Interdependence and Interrelationships

A couple of examples from my own experience in small groups show the importance of understanding interdependence and interrelationships as they relate to groups as living systems. For several years I was co-chair of our church festival. One of the years I made a huge mistake and chose a co-chair without thinking about her management style. Her style was to tell people what they needed to do and that they better do what she said or quit. This didn’t go over well with people who were volunteering! I was barely able to keep the heads of the various parts of the festival from quitting, even though they had worked year after year in the same positions. I sure learned the importance of interdependence and interrelationships. The next year I chose a friend to co-chair with me who did not rule with an iron hand but believed as I did that there would be a better outcome in the friend- and fund-raising aspects of the festival if all of the heads of the festival depended on each other and shared in the responsibility for the group process and work. No one wanted to quit that year!

Another example that shows the importance of understanding interdependence and interrelationships occurred during a group project a year or so ago. One person was chronically late or didn’t show up at all, but the rest of us put up with it. About two-thirds through the semester, we were blown away when the chronically-late person blew up in our group and said she was tired of doing everything while no one else did anything, and she wanted to start from scratch and do things her way. By accepting her lateness and her lack of participation, we weren’t including everyone and sharing the responsibility for the group process. Once we got over our shock, we let her know that we could have used her input throughout the semester and would like her input now, but the decisions needed to be made as a group. We all agreed that once she started contributing, we shared more ideas and had more beneficial interactions that made our group project even better.