Second, the Trust offered by Jack Gibb is quite lofty. He identifies a long list of “wants” that Trust can help to fulfill (Gibb, 1978, p. 61). As Barry Johnson has noted, the presence of ambitious expectations can set the stage for the appearance of a strong counter list of potential risks. As I noted in my previous essay on Trust (Bergquist, 2024d), any proposal or initiative that is at all specific will have its downside. Kurt Lewin has similarly noted that the addition of positive forces to any force field will inevitably lead to the appearance of opposing negative forces. I have also noted elsewhere that unrealistic promises and expectations can lead to a downturn in morale and productivity when the “hyped-up” project is actually underway (Bergquist, 2014a). What does all of this mean? Basically, it means that we must be cautious about “floating on wings” when leaving a TORI workshop or any other “temporary setting” (Miles, 1964) that provides us with the “high” of Trust but leaves us vulnerable to the “lows” (blues) of post-workshop reality.
Conclusions
I conclude this essay by posing several questions: Is there a role to be played by TORI workshops during the mid-21st Century of VUCA-Plus challenges? Do we have any room in our collective head and heart for Jack Gibb’s somewhat utopian vision? Are the TORI workshops conducted by Jack Gibb just a remnant of the past? Are they merely a manifestation of the naivety of this time in American history (1960s)? Perhaps Gibb’s programs are nothing more than a symptom of Christopher Lasch’s culture of narcissism. In other words, is there any role to be played by TORI workshops today?
I suggest that there is a role to be played. I am optimistic. I believe that TORI is relevant. The matter of Trust is just as important in the life of mid-21st Century citizens as it was in the life of those of us who were citizens of mid-20th Century America—perhaps even more important. We can still benefit from engaging the process of TORI that Gibb introduced—but might want to incorporate some of the concepts and tools related to human relationships and problem-solving that have evolved since Gibb ran his program in La Jolla.
Polarity and TORI
For instance, we could blend TORI with the model of polarity management that was introduced by Barry Johnson, one of Gibb’s mentees. I have personally worked with workshop participants who move through each of the four polarity conditions and spend time in a small group composed of those who are reflecting on this condition with regard to their own polarity. One group works on the positive side of their left-hand polarity, while another works on the negative side of their left-hand polarity. Yet, another group works on the positive side of their right-hand polarity, as the fourth group works on the negative side of their right-hand polarity. The conversations and dialogue are often quite intense in each of these four groups, for the participants often share similar feelings of hope, despair, optimisms, pessimism—even love and anger.
Members of the four groups now shift to one of the other conditions. Each group can remain intact so that each member joins the same group under each of the four conditions. They often share a similar shift in perspective and practice given the specific condition in which they find themselves. Alternatively, some members of each group join one another in going to one of the other conditions, while other members of their group go to other conditions. This approach holds the advantage of each participant gaining an appreciation of multiple perspectives and practices regardless of the condition in which they find themselves. Following the journey through all four conditions, workshop participants join small groups (usually not the same as the group they traveled with through all four conditions—if this design option was used). The small groups are lightly facilitated (TORI-like) with attention being given to the maximization of interpersonal safety (Trust). I have found this workshop design to be among the most powerful I have deployed in recent years.
Download Article 1K Club
