what can/will go wrong part 2

In part 1 of this blog, we uncharacteristically wrote that bad things are likely to happen, so be prepared!

Preparation, preparation, preparation - need we say more? Ok, we will. At Raising the Village, we promote paying attention to three key steps BEFORE any group process to set the stage for a positive experience for everyone.
a) know yourself - what's your style, what are you comfortable with?
b) know your group - who are your participants and why are they togther and what do they need?
c) THEN pick your process

Along the theme of things going wrong, however, we've highlighted two more common challenges when faciliating a group. Learn the signs that something bad is brewing, try the tips to help AVOID IT as well as know what to do if it does actually happen (without panicking).

1.  SOMEONE DOMINATES THE ACTIVITY DEBRIEF DIALOGE

• the same person ALWAYS has an opinion, a story to tell or a question
• other participants are silent/silenced

Prevent it!

• regularly seek multiple responses for each question using a phrase like, "Another idea from a different perspective?" and directly asking what questions do (several) people have.
• Give others a space to respond.  Silence can be uncomfortable but if you immediately defer to the talker, no-one will feel they have a chance to get a word in.

Deal with it!

• try "What do the rest of you think?"
• call other people by name
• if it is REALLY bad, politely tell the talker that you are going to give other people a chance to add to the conversation.
• invite the participants to answer the talker's questions (that expands the situation beyond just you and' the talker)

2.  THE FINAL OUTCOMES ARE NOT WHAT YOU ARE HOPING FOR THE GROUP

• the energy is falling flat, fast
• likely there will be some confusion
• answers or deliverables don't match what you expected

Prevent it!

• spend that time before the activity to get yourself clear on learning objectives or activity outcomes
• don't rescue the group or hurry them along - with a clear purpose and instructions they will get there.

Deal with it!

• be honest and describe what you were thinking and what was the outcome - have a dialogue about why the disconnect
• focus on what they DID get out of the activity - perhaps it is just a smaller step towards what you had hoped.
• try it again with a few tweaks if necessary

Other blogs you might like:
Group Process tips - how to prepare for TIME flow
Why Bother with Group Agreements
Facilitators practice the art of letting go

What can/will go wrong in a group activity - part 1

Not meaning to sound like a "glass half empty" type, but it would be short sighted for any group leader to ignore the distinct possibility that a group process can miss the mark. In fact, most honest facilitators will confess that they are not immuned to Murphy's law. Eventually, what can cause some challenges, will.  This reality check shouldn't scare anyone off taking some risks with a group - in fact it should only heighten your awareness and preparation for those bumps in the road.




Four COMMON obstacles for group facilitators are;

1. participants resist participating
2. participants don't understand your activity instructions
3. someone dominates the activity debrief dialogue
4. the final outcomes are not what you are hoping for the group

This week we'll tackle the first two, and check in next week for the rest. For each problem, learn some signs that something bad is brewing, tips to help AVOID IT as well as what to do if it does actually happen (without crying).

1.  PEOPLE RESIST PARTICIPATING

• you might hear some side conversations
• shudder to think, but be prepared for eye-rolling
• outright refusal
• suggestions to do something else

Prevent it!

• be crystal clear with yourself about why you are choosing this activity for this group for your desired outcome
• start the session with VERY CLEAR communication around the purpose of the gathering/activity
• ease any stress by reassuring participants that you won't be getting them to do anything crazy or uncomfortable
• if you know your group, check in with "resistors" before hand and even find roles for them to keep them committed and engaged.

Deal with it!

• don't make a huge deal about it
• create a role for "an observer" or "timekeeper" and ask them to help out that way
• if you have some group agreements - you may need to re-visit them if any are broken

2.  PARTICIPANTS DON'T UNDERSTAND YOUR DIRECTIONS

• Dazed an confused looks
• Chatter - everyone asking everyone (but you) what to do
• Hopefully questions to ask for clarification

Prevent it!

