Excerpt: Geoff Bellman

An excerpt from -

Extraordinary Groups: How Ordinary Teams Achieve Amazing Results

by Geoff Bellman ('61)

What Is an Extraordinary Group Experience?

When it comes to recognizing an extraordinary group, the old adage of "you'll know it when you see it" comes to mind - except that in this situation, it may be more of a case of "you'll know it when you feel it!" People instinctively sense when a group experience is something special, something different from the ordinary, something that surpasses their expectations in a positive, remarkable, and hard-to-describe way. Here are two examples of such groups. On the surface, they are quite different, yet they share critical elements of an extraordinary group experience. As each story unfolds, put yourself in the place of those we interviewed and imagine your way into an intuitive sense of each of these exceptional groups.

Micro-Credit for Millions

In 1996 when she was newly graduated from college, Barb was one of twelve staff members hired to organize a global summit that engaged 3,000 participants from 137 countries. The purpose of this global conference in Washington, D.C., was to launch a coordinated campaign to reach 100 million of the world ' s poorest families with access to credit for self-employment - and all this by the year 2005. Unlike other summits of the 1990s, this one was convened by civil society - not by governments or the United Nations. Two years prior to Barb's involvement, this effort was brought to life by grassroots citizen activists committed to ending poverty. We interviewed Barb, her co-worker Jacki, and Sam, their visionary executive director.

Starting in June, 1996, the goal for the conference staff was to organize and then orchestrate this complex, politically sensitive, international multiday event that would take place eight months later. As a small example of the challenge they took on together, Barb remembers " trying not to panic when I had the White House on one line, the First Lady of Angola on another, and the president of Peru trying to call in all at the same time. Where was Emily Post's book of protocol and etiquette on pecking order when I needed it?! " Operating out of a very tight office space - actually an old converted apartment building - "people came from all over the country to be involved. We were very eclectic." They brought different ethnic backgrounds, personalities, cultural perspectives, education, professional identities, language skills, and reasons for being involved.

At minimum pay, they often worked eighteen-hour days managing the details of everything: coordinating security for visiting heads of state, lining up conference speakers, and making sure that there were enough copies of the program when, three days before the conference, registrations jumped from 1,600 to 3,000. At all hours, staff members worked the phones in multiple languages to secure the participation of key leaders from around the globe and their personal commitments to take action once the conference was over. With solid funding, Jacki remembers that "our biggest problem was that no one had heard of micro-credit." Once people understood what it was, "everyone thought what we were doing was terrific and pitched in to help."

 Conflicts occurred "when we were tired and hungry and had not gotten enough sleep." With only two private offices staff members gathered in one to sort things out. As an organization, "it was not hugely hierarchical - people were expected to come forward. Everything seemed to get an airing. " With a just-do-it attitude and respect for one another, "we'd work really hard, vent when we needed to, and then go out for a dinner or a drink together." Jacki told us that "it was war. Us against poverty - and we had each others' backs. " When the conference closed as a huge success, many of the staff ended up at one person's apartment. " We couldn't leave each other for a couple of days. How could we possibly disband? We had bonded for life. "

The team that put on the Micro-Credit Summit produced results that are amazing and transforming on multiple levels. When they began, they had hoped for 600 participants and 3,000 came! And more important, all delegates had agreed to the conference's goals and made commitments about micro-credit loans prior to arriving for the meeting. Careful tracking of the commitments to extending the micro-credit revealed that it took two years longer than originally targeted to achieve the conference ' s goals. But when reached, what an achievement! "This is a tremendous achievement that many people thought was far too difficult to reach. What makes it even more remarkable is that loans to more than 100 million very poor families now touch the lives of more than half a billion family members around the world. That is half of the world's poorest people. "

In addition to this astonishing global accomplishment, Jacki and Barb were deeply affected personally as members of this group. For Jacki, this was "one of the most important moments of my life . . . I'm now fearless when it comes to asking anyone for anything." Barb speaks poignantly of a transformational moment that took place at the very end of the conference. Back stage, looking out at the 3,000 people in the auditorium, she saw that " In the front row with queens and first ladies and heads of state, one person stood, then two others stood, arm in arm, singing our closing song. Then I saw an ocean of people standing up, arm in arm, and singing. I realized that in this room alone, we had the resources that could make our vision happen. My heart was blown open with deep appreciation and hope and a sense that I could make a difference. We were a squad of twelve people! In a disheveled office. Our small voice engaged the world. I could never be the same again. "

"Excerpted with permission of the publisher Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Imprint, from Extraordinary Groups: How Ordinary Teams Achieve Amazing Results.  Copyright (c) 2010 by Geoffrey M Bellman and Kathleen D Ryan.  This book is available at all bookstores, online booksellers and from the Wiley web site at www.wiley.com, or call 1-800-225-5945."