Groups

Sunday morning, January 23rd still reeling from blizzard #2 in our area with snow and ice scattered along the ground, especially in the shaded areas. It was just below 20 degrees outside and the Q chose the “Smart-Sack.” I’m not one of Hal’s students in training for this upcoming marathon, basically creating my own training routine which has to do a lot more about when I want to run. I’ve been studying the weather in Biloxi, MS and the forecast calls for high forties and clear at this point. Better to train in the right conditions – or at least that’s one of my excuses. So, I ask myself, why do I want to run when it’s in the teens and dance around ice and snow? Or maybe it was the red wine I had the night before – which for a Bud Light guy apparently there are lessons to be learned as a 50-year-old (note to self – red wine is for communion, never have more than a shot or maybe a social glass). I arrive into the parking lot of the Teeter to see Whoopee and EZ Rider dancing around trying to stay warm despite their soaked shirts beginning to freeze to their bodies like ice cycles. Flintstone drives up – he got the message – not the red wine part, but the smart sack part – good man. Roscoe’s vehicle was in the lot and I knew he had 11 miles today. We decided to wait inside where it was warm. EZ takes off for church and we discussed the QSource topic of Groups.

Main things to know are three types of groups. Man is hard-wired to seek the Advantage incumbent in Group membership. Different Group-types provide different Advantages. Community is like your neighborhood – proximity is an important factor. But not necessarily a mission to do something. An Organization is two or more people that voluntarily combine for the accomplishment of an articulated purpose. Unlike Communities, the Members of an Organization are defined by their shared mission not their Proximity. Last are Teams which are dynamic with a goal to perform a specific mission for the benefit of a Community, an Organization or both.

Whether a leader is concerned with the health of his Community, the Effectiveness of his Organization or the dynamism of his Teams (or all three), the QSource provides a framework for him to more skillfully influence of Movement to Advantage–which is the heart of leadership.