• make sure YOU understand your own instructions!
• practice the activity before hand
• chunk up your directions, repeat them slowly step by step and ask for a thumbs up as you go along

Deal with it!

• stop and start again.
• find out if anyone DID understand and have them help you explain
• give an example, role play or demonstrate
• whatever you do, try not to get frustrated, don't take it personally and DON'T make the participants feel dumb (that will always end in disaster)

These are adapted from author Brian Cole Miller, who, I'm sure has experienced these challenges.  Have you?  Tell us what you did to deal with them! Comment please, we'd love to swap stories!

Who is the Ultimate Team Member?

Who is the Ultimate Team Member?

...Hint:  It’s found in your collective strengths.

The fabric of our lives is constructed person by person. As our relationships increase, we benefit geometrically: Our lives become richer, and we expand our strengths through others.

-Donald O.Clifton & Paula Nelson from the book Soaring with Your Strengths (1992).

Are you on the lookout for ways to bring out the strengths of your team or collaborative group? Well, here’s a strength based team building idea that a friend and colleague recently shared (thanks Laura).  

Here’s how...

1. Divide your team into small groups of 4. Each person within the small group is to answer:

•        What are the individual strengths you bring to the group?
•          What are the positive attributes you hold that support the success of the group?

     Have each person (or one group recorder) jot down the list of strengths and attributes.

If people are limiting themselves with their responses, clarify what the definition of a strength is. One of our favorite definitions comes from strengths guru Marcus Buckingham, he defines strengths as, “those activities that make you feel strong – an activity that strengthens you".

It is not necessarily the things other people think you are good at, although you can ask your team mates to help unearth what strengthens you in your work. Ask your team mates...When do you notice me lighting up at work? What’s going on? What strengths reside there? And see if it resonates with you.  

2.    Pass out a large sheet of paper with markers to each small group. This will be the drawing ground for the “ultimate team member”.  Read the individual strengths and from that list draw an imaginary person that possesses each attribute. This person should also receive a name, have a picture drawn of them, and have their different strengths labeled along with a story which highlights all the things this person can do and the characteristics they hold.

3.  Debrief and report out: Have each small group describe their person and read their story. Ask questions as you look at the collective visual display of strengths:

 

What connections are you making?

Based on these “ultimate members”, what’s available within our team?

What does this mean for our team weaknesses?

What are we capable of?

How might this add to our working together? How will we use this information?

This is a collective look that reminds us of the benefit of not always working solo!

Village Raising Question:

What strengths are identified in your teams? How might you draw out more of them?

 

 

Your Turn:

Do this exercise with a team or group you are involved with and post a picture of your collective “ultimate team members” to the RTV facebook page and help share the strengths momentum. 

Looking for a Ticket into Higher Participation? Create collective FUN!

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinctions between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working and playing.”

L.P. Jacks, Education Through Recreation.

Communities and organizations can sustain their working together efforts with this type of blurred movement between work and play. In fact, our partnership, Raising the Village Consulting, started in the realm of fun. We (Tammy and Tracy) met at a women’s kayaking and cycling course and while dodging (or aiming for) mud puddles and navigating waves in the pouring rain, we found our combined commitment to creative group processes. After co-authoring our book Raising the Village, we quickly discovered that we were NOT the only ones on the pursuit for more creative interaction, fun and engagement in communities. The biggest request we have received since the book is for MORE ways to engage groups and more ways to facilitate creative processes that hold meaning.

