In a group setting we unconsciously imitate what others are saying and doing. We think differently and are more concerned with fitting in and believing what others believe. We feel different emotions, infected by the group mood. We are more prone to taking risks, to acting irrationally, because everyone else is. This social personality can come to dominate who we are. In a group setting, we slowly lose a sense of our uniqueness and the ability to think for ourselves. This group force affects and binds a group of people through shared sensations and creates an intense feeling of connection.
There are several interesting elements to this group force:
It exists inside us (we experience bodily sensations) and outside us (others in the group as experiencing the same/similar sensations) at the same time
The strength of the force depends on the size and chemistry of the group
We are drawn to this force
In order to overcome the pernicious aspects of the group force we need to acquire group intelligence. This intelligence includes a thorough understanding of the effect that groups have on our thinking and emotions, with such awareness, we can resist the harmful impact. It also includes understanding how human groups operate according to certain laws and dynamics, which can make it easier to navigate through such spaces.
Individual Effect: Impact of the Group Force on Individuals
The desire to fit in: The first and primary effect on you in any group is the desire to fit in and cement your sense of belonging. The more you fit in, the less you pose a challenge to the group and its values. This will minimise the scrutiny you face and the anxiety that comes with it. You can fit in through appearances, by adopting the ideas, beliefs, and values of the group.
The need to perform: In a group setting we are always performing. We exaggerate our agreement and show others that we belong. In the group, we become actors, moulding what we say and do so that others accept and like us and see us as loyal team members. As part of this performance, we minimise our flaws and display what we consider our strengths. We put on confidence. We act more altruistic.
Emotional contagion: We are primed from an early age to sense and pick up the emotions of others, particularly those close to us. The moment we enter the group and feel the eyes of others upon us, we become aware on unconscious levels of their moods and emotions, which, if strong enough, can displace our own. Certain emotions are more contagious than others, anxiety and fear being the strongest of all.
Hypercertainty: When we are on our own and think about our decisions and plans, we naturally feel doubts. The group force makes us feel more certain about what we and our colleagues are doing, which makes us all the more prone to taking risks.
Group Dynamics: How Groups Operate
The following are the most common dynamics that you must study in the groups that you belong to or pass through.
Group Culture: The culture will often center on an ideal that the group imagines for itself - liberal, modern, progressive, ruthlessly competitive, tasteful etc. The culture will often reflect the founders of the group, particularly if they have a strong personality. The longer a group exists and the larger it grows, the more conservative it will become.
Group rules and codes: Group rules and codes are never written down but are implicit. Violate them in some way and you risk becoming a nonentity or even being fired, without necessarily knowing the cause. There are inevitably sacred cows within the group - people or beliefs never to be criticised. Identify such individuals and avoid any fricition with them. It is not worth it.
The Group Court: Some common behavioural patterns of courtiers:
Courtiers have to gain the attention of leaders and ingratiate themselves in some way. Flattery is the most common way as leaders typically have large egos and a hunger to have their self-opinion validated
Do not stand out too much. Being seen as too brilliant or charming, will stir up envy, and you will die by a thousand bites
There is no way to opt out of the court dynamic. Hence, the need to aware of the types of courtiers you will find in most courts
The Group Enemy: Our ancestors had a reflexive fear at the sight of any outsiders to their group. This fear easily slid into hatred. Any group will reflexively focus on some hated enemy, real or imagined, to help bring the tribe together.
Group Factions: Over enough time, individuals in a group will begin to split off into factions. We get a narcissistic boost from being around those who share our values. But in a group over a certain size, this becomes too abstract. We want something more immediate, and so we form subgroups and cliques with those who seem even more like us, giving us back that narcissistic boost.
Courtiers
Courtiers tend to idealise those in power. This dynamic is similar to what we all experienced in childhood: we idealised our parents in order to feel more secure about the power they had over us. The following are seven of the more common courtier types you will find:
The Intriguer: They seem intensely loyal to the boss and to the group. No one works harder or is more ruthlessly efficient. But this is a mask they wear; behind the scenes they are continually intriguing to amass more power. They generally have a disdain for the boss that they are careful to conceal (their objective is to take over the power of the leader). They are masters at making leaders, and others, dependent on their efficiency as means of binding them and securing their own position
The Stirrer: This type is generally riddled with insecurities but adept at disguising them from those in the court. They feel deep wells of resentment and envy for what others seem to have that they don't, part of their childhood pattern. Their game is to infect the group with doubts and anxieties, stirring up trouble, which puts them at the center of action and may allow them to get closer to the leader
The Gatekeeper: The goal of the game for this courtier type is gaining exclusive access to leaders, monopolising the flow of information to them. They are motivated by their intense adoration for the leader. They get to see the leaders' dark sides and learn of their weaknesses. They generally are master at understanding and playing to the insecurities of bosses
The Shadow Enabler: This type is one of the cleverest and most diabolical courtiers of all. They are masters at detecting repressed desires in others, including leaders. Once they are able to establish contact with their leader's repressed desires, they come with possible actions to satisfy the repressed desires with them handling it all and serving as protection
The Court Jester: This type is allowed to go against the dress code, display looser behaviour, and espouse unconventional opinions (including opinions contrary to the group). These types fall into such roles because secretly they have a fear of responsibility and a dread of failing. Their "rebelliousness" never really represents a threat or challenge to the status quo
The Mirrorer: These types are often among the most successful courtiers of all as they are adept at charming leaders and fellow courtiers, maintaining a broad base of support. They are masters at reflecting back to people their own moods and ideas, making them feel validated without sensing the manipulation, as opposed to using overt flattery
The Favourite and the Punching Bag: These two types occupy the highest and lowest rungs of the court. The favourite's rise in power is often based on cultivating a more personal, friend-like relationship
The Reality Group
In order to build a productive culture and team that resists the emotions and behaviours of a group force we need to have deliberate strategy.
What creates a functional, healthy dynamic is the ability of the group to maintain a tight relationship to reality. The group exists in order to get things done, to make things, to solve problems. The following are five key strategies for achieving this:
Instill a collective sense of purpose: We can accomplish this by establishing an ideal - a definite purpose, a positive mission that unites its members
Assemble the right team of lieutenants: What you need to do from the outset is to cultivate a team of lieutenants, imbued with your spirit and the collective sense of purpose, whom you can trust to manage the execution of ideas. To achieve this, you must have the right standards - you do not base your selection on people's charm, and never hire friends
Let information and ideas flow freely: Consider the open communication of ideas and information - about rivals, about what is happening on the ground or among your audience/users/customers - the lifeblood of the group. Extend this open communication to the ability for the group to criticise itself and its performance, particularly after any mistakes or failures
Infect the group with productive emotions: People are more susceptible to the moods and attitudes of the leader than of anyone else. Infect the group with a sense of resolution that emanates from the leader. Showing a lack of fear and an overall openness to new ideas will have the most therapeutic effect of all
Forge a battle-tested group: In their day-to-day work, people can seem motivated, connected, and productive. But add some stress or pressure or even a crisis, and suddenly you see a whole other side of them. A leader must be able to gauge the relative inner toughness of people before they are thrust into a crisis
This post is a summary of information provided in the book - The Laws of Human Nature, Robert Greene