ABSTRACT
Most people find that some groups are more productive than others. The chapter deals with conceptualising this difference, claiming that there is a strong correlation between a group’s maturity and its productivity. The text thus draws on a number of theories about the development of groups: stage theories, relational theories, and psychodynamic theories.
Based upon psychodynamic group theory, the authors use a three-level model of maturity – splitting, regression, and integration – to further illustrate what characterises the different levels and how a connection between the psychological maturity of a group and its productivity can be described. In this also Wilfred Bion’s theory of group states – work group and basic assumptions group – is included and explained.
The group leader has the function of integrating the needs of the group with the demands from the outside. The authors show how the leader in close collaboration with the group members can develop the group’s maturity and thereby develop the group’s productivity.
The text is illuminated by cases.
