Jakob L. Moreno
If you believe those people who knew him, Jakob L. Moreno probably had that which one could do with when working with groups: wit, ingenuity, impartiality, imperturbability, a love for people and an instinct for possibilities that are in the room.
His most important contribution to the understanding of groups is that he has researched their interaction patterns. He was probably one of the first to fathom out systematic ways of working with groups and not with group members. This focus is particularly important for counselling and the management of teams!
Moreno developed socio-metric techniques, which make it possible to illustrate the network of relationships in a group: Who has engaged with whom, how often and with regard to which focus? Who would like to have whom as manager? Who would like to work with whom in a small group? These, and a variety of other questions give answers which can be visualised and communicated. Such a disclosure of implicit arrangements enables teams to have a reflected interaction with these arrangements. Do we wish to work together the way we do? How one can help a group to find answers to this question, has been demonstrated by Moreno.