Anyone Else?

This innocuous statement is remarkably powerful. "Anyone else?" is an expression with a meaning and a tool to operationalize a group norm providing structure to activities in an SCT group.

Meaningful Phrase

"Anyone else?" signals the speaker's openness to input, thereby encouraging others to interact. However, "Anyone else" is not just for the benefit of the listener; it also vectors the speaker towards open boundaries by requiring her to consciously request contributions from others.

"Anyone else?" can also mean, "Does anyone else feel the same way that I do?" In this meaning, it encourages joins. Joiners are invited to respond while simultaneously, anyone having a difference is subtly reminded that group permission should be requested before introducing a difference.

Group Norm

"Anyone else" marks the end of a piece of work. As an end-of-work marker, the phrase indicates, "My piece of work is complete; I am ready for the group to transition to someone else." By marking an ending of work explicitly, it clarifies which group member has the floor largely eliminating who is working now? confusion.

An explicit-end signal is closely related to the, "One piece of work at a time" group norm. By this norm, one piece of work has the floor and speakers are not interrupted until their work is complete. This group norm defines a boundary--controlling what interaction is possible, at which times and by whom. This norm has many useful effects:

• It prevents hijacking of work by other members
• By reducing interruptions, it creates space for silence in work
• It eliminates "left behind" moments when the group takes off in a new direction in the middle of a member's half-finished work
• It vectors members towards make their need to work explicit, because they are prevented from inserting work implicitly into another's work
• It reduces scapegoating by defining appropriate times for negotiation (when the negotiator is not stepping on another's work)
• It keeps people connected to reality (being a member of the group). The speaker is not free to live entirely inside their head during work; they must at least surface at the end of their work by announcing "anyone else?"

"One piece of work at-a-time" reduces contention between group members by limiting power struggles about how the group's time will be used.

Members in a survival role can develop frustration when constrained from speaking by another person having the floor. The norm can help the group leader redirect this fight energy away from another member and onto the leader. When a member breaks in to another's work, the leader will identify their violation of the norm. The leader can redirect their fight energy into opposition to the group norm, and the leader enforcing it, rather than the group member whose work triggered it.

 Following "one-piece-of-work at-a-time" reinforces members' accountability to the group. Marking work-endings explicitly reduces ambiguity meaning other members don't have to wonder whether a silence means they can interject. Respecting the boundary during work teaches members that the group is a shared space where members share the spotlight. The norm reminds us we are simultaneously an individual and a component of a system.

The norm can also help members recognize when their own person-system role is in conflict with their member role. Desire to violate this norm indicates a survival role is in force.

A New Beginning

"Anyone else" does not just mark an ending; it also marks a beginning for something else. In SCT work, it initiates a negotiation period before the next work. During this negotiation members name their work, identify it as a join or a difference, present justifications for why they should go next, or ask group permission to introduce a difference. However, they don't delve immediately into the content of their work. The group must usually answer a larger question first--Is the group ready to process this person's information at this time? Negotiation is a crucial part of SCT group process. It enables the group to choose direction consciously. It brings competition for the group's attention into the open and vectors members toward working cooperatively to decide who goes next. Lastly, it often surfaces compliance issues by asking members to assert their need rather than simply comply with the wishes of others. Finally, it empowers members to name their differences providing some outlet for members struggling to contain while joiners have the floor.

"Anyone else?" is the foundation upon which the structure of an SCT group depends.