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Authority, Leadership And Role

Bringing Mind and Body to Work

Tuesday 20th June 2017 - Saturday 24th June 2017

Woodstock, Illinois, USA

Loyola University Chicago

Introduction
Primary Task
Methodology
Staff
Info & Fees
Payment Terms
Booking
Web Sites

Introduction

An experiential conference in the Tavistock tradition offering a unique opportunity to study group dynamics
by integrating challenge course events into the traditional GRC Conference structure.

THIS CONFERENCE is designed for individuals who wish to study the exercise of authority in groups and
understand more about their own responses to exercising and encountering authority. The Conference is organized
as a sequence of group and inter-group interactions. Events include experiences in:
•SMALL GROUP STUDY— examines the life of an eight- to ten- member group as it unfolds. A consultant assists
the group with its task.
•LARGE GROUP STUDY— consists of all conference members with a team of consultants and meets to study its
own behavior in the here-and-now. This simulates processes and dynamics of larger social systems as they struggle
with the problems of formation, transition and rapid change.
•INSTITUTIONAL EVENT — members form their own groups to interact with other member groups and with staff. The
primary task of the Institutional Event is to study authority, leadership, and overt/covert processes as groups evolve
and interact in the here-and-now.
•CHALLENGE COURSE EVENTS — Members will engage in a series of physical problem-solving
initiatives in groups of 12-14 members each. These events will offer an opportunity to explore how roles may shift as
a group focuses on accomplishing physical tasks. These events will be co-led by a challenge course facilitator and a
consultant, to assist the group in addressing concrete and intangible aspects of the group’s work.
•REVIEW/APPLICATION GROUP — consists of five to seven members with one or two consultants; provides
opportunities for members to further reflect on their experiences and roles in the different conference events and relate
them to their work roles in community and institutional settings.
Please note: The conference is designed to provide an integrated experience. Learning occurs not only during
individual conference events but also from their sequence and relationship to one another; therefore, membership
entails a commitment to attend all events.

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Conference Aims and Primary Task

The Group Relations conference is an educational event whose primary task is to provide opportunities to study the exercise of authority through interpersonal, intergroup, and institutional relations that develop within the conference itself as a temporary educational social system.

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Methodology

Effective leadership and the meaningful exercise of authority require more than intellectual and technical
understanding. The Group Relations model in the Tavistock tradition provides a well-defined context within which
to examine group-level forces and dynamics as they occur in the here-and-now. As people work in groups, families
and other social systems, their participation takes on many different meanings — influencing thoughts, feelings and
action. The confluence of individual meanings powerfully affects the identities, roles and authority we take on in
groups, schools, organizations, institutions, communities and society.
MEMBERS OF A GROUP RELATIONS CONFERENCE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DIRECTLY EXPERIENCE
•How people join and engage in group work, delegate and resist authority, and develop roles and reputations.
•How people contribute to and obstruct getting the group’s work accomplished.
•How members of a group exercise authority, power and influence in meaningful and appropriate ways — both as
leaders and as followers.
•Group collusion in the creation and enabling of maladaptive roles.
•Group cooperation in the creation and enabling of adaptive roles

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Staff

DIRECTOR
Barney Straus  LCSW
Private Practice, Working Sobriety, Chicago; Adjunct Faculty, Loyola University Chicago, School
of Social Work and Roosevelt University, Chicago and Schaumburg, IL; Member, CCSGO; Associate, AKRI

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR:
Dannielle Kennedy  LICSW, PhD
Principal, WORKLAB, Organizational and Leadership Consulting; Psychotherapist,
Private Practice, Cambridge, MA; Co-Director, Hauser Grant for Group Relations at Harvard University; Former President and
Board Member, Center for the Study of Groups and Social Systems, Boston; Associate, AKRI

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ADMINISTRATION:
Olga Konyakova  -MSW
student at Loyola University focusing on CADC and IPRY, Chicago; Teambuilding facilitator,
Chicago area; Member AK Rice Institute, CCSGO.

CONSULTING STAFF
Clive Hazell,  PhD, DN, NCC, LCPC.
Counseling Psychologist at Body and Mind, Chicago; Author; Member AK Rice Institute,
CCSGO, Association of American Geographers.

Suma Jacob  MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics; Neuroscientist and Board Certified Adult, Child
and Adolescent Psychiatrist; Director of Autism Research at University of Minnesota; Adjunct faculty at Mayo Clinic and
University of Illinois at Chicago, Associate, AKRI

Keith Lequay  Ph.D.
Organizational Psychologist and OD Consultant; Co-Founder and Past President, Trinidad & Tobago
Association of Psychologists; Associate, AKRI.

