Table Of ContentT-GROUP FACILITATION
This book offers the core conceptual base for the practice of T-Group facilitation.
Drawing from the fields of psychology, social psychology, sociology, diversity studies
and Indian philosophical thoughts, this book is a great resource for enhancing the
practice of T-Group facilitation, for both budding and established facilitators. It
covers a wide range of theories on human development, self-awareness, interpersonal
interactions, groups and change. Individual and group identities, diversity, inclusion
and social hierarchies are explored in detail here.
The authors offer a model of T-Group facilitation based on 50 years of experience
within the Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Science (ISABS). This model is
useful not only for fellow practitioners of T-Groups but also for anyone engaged in
facilitating groups, organizations and communities globally. This book helps one to
reflect, develop and sharpen one’s competencies, values and ethics in this field. The
chapters are embedded with activities, quizzes, case studies and exercises to facilitate
a deeper understanding of the various elements used in the book.
This book will be of interest to students, teachers and practitioners of psychology,
social psychology, management studies and organizational development. It will also
be useful for T-Group facilitators, facilitators of experiential groups and related
fields.
Lalitha Iyer is a consultant with a special interest in institutional change facilitation
in the social sector. She was Chairperson of Board of Sathi (Bangalore) and formerly
Director of Bharatiya Samruddhi Financial Services Ltd., of the Basix group. She
has held roles like Dean (Professional Excellence) and Dean (Programmes) in the
Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Science (ISABS).
Sankarasubramanyan Ramamoorthy has 35 years of professional experience
in HR, Consulting, OD and Applied Behavioural Science. During his professional
journey, he has had hands-on experience in organization development, people
process implementation, personal growth, leadership development, executive
coaching and whole system change interventions. Sankar had more than 18 years of
human resources and top management-level corporate experience before he started
as a consultant. He has worked in large Indian and multinational organizations
across India and Barbados.
Tejinder Singh Bhogal has been an Organizational Change Consultant and Trainer
for Social Change organizations for 23 years. His work involves organizational
change, as well as its impact on social change. Specifically, he works with change
processes for organizations and communities and processes related to leadership,
teams, conflicts, communication, motivation and organizational structures.
Renuka Raj Singh has over 27 years of experience, over a decade in Brand
management and the last 15 years in the Leadership development space. She
co-founded Knowledgepros, a consulting firm that focuses on organization
development through succession planning, competency assessments, leadership
journeys, action learning projects and managing change processes around business
and people processes.
Sharad Sakorkar is an HR/L&D/OD professional with a long career having
worked with top multinational/Indian businesses. He is a professional member
of the ISABS. He is a T-Group facilitator with over 25 years of experience in
facilitating T-Groups. He has contributed a paper to “Learning Crucible: Collective
Experiences from T-group processes,” an ISABS publication.
T-GROUP FACILITATION
Theory and Practice of Applied
Behavioural Science
Edited by Lalitha Iyer and
Sankarasubramanyan Ramamoorthy
Contributing Authors
Tejinder Singh Bhogal
Lalitha Iyer
Renuka Raj Singh
Sharad Sakorkar
Sankarasubramanyan Ramamoorthy
Cover image: Getty Images
First published 2023
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Science
‘The right of Tejinder Singh Bhogal, Lalitha Iyer, Renuka Raj Singh,
Sharad Sakorkar and Sankarasubramanyan Ramamoorthy to be identified
as the author of this Work has been asserted by them in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.’
