ABSTRACT
In chapter 4, Judith Bell focuses on group and organizational dynamics and how they impact on those who lead and work in educational settings. Bell further considers how such dynamics might best be understood, acknowledged, and worked with to develop leadership effectiveness. In her exposition, Bell describes the application and integration of three frameworks of thinking and research, which overlap both conceptually and historically: (1) systems thinking, which helps us to consider an organization within its different contexts, as well as to make sense of the interplay between the parts and the whole; (2) psychodynamic thinking (described in more detail in chapter 3), which helps leaders to make sense of the significance of unconscious dynamics in school life and how these can manifest in the form of emotions, anxieties, conflicts, and blind spots. (3) Finally, Bell illustrates how a deeper awareness and understanding of group dynamics—in particular how anxiety can drive groups off their primary task—enhances the ability to create engaged, high-performing teams.
