“Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand.” —Confucius

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Audience

Groups of 6 to 12 people

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Objective

To improve the ability to handle interpersonal and group dynamics productively

T-Groups is a collaborative approach to experiential learning for personal growth and development. This is not your typical corporate training experience! Our facilitators are highly-skilled and trained by the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) to support, build conditions for safety, and enable the learning process for everyone. Participants have the opportunity to experiment with old and new behaviors and get real-time feedback to understand their impact on others and the group. This is the best, most applicable and transformative way to “learn how to learn” so that learning continues long after the T-Group training is over.

Outcomes

• Enhance your ability to communicate in a more congruent and authentic manner

• Minimize the gap between how you perceive yourself and how others perceive you

• Learn how to give and receive feedback productively

• Gain competencies for developing stronger interpersonal relationships and connecting across differences

• Expand your “toolkit” of behavioral choices to increase your influence on others

• Understand effective and ineffective group norms to build high-functioning teams

How T-Groups Work

In a T-Group training, there is:

• No leader fulfilling the traditional leadership functions. Facilitators may be perceived to have a leadership presence, but they will not be standing in front of the room and speaking at the participants for the entire time. Facilitators may introduce frameworks and concepts to help participants make sense out of their experience, but the bulk of the content that is learned during T-Group discussions is produced in the group by the group.

• No formal agenda describing what the group is to do or how to best use the allotted T-Group time, except for the amorphous goal of building a collaborative learning environment.

• No rules of procedure for how participants are to act and relate to each other. There are some general rules (eg, set meeting times, duration), but there are no guidelines of how influence occurs and decisions are made.

The unique aspect of T-Group training is that the learning focuses on real-life “here and now” practice, not analyzing case studies or doing role plays. New data and information are primarily generated by the participants themselves in what they choose to share in the T-Group discussions. The learning is then largely derived from self-disclosures and direct feedback that participants give to each other. Additionally, facilitators provide their insights and observations to help highlight key learnings for everyone.