QSource | F3 Group

by

QSource | F3 Group

Weather | 62° F | Humidity 97% | Wind: 5mph E

6 Pax continued our new 3rd F study: QSource. Celery Fields had a BYE week and will resume action next Saturday. Even if you have never posted to a 3rd F study before, now is a good time to get started. There are backblasts posted every week, so it is easy to follow along and get caught up if you miss some weeks.

Foundation | F3 – Group.

Statement

A Voluntary Combination Of Two Or More People

Scripture

Ephesians 4:16 (NIV) From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Socratic

  • Is man’s natural desire solitude or combination?
  • Are there different types of groups that people form?
  • Are there any types of groups that are more important than others?

Synthesis

Man is by nature a group-forming animal

  • A Group is a voluntary combination of two or more people. There are three distinct types of Groups that are relevant to the QSource:
    • Communities
    • Organizations
    • Teams
  • We seek strength in numbers for a variety of different reasons, but the most elemental is that life itself, while technically possible as a singleton, is not practical without combination
    with others.
  • An illustration of this elemental need to combine is portrayed in the movie Castaway.
  • All Groups (whether they have two or two-million members) must have a Leader.

COMMUNITIES

  • Community – two or more people that voluntarily live in close proximity.
  • A Community is defined by the geographical proximity of its members, not by immutable characteristics such as skin color or gender.
  • Communities are concentric.
    • A family is a Community whose Members live in the same house and in the closest possible proximity.
    • A neighborhood is a Community of families in which the members live in relatively close proximity.
    • House > Neighborhood > Town > County > State > Nation > World
  • Leaders have the most impact upon the Communities that are at the center of their proximity circle. Thus, a father is much more important to his family than is the governor of the
    state or the president of the nation.

ORGANIZATIONS

  • Organization – two or more people that voluntarily combine for the accomplishment of an articulated purpose.
  • Unlike Communities, the members of an Organization are defined by their shared mission not their proximity.
  • While this Community/Organization crossover exists, it is limited. A Leader must keep clear the distinction between the two types of Groups because they are completely different
    organisms. Communities do not need organizing (they exist only to be, not to do) and Organizations do not need community (they exist only to do, not to be).
  • There are three types of Organizations: Lizards, Bullfrogs and Leeches.
    • Lizard – an Organization that is dedicated to the Effective achievement of its Mission. A Lizard’s Leaders do not believe that their Organization exists for any reason other than
      to realize its purpose. Whereas an Organization that is dedicated to maintaining something that has been previously achieved is an institution, the Lizard is forward-looking. It seeks change through movement.
    • Bullfrog – an institution with the primary goal of the continuity of its own existence. Most organizations are bullfrogs. Maintaining what was previously accomplished only requires a governance of managers, not Leaders. The Bullfrog is continually in danger of morphing into the third type of Organization, the Leech.
    • Leech – A Leech looks less like an Organization and more like an enervated mob. Within the dispirited ranks of a Leech it is every man for himself because individual continuity ultimately trumps Organizational continuity. A Leech has neither managers nor Leaders, only survivors.
  • Ultimately, and unfortunately, Organizational movement is almost wholly rightward—towards Leechdom.

TEAMS

  • Team- two or more people who combine to perform a specific mission for the benefit of a Community, an Organization or both.
  • The primary difference between a Team and an Organization is that Team Members are in close Proximity while Organization Members may never even meet.
  • The primary difference between a Team and a Community is purposefulness—a Team exists to do something while the Community exists to be something.
  • Unlike the member of a Community, the member of a Team must do something rather than just be something to enjoy good standing.

Dynamic Teams are the heart of healthy Communities and Effective Organizations

  • At its most effective, a Lizard is little more than a network of Teams that work efficiently together to solve the Organization’s problems and advance its articulated purpose.
  • A healthy Community is embedded with Teams that form to serve and enhance the peace and harmony of its members.

Spur

  • Man is by nature a Group-forming animal
  • The three Group-types which must be led to Advantage are the Community, the Organization and the Team
  • Dynamic Teams are the heart of healthy communities and effective organizations

Homework for 2/9

Thoughts for the week:

Is a Leader born or made? Are there common elements to leadership development? Should the leadership development process be controlled from the top of an
Organization?