When it comes to participatory methods we’ve used a slew of creative processes (and honestly, not always successfully) such as:

• Collaging exercises or play-dough to create vision statements
• Blocks to discuss the difference between collaboration and cooperation
• Graphic recording to keep people’s attention and open up the right side of the brain 
• Balls to signal when it is someone else's turn to share/talk on an agenda (keeps people awake and
• on their toes too)
• Champagne toasts to create mission statements
• Strategic plan scavenger hunts around town
• Comedic comedy clips or cartoons to bring issues alive in an indirect way

Through any process we bring our humour and let our quirks shine. We certainly admit to when an activity “bombs” or doesn’t quite land which brings an authenticity that keeps things light and real (and boy does that help when dealing with complex issues)! For example, one time we facilitated a creative visualization around moving through obstacles and challenges. People seemed very reflective during this but when it came time to share stories the room was more silent than expressive. In hindsight, people weren’t yet ready to share intimate details and stories with a room of people they did not know. We adjusted on the fly and turned the opportunity into a dialogue about obstacles in general instead of sharing stories. During a similar workshop the following week we “warmed” the climate first by playing an “obstacle bingo” game which was a light and perhaps safer way to explore the challenges that face collaborative work. After the tone was set, deeper stories were spontaneously shared in small groups with expression aplenty.

Now creativity, fun and group process is not all about gimmicks, role plays and props (although it certainly can be). It is also about how people approach one another and work together. It can be your ticket to higher participation, maximized engagement, expanded collective thinking and meaningful action.

“Mark Beeman, PhD, at Northwestern University, found that people have an easier time solving a puzzle after watching a short comedy clip. Having fun, perhaps by easing tension, may facilitate neuronal connections that are helpful for greater mental flexibility and creativity. In another brain imaging study, Dr. Beeman found that activation of pleasure centers in the brain predicted successful puzzle-solving. These findings suggest that well-being helps us think more creatively and could potentially help us resolve challenging situations.”

Spirituality & Health, May-June 2011 ~ Emma Seppala

The benefits of using creative group process are massive. We have seen firsthand how taking a playful approach together can lead to:

• Extraordinary fuller dialogue that captures many voices
• Engaged WHOLE brain activity (the left and right)
• The spirit of play – which is key to innovation.
• Increased shared experience and co-created meaning
• Less daunting complexity and increased creative solutions
• A spirit of celebration and “can do” or “we” type of attitude
• Enriched relationships (and often a shared leadership/ownership)
• Expanded and reframed challenges

Creative group process can instigate an environment of fun, but it will be different for everyone.  It’s important to know your group and know your own leadership style so that you can pick the processes that will 1) work for you and 2) STRETCH but not hinder your engagement with others. A bit of discomfort and a bit of a stretch is good, but if you push too far, people may put up walls that no creative process is getting through. So do match the leader and the situation so that creativity has the ground to flourish. Meet people where they are, add a dash of fun and grab your ticket into higher participation infused with a collective smile.

For more ideas and resources on creative group process visit our website www.raisingthevillage and watch for our soon to be released book that is busting with 60 group activities,

Village Raising. Learn, Think, Innovate & Act Together. Engaging Activities for Group Leaders.

You’re Turn! Village Raising Questions:

• Where does your distinction lie between work and play? How are the two combined?
• What participatory methods have you used that bring a sense of collective fun?
• How do you resolve challenging situations in groups?
• Where is your comfort zone with participating in or facilitating creative group process? What benefits are there to stepping out of this comfort zone? What benefits are there to respect people’s different boundaries around participation? 

Why bother with group agreements?

Worth taking the time for, developing group agreements (aka guiding principles or ground rules ) can be a facilitator's wild card to move a group towards great work and away from falling to pieces.

Let's be honest, many groups say the following classic excuses NOT to create group rules:

"We know each other, we don't need to have rules."

"Boring... we know what they will be...respect, listen, don't interrupt...why bother rehashing what we already know?"

"We are too rushed."

Time for a pradigm shift.  Time to re-define what group agreements and the process of creating them can actually do for you and your group.

#1 Group agreements are public commitments to each other in the collaborative effort. Imagine the shift in attitutdes and behviours when people set an intent to be responsible for their own reactions and level of participation... and then say it out loud! Perhaps this would actual mean that people would stay engaged, stay off their cell phones and generously share their ideas - all without having to be asked!  They act as a reminder that participants need to handle their own feelings/reactions/learning to be accountable. 

