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Group Dynamics and the M*A*S*H Exchange.
Mar. 8th, 2008 12:19 amThe old man used to watch M*A*S*H religiously. Because of that I picked a lot of the show up myself, partially because it was a good show (I wasn't a rabid fan like my Dad, but I still watched it with him more often then not) and partially through sheer osmosis.
There was one episode that was entirely about group dynamics and how important they were. Basically, the 4077 (our heroes) and the 8063 (the "other" M*A*S*H unit referenced in the show, usually via radio exchanges through Radar O'Reilly and "Sparky", the never-seen radio operator of the other unit) decided to exchange their chief surgeons for a week or so. The reason being that they could exchange ideas and advice about how each unit operated.
This was the set up for the episode, what actually happened was that the surgeon from the 8063 (a stereotypical Texan good-ole-boy) came into the delicate social ecology of our show with all the grace of a bull in a china shop. He pissed everyone off and was finally kicked back to his unit after taking Colonel Potter's horse for a drunken joyride. The whole time he just couldn't understand why nobody liked him.
The punch-line for the episode is that Hawkeye Pierce (the 4077 surgeon sent offstage for the majority of the episode) comes back lamenting the horrible time he had at the 8053 - how nobody got his jokes and nobody liked him. He made the same errors that the Texas Surgeon had made, but he made them offstage.
The morale of the story? It takes time to figure out a group when you've first joined it. It's best to keep your head down for the first little while until you've sussed everything out.
I've found that the SCA is a lot like that (and by extension other groups as well - we're all just really smart chimps in really big troops after all). I've noticed it a lot recently because my position as Seneschal forces me to work with other groups. I don't pretend that I've kept my head down (I have made some bull in a china shop moves recently).
The last two Curia (Quarterly Principality-level business meetings) were like that. Sitting in my little bubble with the Baron and Baroness I was in my element. When I tried to joke around in my usual absurdist way with people not familiar with my sense of humour it fell flat. The Curia meeting had other bubbles - I noticed a "Borealis" bubble and a "Myrgan Wood" bubble too and the group dynamic was totally different. There might have been other ones, but the three Baronies make the big gorillas of Avacal. I wasn't the only person who struck discordant notes with other groups. One group had a very my way or the highway attitude that ruffled my feathers briefly. Another group seemed laid back to the point of near coma.
I should point out that I don't think this is how either group really is. It was just the superficial surface of how the group operated when viewed by an outsider. I'm sure Montengarde seems pretty odd to the other baronies too. Bottom line is everyone manages to get things done and retain their rank-and-file members without alienating them. I hope.
I confirmed this this evening when I went out for a post-archery drink with a Borealis ex-pat. We didn't so much gossip as I asked for information on assorted people that I only ever see at major events (Okay, I was also quizzing him on assorted cute Machiavelli daughters. So sue me).
Down here we've always heard that Borealis is far more cliquish then Montengarde is. That is to say the archers stick with the archers, the heavies stay with the heavies, etc. etc. I've heard this from other ex-pats who are usually amazed upon moving to Calgary by the higher amount of group interaction. I asked for confirmation.
"No", said my friend, "It used to be like that, but things have improved a lot over the last few years."
Cool. That's exactly the sort of thing I like to be wrong about.
For the record, Montengarde used to be heavily fractured a few years ago (when I was just starting out in this weird SCA-thing). It took the hard work of several baronial couples (and countless minions) to fix that and it certainly makes my current job a lot easier. I like the fact that everyone is getting along because mediating is the sort of thing that makes me anxious.
My friend was of the opinion that Montengarde is on the cusp of a golden age. I'm optimistic about that too because there seems to be a lot of really competent people filling the ranks of our officers and also volunteering on an ad hoc basis. Hell, we're actually getting multiple bids for events for the first time since I started attending council meetings. There was a time when we had to send out press gangs and we came close to canceling some events for lack of people to run them.