Mo Sook Park  (Consultant Candidate), M.Ed.
Consultant, i-D Leadership Consulting, Chicago, IL; Certified Immunity to
Change Exercise Facilitator; Member, CSGO; Associate, AKRI; Training and Consultant Candidate, AKRI.

Jeffrey D. Roth  MD, FAGPA, FASAM, FAKRI
Lecturer, Psychiatry, University of Chicago Medical Center; Adjunct Faculty,
Chicago School of Professional Psychology; Editor, Journal of Groups in Addiction and Recovery; Medical Director,
Working Sobriety; Private Practice; Member and Past President, CCSGO; Fellow, AKRI

ADMINISTRATIVE & CHALLENGE COURSE STAFF
olga Konyakova  BS (Head)
Esteban Colon, AA: Author, Experiential Educator, and Public Speaker; Challenge Course Facilitator, Loyola University
Chicago and Corporate Learning Institute; ACCT Level II Challenge Course Facilitator, ACCT Challenge Course Manager

William Johnson  BA-MCT (Masters in Corporate Treasury)
Licensed Illinois Secondary Teacher with Highly Qualified Status;
ACCT Level II Challenge Course Facilitator; Challenge Course Facilitator at Loyola University; Partner at Social Learning
Adventures Inc.

Rachel Murray  MS
Program Coordinator, Outdoor Experiential Education, Loyola University Chicago; Member, Association
for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT); Member, Association for Experiential Education; ACCT Level II Challenge Course

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Info and Fees

1. Participant Registration
- Early-Bird Registration (Ends 4/1/17) = $900
- Standard Registration (Begins 4/2/17) = $950

2. Sponsoring Organizational Affiliate
- Early-Bird Registration for Sponsoring Affiliate (Ends 4/1/17) = $800
- Standard Registration for Sponsoring Affiliate (Begins 4/2/17) = $850

3. Loyola Students = $500

4. Non-LUC Students = $600

Registration deadline for the Group Relations Conference is June 10, 2017.

Early Bird registration ends April 1, 2017.

Please address any questions to us at: loyolagrc@gmail.com

Venue:
Loyola University Retreat and Ecology Campus
2710 S Country Clubs Rd, Woodstock, IL 60098

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Payment Terms

PAYMENT OF FEES
Registration should be submitted online at
www.grouprelationsconference.com.

Payment may be made by credit card.
For alternative payment options, please
contact us at loyolagrc@gmail.com
EARLY REGISTRATION FEE = $900
(Before April 1, 2017)

REGULAR REGISTRATION FEE = $950
Faculty and affiliates of sponsoring
institutions may register before April 1,
2017 for $800 and for $850 after that.
Students from the host institution may
register for $500.00. Students from other
institutions may register for $600.00.

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Booking

MEMBERSHIP AND FEES
Enrollment will be limited to 40 members; early registration is
advised. The Conference is offered at reduced fees for faculty,
students and employees of the host and sponsoring institutions,
for students in general and for those able to register early.

WITHDRAWALS AND CANCELLATIONS
Withdrawals after June 1, 2017 will not be refunded unless the
position can be filled by someone on a waiting list. A $30.00
registration fee will be withheld to cover administrative costs in the
event of cancellation.

PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED MEMBERS
The staff at the Conference is committed to meeting the needs of
physically challenged members to every extent possible. Please
advise the Assistant Director for Administration of special needs.
NOTE: No special athletic ability is required for challenge course
events.

REFERENCE LETTER
Experiential learning can sometimes be stressful. Therefore,
individuals who are ill or experiencing a period of significant
personal difficulty should forego attendance at this time. In
addition to the completed Conference Registration Form,
available at the conference web site, each applicant must
provide a letter of reference from someone who can vouch for his
or her capacity to participate in an intensive learning experience.
The applicant is responsible for seeing that this letter is submitted
before June 1, 2017. Letters should be sent via e-mail to the
conference email address: loyolagrc@gmail.com.

LODGING
Conference registration includes four nights lodging and all
meals from dinner on Wednesday, June 21 through lunch
on Sunday, June 25. Rooms are single occupancy, dormitorystyle
with shared bathrooms. Linens and towels will be provided.
MEMBERSHIP CONTACT INFORMATION
Email addresses of members will be shared with sponsoring
organizations unless a member explicitly requests not to have his/
her email address shared.

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Web Sites

Information: http://grouprelationsconference.com

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