This section of Interpersonal Dynamics (31401-84) will be offered as an in-person class this winter. This, however, is subject to change, should public health-related conditions dictate a switch to remote learning. Please see the "Contingency for Online Class" section below for a description of the remote learning scenario should it be necessary.
In this class, you will embark on a learning journey different from any you are likely to have experienced before. The class uses the well-established T-Group (or training group) method as originally developed at the National Training Lab over 70 years ago. Participating in a T-Group is not like attending a class in statistical methods or finance. Here you will engage in a form of experiential learning or “learning by doing.” While each class will begin with a brief lecture and one or two short exercises, the primary learning takes place in the T-Group. T-Group is an interactive, small group with no set agenda. The group dynamic and interactions between members dictate the agenda. The T-Group is composed of 12 students, the instructor, and a co-facilitator, and will comprise much of each class period. In addition, there will be T-group meetings outside of the regular class time, primarily during an intensive weekend experience.
The main focus of this course is on enhancing interpersonal communication skills to foster more effective relationships. This leadership learning laboratory offers ample opportunity to test out assumptions, determine if you are having the impact you intend, and to practice giving/receiving feedback in a productive way. In the process of becoming the most effective communicator you can be, the course calls for you to engage in deep and sometimes uncomfortable self-exploration. The extended goals of this course are:
• To use interpersonal communication skills to build more open, effective, and rewarding relationships, even with people whom you may initially experience as difficult or who are different from you.
• To identify and pursue personal learning goals aimed at improving interpersonal communications.
• To learn how you are perceived by your colleagues and how you can shift in order to present yourself such that others’ perceptions more accurately reflect what you intend.
• To identify your emotions and how to utilize them as an important source of information and guide to your interpersonal choices.
• To navigate the emotions of others and learn how to be more aware of and sensitive to them.
• To utilize your t-group experience and feedback from others to articulate your own personal leadership style within the context of a group.
Improving personal knowledge and abilities in these areas is crucial to becoming a more effective manager in today’s increasingly complex, diverse, international and exceedingly inter-dependent business climate.
Commitment
Because of the highly interactive nature of this course, it is essential that all students make a commitment to the course from the beginning and attend all sessions. This is not a course you should consider trying out and then deciding after the first class. In other words, please no course shopping. Failure to attend the first class will result in an automatic drop.
Timing
You may want to consider what significant life stressors or struggles you are dealing with when deciding whether this is the right time for you to be applying for this class.
Scheduling Details
- The first, the sixth, and the final session of this course will be extended by adding 30-45 minutes onto the end of the class. See dates below.
- Attendance at a weekend-long intensive retreat (off-site and residential; see dates below) is required, with no exceptions.The residential component means remaining at the retreat center for the weekend (i.e., no commuting back and forth between t-group sessions or overnight).
- Several meetings with a small group of fellow students outside of class will also be required throughout the quarter. These will be scheduled by the students at mutually agreeable times.
- Note, at the end of this course description, that several specific schedule variances are built into this quarter’s class. Double-check your calendar to make sure that you can attend each and every class meeting in its entirety. Do not apply to this section if you cannot commit to being physically present for all classes and t-group meetings.
Contingency for Online Class
This section of Interpersonal Dynamics is being offered as a 100% in-person class. It is not inconceivable, though, that public health conditions could require a switch to online learning. Interpersonal Dynamics has been taught very successfully using a virtual platform, and in general, a new era of remote meetings and learning has been ushered in in academia and in business. Even before the pandemic, virtual meetings were an increasingly important means of conducting business, especially internationally. Should online learning become a necessity, this course will offer an opportunity to learn how to build and sustain relationships and how to give and receive feedback in a virtual setting. This will increase the influence you can bring to your current company and/or the companies you will work for in the future, as they rely increasingly on virtual meetings and decision-making.
The scheduling details outlined below under "Winter Section Specifics" are for an in-person class. A switch to virtual learning would involve fewer hours of t-group during the (virtual) retreat weekend, and the addition of several hours of class time on Wednesday evenings. Specifically, we would meet for four hours, rather than three, on up to five Wednesdays. During those extended classes, we would meet from 5:30 to 9:30 pm.
Enrollment in the course is by application
Apply online. The application period opens on Monday, October 16 at 9:00 am. The deadline for submitting your completed application is 11:59 pm on Sunday, October 22. You will be notified of your enrollment status no later than 5:00 pm on Tuesday, October 31. The more sections of Interpersonal Dynamics you indicate you could commit to, the better your chances of landing a spot. While we have increased the number of sections of this course each year, the number of applicants for this class continues to far exceed the number of openings we have for students.
The online application for this class can be found here.
Format and Course Materials
The format of the class will include discussion, experiential exercises, small-group support meetings outside of class, journal-writing, and short lectures, in addition to weekly T-Group sessions and the weekend retreat. We ask that each student purchase one book for the class (see "Materials"). Links to all other course readings will be included in the syllabus.
Information Session
View recording of Spring 2020 Info Session for an overview of the Interpersonal Dynamics course.
Winter Section Specifics
Weekly class: Wednesdays, 6:00-9:00 pm at the Gleacher Center, with the following variances:
- Class will be extended to 9:30 on January 3 and February 7
- Class will be extended to 9:45 pm on March 6
- There will be no class on Wednesday, February 28
- We will meet on Wednesday, March 6 (Finals Week) with class being extended by 45 minutes, ending at 9:45 pm.
The Weekend Intensive Retreat (residential and mandatory in its entirety) off site, February 16-18. Friday session begins at 6:30 pm; allow for travel time, which means a Friday early-afternoon departure from Chicago. The Sunday session ends at 12:30 pm.
Small group meetings with fellow students throughout the quarter (up to four), scheduled by the students at mutually agreeable times.