Recent events and this new appreciation for the people around me have certainly reenergized me with regards to my job as Seneschal. I'm going to miss it when I give it up next January. Not that I'll be going far or anything. It's nice to feel like an important part of the group. It's an unfamiliar sensation - I like it.
There was one episode that was entirely about group dynamics and how important they were. Basically, the 4077 (our heroes) and the 8063 (the "other" M*A*S*H unit referenced in the show, usually via radio exchanges through Radar O'Reilly and "Sparky", the never-seen radio operator of the other unit) decided to exchange their chief surgeons for a week or so. The reason being that they could exchange ideas and advice about how each unit operated.
This was the set up for the episode, what actually happened was that the surgeon from the 8063 (a stereotypical Texan good-ole-boy) came into the delicate social ecology of our show with all the grace of a bull in a china shop. He pissed everyone off and was finally kicked back to his unit after taking Colonel Potter's horse for a drunken joyride. The whole time he just couldn't understand why nobody liked him.
The punch-line for the episode is that Hawkeye Pierce (the 4077 surgeon sent offstage for the majority of the episode) comes back lamenting the horrible time he had at the 8053 - how nobody got his jokes and nobody liked him. He made the same errors that the Texas Surgeon had made, but he made them offstage.
The morale of the story? It takes time to figure out a group when you've first joined it. It's best to keep your head down for the first little while until you've sussed everything out.
I've found that the SCA is a lot like that (and by extension other groups as well - we're all just really smart chimps in really big troops after all). I've noticed it a lot recently because my position as Seneschal forces me to work with other groups. I don't pretend that I've kept my head down (I have made some bull in a china shop moves recently).
The last two Curia (Quarterly Principality-level business meetings) were like that. Sitting in my little bubble with the Baron and Baroness I was in my element. When I tried to joke around in my usual absurdist way with people not familiar with my sense of humour it fell flat. The Curia meeting had other bubbles - I noticed a "Borealis" bubble and a "Myrgan Wood" bubble too and the group dynamic was totally different. There might have been other ones, but the three Baronies make the big gorillas of Avacal. I wasn't the only person who struck discordant notes with other groups. One group had a very my way or the highway attitude that ruffled my feathers briefly. Another group seemed laid back to the point of near coma.
I should point out that I don't think this is how either group really is. It was just the superficial surface of how the group operated when viewed by an outsider. I'm sure Montengarde seems pretty odd to the other baronies too. Bottom line is everyone manages to get things done and retain their rank-and-file members without alienating them. I hope.
I confirmed this this evening when I went out for a post-archery drink with a Borealis ex-pat. We didn't so much gossip as I asked for information on assorted people that I only ever see at major events (Okay, I was also quizzing him on assorted cute Machiavelli daughters. So sue me).
Down here we've always heard that Borealis is far more cliquish then Montengarde is. That is to say the archers stick with the archers, the heavies stay with the heavies, etc. etc. I've heard this from other ex-pats who are usually amazed upon moving to Calgary by the higher amount of group interaction. I asked for confirmation.
"No", said my friend, "It used to be like that, but things have improved a lot over the last few years."
Cool. That's exactly the sort of thing I like to be wrong about.
For the record, Montengarde used to be heavily fractured a few years ago (when I was just starting out in this weird SCA-thing). It took the hard work of several baronial couples (and countless minions) to fix that and it certainly makes my current job a lot easier. I like the fact that everyone is getting along because mediating is the sort of thing that makes me anxious.
My friend was of the opinion that Montengarde is on the cusp of a golden age. I'm optimistic about that too because there seems to be a lot of really competent people filling the ranks of our officers and also volunteering on an ad hoc basis. Hell, we're actually getting multiple bids for events for the first time since I started attending council meetings. There was a time when we had to send out press gangs and we came close to canceling some events for lack of people to run them.
Recent events and this new appreciation for the people around me have certainly reenergized me with regards to my job as Seneschal. I'm going to miss it when I give it up next January. Not that I'll be going far or anything. It's nice to feel like an important part of the group. It's an unfamiliar sensation - I like it.
