Draft:Grubb Institute of Behavioural Studies

Origins: Billy Graham and Christian Teamwork (1954–1966)

The origins of the Grubb Institute trace to the 1954 Billy Graham Crusade in the United Kingdom. Following the crusade, a group of Christian professionals sought ways to integrate their faith with their working lives. In 1957, the Christian Teamwork Trust was established under the direction of Bruce Reed, an Anglican priest and industrial sociologist from Australia. The organisation formed teams of Christian professionals who worked on social issues, exploring how their personal faith could inform their roles in institutions such as the Bank of England, Lloyd's, government departments, and major corporations.^[3]

The early work focused on supporting laity to live out their vocation in secular roles, which raised questions about how clergy could better support this mission. This led to work with both laity and clergy on understanding institutional dynamics.

Partnership with Tavistock (1963–1969)

A pivotal development came in 1963 when Ken Rice of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations was approached by Bruce Reed. This partnership profoundly shaped both organisations. Rice and Reed began collaborative work, exploring applications of group relations learning that had emerged from the first "Exploration in Group Relations" residential conference held in 1957 between the Tavistock Institute and the University of Leicester.^[4]

In 1966, the organisation was renamed the Christian Teamwork Institute of Education, reflecting its growing educational focus and its transition from voluntary work to charging for services. Rice was commissioned to advise on the Institute's future development, recommending either adoption of a name with no associations or use of a respectable person's name to replace "Christian Teamwork", which had become limiting.

Establishment as Grubb Institute (1969)

Following Rice's consultation, the trustees agreed in 1969 to rename the organisation as the Grubb Institute of Behavioural Studies after Sir Kenneth Grubb (1900–1980). Sir Kenneth was a prominent figure: a former missionary in South America, President of the Church Missionary Society for 25 years (1944–1969), and the first chairman of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs within the World Council of Churches. He served as chairman of the House of Laity in the Church Assembly and was awarded a KCMG for his public service.^[5]

The Institute was incorporated on 28 October 1966 (amended 10 March 1969), operating as a private company limited by guarantee without share capital and registered as an educational charity.^[2]

Major publications and conceptual development (1970s–1990s)

In 1968, the Institute launched the "Behaviour in the Working Environment" conference, an extended six-month, non-residential course that became foundational for developing Organisational Role Analysis. John Bazalgette joined the Institute in 1966 as a project officer and became integral to its action-research, conceptual development, and educational work.

In 1978, Bruce Reed published The Dynamics of Religion: Process and Movement in Christian Churches (Darton, Longman and Todd), written during a fellowship at Washington Cathedral College. The book synthesised the Institute's thinking about individual, group, and institutional dynamics in relation to religious experience.^[6] Reed developed his influential "oscillation theory" of religious behaviour, examining how individuals and groups move between dependence and engagement with wider society.

Later development and dissolution (1990s–2022)

The Institute developed its Master's Programme in Organisational Analysis and Leadership, which became a central vehicle for training and conceptual development. The Transforming Experience Framework (TEF), building on decades of practice, was formalised as a comprehensive model for organisational consultancy. Bruce Irvine served as Executive Director following Bruce Reed, emphasising co-creation and working with emergent dynamics.

In 2015, Transforming Experience in Organisations: A Framework for Organisational Research and Consultancy, edited by Susan Long, was published by Karnac Books. The book collected contributions from Institute associates including Bruce Reed, Barry Palmer, David Armstrong, Jean Reed, Vega Roberts, Rebekah O'Rourke, and John Bazalgette.^[1]

The original company, Grubb Institute of Behavioural Studies Limited, was dissolved on 2 December 2022 following the death of Bruce Irvine.^[2]

Organisational Role Analysis

Organisational Role Analysis (ORA) is the Institute's distinctive approach to executive coaching and consultation, developed from 1968 onwards. Unlike conventional coaching focused on personal development, ORA examines the interaction between person and system. Bruce Reed and John Bazalgette defined role as "a mental regulating principle, based on a person's lived experience of the complex interaction of feelings, ideas, and motivations, aroused in working to the aim of a system, integrated consciously and unconsciously and expressed in purposive behaviour."^[7]

The approach distinguishes between sociological role (others' expectations of a person in a position) and psychological role (one's own conception of what one is there to do). Effective action emerges from the conjunction of these, rather than from either alone.

Finding, making, and taking a role

John Bazalgette elaborated the iterative process of "finding, making, and taking a role" as central to the Institute's methodology:^[8]

• Finding: A process of enquiry to identify and map the systems of which one is part, creating a "chart" of the dynamic environment including boundaries, purposes, and resources.
• Making: Shaping in one's mind a picture of oneself engaged and engaging, considering how personal history, perspective, desires, and ambitions connect with what one sees in the system.
• Taking: Committing to action—saying something, doing something, making a plan. This commitment often triggers unexpected developments and responses, requiring return to the finding phase.

Transforming Experience Framework

The Transforming Experience Framework emerged from the Institute's accumulated practice as a comprehensive model for understanding organisational experience. It comprises four interconnected domains:^[1]

• Person: The individual's inner world, history, motivations, and personal formation.
• System: The organisational structures, groups, and subsystems within which one works.
• Context: The wider environment including societal, economic, political, and historical factors.
• Connectedness to Source: The spiritual or existential dimension—what gives meaning, purpose, and ultimate grounding.

This fourth domain distinguishes the Grubb approach from purely secular systems thinking, acknowledging that faith, belief, and spiritual experience shape how people take up roles.

Oscillation theory

Bruce Reed's oscillation theory, developed in The Dynamics of Religion, proposed that individuals and groups naturally oscillate between states of dependence (regression to earlier modes of relating, including religious experience) and extra-dependence (engagement with the wider world).^[6] Later work integrated this with Otto Scharmer's Theory U, creating the "Oscillation U Curve" framework that maps the journey through sensing, presencing, and realising phases of organisational change.

Youth employment and education research

John Bazalgette led the Institute's first major action-research project from 1966–1971, examining how young people understand authority and power through their own experience. Work with constituted "gangs" of young people—some with criminal records—revealed that adults who were confident in understanding their membership of a particular system could work effectively with disturbed young people, while those uncertain of their own authority struggled.^[9]

Further work in Coventry for the Home Office Community Development Programme examined young people's experience of authority and power in transitioning from school to work. The Institute also developed the "Rainbow of Human Social Development" framework and undertook projects in Northern Ireland, including work in West Belfast schools across the sectarian divide.

Cathedrals Research Project

Led by Colin Quine and Jean Reed in partnership with Theos think tank and the Association of English Cathedrals, this study examined six English cathedrals using organisational case study methodology. At each cathedral, researchers conducted 35–50 interviews with stakeholders including deans, chapter members, volunteers, administrators, local authority leaders, and university representatives.

Key findings included the significance of history as context, and the observation that cathedrals often serve as containers for contradictions that the wider community struggles to resolve—for example, questions of multiculturalism, belonging, and identity.