Think about how much is not said in any marriage or relationship for fear of hurting the other person or disturbing the harmony of the relationship. Nearly all the “left-hand column” material that is edited out of each one-to-one relationship is complicated by multiple factors in the group – the number of individuals, the different sub-interest groups, past history, how people outside the group might react or be affected, and myriad assumptions, particularly about what will work or not work. Maybe it is more remarkable that we have any effective communication at all than it is that our communication isn’t better.

On top of the above mentioned problems, there is the difficulty of even a good team maintaining its effectiveness in the face of new and more difficult challenges. After twenty tears in the martial are of Aikido, I know I can still be “thrown” by certain circumstances. Just so, a team can be thrown by circumstances and lose its “center,” its sense of wholeness, and its members’ ability to be authentic.

Why even astronauts lose their balance from time to time (actually that’s a bit weird when you think of it – the dramatically lower gravity and all?……….