team consciously working with this idea in mind is flexible and adaptable to all the changes and challenges that the modern world presents.

Facilitating emergence in a drumcircle