We are very pleased to have sparked your interest in the course, a highly experimental and demanding course that aims to increase your ability to reflect in depth about yourself in a group, the group as a system and the dynamics within such a system. In real-time, you will learn how your own behavior impacts others and how you are influenced by the wider system, the unified field, you are in. This is an approach that you will hardly find anywhere else in German universities. Sounds fascinating? read on.

During the course, we will try to develop your personal effectiveness skill at understanding interpersonal dynamics (sometimes also intra-personal, even if this is not the focus of this class), specifically in regard to your role in a professional environment.

You can be certain that you’ll be benefiting from cutting edge research, award winning teaching methods and resources all geared towards enabling you to maximize your individual performance in an organization. Our approach is based on consulting work, own research and the course contents are heavily influenced by approaches of the NTL Institute, the Tavistock Institute and the Klagenfurt School of Group Dynamics, who are founders of such learning approaches, more than 60 years ago.

During this highly interactive course, we will analyze and reflect the dynamics in the “here and now”. To do this, members of the group are providing and ask for feedback about what happens in the group in real time. But is this helpful for the real world?

First of all, this course is also the real world - a safe space, that is like a sandbox, where you can try things you probably would not try outside - in your office. By getting immediate, clear and very direct feedback about how you show up in the group, you have the chance to change your behavior and experiment with the impact on other individuals and the group.

The tricky thing is, that emotions in the workplace are extremely influential and at the same time they are neglected. We avoid them and talk about functional, technical aspects instead that are only the tip of the iceberg and very seldom the "real" problem. Doing this, we think that we are removing conflict, but instead, its like putting a lid onto a pressure cooker that will explode after some time. Avoiding conflict can make a team dysfunctional.
Everyone knows that emotions are there, but it is rare that people start a discussion about it. "How do I feel about something" is a question that does not seem to be discussed in a team. Often people in a "professional" environment focus on tasks and ignore the relationship level. That can lead to a diffusion of emotional states and - as a result - to a loss of performance.

These experiments will help you to become more efficient when you take up a role in another professional context. However, what you get out of this course entirely depends on how much you bring into it yourself.

The course is split into two parts, that can be booked individually:

• Part 1 consists of up to 12 sessions with a duration of 90 minutes each, that are held fully online. There will be no more than two sessions per week. Session language is English. This part is only available in the winter term (October to February).
• Part 2 consists of 3.5 days that will be conducted on campus in Berlin. Attending part 2 solely is recommended for those individuals who have gained first experiences in and with group relations formats (T-Group, Tavistock Leicester Conference, OLab, NTL HI Lab). For all others, we recommend starting with part 1. Session language is English when you start in October. The session June/July will be conducted in German.

In addition, we offer individual coaching sessions. Two sessions (a 60 minutes) are included. Additional sessions can be booked.

Learning is primarily through feedback from other group members. This course is very involving and, at times, can be quite emotional. However, this course is not a substitute for therapy; we deal more with inter-personal issues than with intra-personal ones. If you are in therapy, or take medication, please talk this over with your therapist and get their advice.

You will learn in real-time and asynchronous lectures with professors via video conference with direct & personal feedback. Additionally, the material in the eLearning system will support your learning process.

The ECTS system is employed to ensure international recognition of students' academic achievements. The credits awarded in this course can recognized by other universities and substitute modules in study programmes.

Roland Schuster
Deputy Director and Visiting Senior Lecturer in Management and OB