Unconscious Planning in a Natural Work Group: A Case Study in Process Consultation

Abstract

Gustafson and Cooper have developed a theory of "unconscious group planning" based on the work of Weiss and Sampson. Up to now they have used and developed the theory to clarify and modify the practice and study of Tavistock Self-Study Groups. The authors believe that the theory can be applied to natural work groups as well. They examine the protocol of a day's meeting of the management team of a social service organization. By examining the latent and manifest content of the protocol and by studying the impact of their own interventions as consultants to the team, they show how the group was unconsciously struggling to solve a developmental problem. Most importantly, the group was trying to discover how to criticize their beloved leader in the face of his fear that if they did he might abandon them. The authors suggest that the theory of unconscious group planning may enable theorists and consultants to better understand the problem-solving processes of natural work groups.