#2  Group agreements are also the get out of jail free card if interactions do get tense. As a group member or facilitator, having written agreements can be used to remind those who slip into less than agreeable behaviours (side talking, rolling eyes, accusatory or inflammatory statements, ect.) that it is not ok.  Let's hope your group never goes there but trust us, going through the process of creating group agreements can PREVENT negative behaviour as well as SAVE you when all hell breaks loose.

Any stories about group agreements - when they worked and when they didn't? We'd love to hear from you.

Watch for a future blog on WHAT CAN GO WRONG IN A GROUP - how to prevent it (if you can) or how to deal with it head-on!

Related Blogs
Turning Cantakerous into Cooperative
Derailed by Group Dynamics

Agendas - more than a pretty package!

It is deeply disappointing when a meeting agenda isn't developed and used to it's fullest potential. Don't you abhorr those situations where you have commited precious time to gather for a meeting and receive a last minute, "death by boredom" sort of agenda or ... (everyone suck in their breath) ... don't receive an agenda at all?

Admitedly, an agenda obsession is a tad odd - but this hallowed document represents something that is core to the work we do at Raising the Village - design effective, productive and creative group interactions.  And isn't that what we want for all of our meetings?

An agenda is also more than just a pretty invitation to a meeting. It has an important job to do.

"The Agenda"

• treat it as a tool to clarify and communicate a meeting's purpose
• share it ahead of time to allow participants to think and prepare to engage in the topics
• embrace it's truly flexible nature - any item written shouldn't HAVE to happen exactly, it is a guide not a script
• use it to respect people's time - the agenda should state a start and end time that should stand firm

Designing an agenda offers an opportunity. Here are 8 considerations to take full advantage of it:

1. What kind of meeting is this?  In other words, what are the intended outcomes?
2. What are the needs of the participants? Alas, it's not always about you!
3. What could go wrong, and how can the plan avoid or support tricky situations?
4. Can you involve participants in the planning and design in some way?
5. How can the content or order set the tone you are after? positive and team building? serious and formal? creative and participatory?
6. How long do you need to get things done?  or from a more common angle - you only have x amount of time...what can you realistically get accomplished?
7. What kind of food will you have and when do people get to eat it?  Don't laugh...this is important!
8. What is the "usual" meeting like - and how can you get more out of it by doing things differently? Sometimes leaders/facilitators/meeting chairs need a little AGENDA INTERVENTION - it's important to get some help, especially when the stakes are high!

If what you want is effective, productive and creative meeting outcomes - putting the time into the plan is critical.

A few other related blogs:

6 Group Process Tips
Understanding, engaging and moving forward with groups.
Mindful Meeting Magic

What’s your favorite place?

What's your favorite place to collaborate, kibitz, and all around community build?

The location of any group meeting conveys a message all on its own.  Some of our most moving and magical collaborative moments have occurred by taking a twist on the usual board room or office meeting space. For example, we have facilitated and hosted in our own homes or in coffee shops (think First Nation spirituality conversations while nestled in circular placed couches or watching strength inspired movie clips while lounging in a family setting). Several times we have held meetings and celebrations out of the usual conference room and donned outdoor gear (think strategic planning scavenger hunt in a park or annual networking events while walking on the beach - true stories).

So if you are looking for some mindful meeting magic remember to think about the physical space and location. Being intentional sets the tone for the type of interaction that will evolve.

• If you are thinking creative - be playful and unexpected with the environment.
•  If you are thinking renewal and rejuvenation – design a space to be calm and filled with natural elements. 
• If you are thinking relationship building and networking – use a space to allow movement and connection.

Your turn...tell us your favorite place to do it. Collaboration that is! 

Share your meeting space "twist" or collaborative location ideas and help inspire other village raisers!
Post on RTV facebook or Twitter.