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-1-032-20230-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-23336-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-27685-2 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003276852
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
CONTENTS
Lists of Figures vii
Lists of Tables viii
Lists of Contributors ix
Foreword xii
Preface xiv
Acknowledgements xxii
1 Applied Behavioural Science and T-Groups 1
Lalitha Iyer
2 Human development and learning—an overview 17
Sankarasubramanyan Ramamoorthy
3 Self-awareness 31
Sharad Sakorkar
4 Interpersonal processes 46
Lalitha Iyer
5 Personal and social identity 62
Renuka Raj Singh
6 Change processes 79
Tejinder Singh Bhogal
vi Contents
7 Group development 94
Sharad Sakorkar
8 Social hierarchies and processes 109
Tejinder Singh Bhogal
9 Systems thinking and complexity 128
Tejinder Singh Bhogal
10 T-Groups and Indian philosophy 143
Sankarasubramanyan Ramamoorthy
11 T-Group facilitation 157
Renuka Raj Singh
12 An ISABS model for T-Groups 171
Sankarasubramanyan Ramamoorthy
13 Organizing an ISABS T-Group event 183
Sankarasubramanyan Ramamoorthy
Glossary 197
Index 209
FIGURES
2.1 Reciprocal Determinism 24
3.1 The Onion Model 33
3.2 The Awareness Wheel 37
3.3 The Johari Window Model 39
4.1 Transactional Analysis 51
5.1 Metaphors of the Self 64
5.2 Social Identity Formation Process 67
5.3 Personal and Social Identity Constellation for Self 76
6.1 Four Rooms of Change 86
8.1 Vicious Cycle of Mutual Distrust and Resentment Between
Classes: A Systems View 114
8.2 Vicious Cycle of Self-Esteem Erosion 120
9.1 Overlapping Systems 130
9.2 Input, Output and Throughput in a Semi-Open System 132
9.3 Tracking Changing Stocks of Politeness and Trust in a Group 133
9.4 An Example of a Reinforcing Loop 134
9.5 Example of Balancing Loop in a System 135
11.1 Stages of Facilitator Development 161
11.2 The Intervention Cycle 166
12.1 An ISABS Model for T-Groups 173
12.2 The ISABS Competency Model for T-Group Facilitation 178
TABLES
1.1 Examples of ABS Practices 7
2.1 Stages of Individual Development 19
3.1 Awareness Wheel 38
3.2 Defence Mechanisms 41
4.1 FIRO Dimensions and Behaviour in T-Groups: Some Examples 59
6.1 Sub-Processes of Unfreezing, Change and Re-freezing 82
6.2 Values and Stages in Group Development 90
6.3 Dominant Norms at Different Stages of the Group 90
6.4 Changing Norms 91
7.1 Individual and Group Development—A Comparison 97
8.1 From Stereotypes, Prejudices to Behaviour in a T-Group 117
8.2 Some Markers of Class, Caste and Gender in India in 2020 118
8.3 Link Between Stereotype Threat, Behavioural Compensation
and Image in Group 121
8.4 Link Between Life Stance and Image in Group 121
10.1 Key Differences Between Indian and Western Thought 145
10.2 Qualifications of a Learner—Ancient and Contemporary 146
11.1 Key Differences Between T-Groups and Other Forms of Learning 158
11.2 ISABS Values and Their Alignment With Core Concerns of the
Methodology 160
11.3 The Role of a Facilitator (5Ws and an H) 169
12.1 Competency and Value Practices—Linkages With ISABS Model 181
13.1 Common Terms Used in ISABS Events 184
CONTRIBUTORS
Tejinder Singh Bhogal has been Organizational Change Consultant and Trainer
for Social Change Organizations for 23 years. His work involves organizational
change, as well as its impact on social change. Specifically, he works with change
processes for organizations and communities and processes related to leadership,
teams, conflicts, communication, motivation and organizational structures. Prior
to becoming Consultant, Tejinder worked for 13 years with a National level
NGO—PRADAN—working with rural communities in Gujarat and Chhat
tisgarh, to develop community responses to drinking water and irrigation water
shortages. Tejinder is a trained coach and mentor. He has also authored books and
articles. He has co-authored with Srilatha Batliwala, a manual on Feminist Mentor
ing—covering its theory and practice. He has co-edited and co-authored “Human
Resource Strategies to build Pro-Poor Institutions” and co-authored a paper for
the NHRDN Journal on “OD in Social Sector.” He has contributed seven papers
to “Learning Crucible: Collective Experiences from T-group processes” an ISABS
publication. He has been part of a team designing and conducting an OD train
ing programme for the social sector (Organization Change Facilitation Program
by HIDF, Bangalore). He has been Professional Member of the Indian Society of
Applied Behavioural Sciences since 2009 and has facilitated many T-Groups. He is
a co-founder and Director of Innobridge Consulting Pvt. Ltd.
Lalitha Iyer is a consultant with a special interest in institutional change facilita
tion in the social sector. She was Chairperson, Board of Sathi (Bangalore) and
formerly Director of Bharatiya Samruddhi Financial Services Ltd, of the Basix
group. She has held roles like Dean (Professional Excellence) and Dean (Programs)
in the Indian Society for Applied Behavioral Sciences (ISABS). She is the author
of “The Strategic Business Spiral” (2001) and co-authored “Whose Sustainabil
ity Counts? BASIX Long March from Microfinance to Livelihoods” (2012) and
