Interpersonal Dynamics 31401, Section 82 Winter Quarter 2026
Professor Hugh Cole
Course Description
Content
In this class, you will embark on a learning journey different from any you are likely to have experienced before. The class uses the well-established T-Group (or training group) method as originally developed at the National Training Lab over 70 years ago. Participating in a T-Group is not like attending a class in statistical methods or finance. Here you will engage in a form of experiential learning or learning by doing. While each class will begin with a brief lecture and one or two short exercises, the primary learning takes place in the T-Group. T-Group is an interactive, small group with no set agenda. The group dynamic and interactions between members dictate the agenda. The T-Group is composed of 12 students, the instructor and a co-facilitator, and will comprise the majority of each class period. In addition, there will be T-group meetings outside of the regular class time, including an intensive weekend experience.
The main focus of this course is on enhancing interpersonal communication skills to foster more effective relationships. This leadership learning laboratory offers ample opportunity to test out assumptions, determine if you are having the impact you intend, and to practice giving/receiving feedback in a productive way. In the process of becoming the most effective communicator you can be, the course calls you to engage in deep and sometimes uncomfortable self-exploration. The extended goals of this course are:
- To use interpersonal communication skills to build more open, effective, and rewarding relationships, even with people whom you may initially experience as difficult or who are different from you.
- To identify and pursue personal learning goals aimed at improving interpersonal communications.
- To learn how you are perceived by your colleagues and how you can shift in order to present yourself such that others’ perceptions more accurately reflect what you intend.
- To identify your emotions and how to utilize them as an important source of information and guide to your interpersonal choices.
- To navigate the emotions of others and learn how to be more aware of and sensitive to them.
- To identify the widely varied and equally valuable leadership roles that emerge in the life of a group.
Improving personal knowledge and abilities in these areas is crucial to becoming a more effective manager in today’s increasingly complex, diverse, international and exceedingly inter-dependent business climate.
A Note About Connecting Via Zoom
Connecting virtually is something just about every single company on this planet is needing to do right now. For many international companies, virtual team meetings have been long practiced/required. Learning how to build and sustain relationships and giving/receiving productive feedback through a virtual setting will increase the influence you can bring to the current or next company you are a part of. In this class, the virtual meeting option is reserved for reasons of medical necessity, and all class participants are required to attend all class sessions and all sections of the weekend retreat in person.
Commitment
Because of the highly interactive nature of this course, it is essential that all students make a commitment to the course from the beginning and attend all sessions. Course shopping is actively discouraged. Failure to attend the first class will result in an automatic drop.
Scheduling Details
Attendance at each 3-hour class and eighteen additional hours of T-Group (outside of the weekly class time) is required. Six to eight of these additional hours will take place in one-hour bi-weekly time blocks, usually on a different day of the week. These mandatory additional hours will be scheduled during lunch or dinner breaks so as not to conflict with other classes you may be committed to taking. Note, also, that a weekend intensive consisting of 10-12 hours of T-Group will be held the weekend of February 27 - March 1, 2026. Again, attendance at this intensive weekend is required. Details regarding the exact times for these additional T-Group meetings will be available to you prior to you applying to the course.
Enrollment in the course is by application
Apply Online The application period opens on Monday October 27 at 9am and will end on Monday November 3 at 11:59pm. To maximize your chances of enrolling in your preferred section, please make sure to submit your application by 11:59m pm on November 3. You will be notified with your enrollment status and potential offer by end of day on Wednesday November 12th and you will need to accept or decline that offer by 11:59pm on Sunday November 16. Please note: The more sections you indicate you could commit to, the better your chances in landing a spot.
Format and Course Materials
The format of the class will include discussion, experiential exercises, and short lectures, in addition to T-Group. Links to all course readings will be included in the syllabus; there is one suggested textbook for this class: Bradford, David and Robin, Carole; Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues, First edition; Currency Publishing, New York, NY (2021).
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Information Sessions
Please view the recording of the information session from Spring 2020 here:
View recording of Spring 2020 Info Session.
