Facilitative Leadership: Optimizing Group Performance

1
Facilitative LeadershipOptimizing Group
Performance
Ken Van Osdol
2
(No Transcript)
3
(No Transcript)
4
Groups Meet for Six Reasons

• Receive information in
• Provide information out
• Solve problems
• Make decisions
• Plan
• Socialize

5
Structure for effective communication

• Objective
• Reflective
• Interpretive
• Decisional

• Creates a natural progression for discussion
• Involves everyone
• Guides questions
• Adaptable to many group situations

Reference Institute for Cultural Affairs
6
Objective

• What
• Facts
• Details
• History
• Data
• Background

Techniques

• Presentations and reports
• Round-robin sharing
• Guided recollection
• Timeline
• Develop a fact base

Reference Institute for Cultural Affairs
7
Reflective
Techniques

• Gut
• Feelings
• Emotions
• Responses
• Associations
• Personal experience

• Round-robin sharing
• Discuss in pairs or threes
• Write first, then speak
• Focus on listening, empathy

Reference Institute for Cultural Affairs
8
Interpretive
Techniques

• So what
• Values
• Meaning
• Impact
• Significance
• Consequence

• Identify issues
• Brainstorm
• Criteria for success
• Poll everyone
• Outside the box thinking
• Trend analysis

Reference Institute for Cultural Affairs
9
Decisional

• Now what
• Options
• Priorities
• Conclusions
• Actions
• Direction
• Future

Techniques

• Affinity diagram
• Multiple proposals
• Multi-voting
• Action planning
• Straw man
• Polling
• Consensus

Reference Institute for Cultural Affairs
10
Divergent vs. Convergent Thinking
Divergent
Convergent
Interpretive
Explore data Possibilities Objective Reflective
Prioritize Select Decisional
11
Information In

• Come prepared
• Listening environment
• Written, verbal, non-verbal
• Who has it?
• How much?
• Details?

12
Information Out

• Who reports?
• To whom?
• About what?
• When?
• How muchhow little?
• How will we talk about what we talked about?

13
S-T-P Problem Solving

• Situation

Target
Proposal
14
What kind of decision is this?

• Command Decision
• --The leader calls it.
• Consultative Decision
• --The leader make the decision with input, ideas
  and insights from the group.
• Group Decision
• --The group makes the decision and the leader
  supports it.
• Majority Rule
• --Winners and losers.
• Consensus
• --The leaders voice is no stronger than anyone
  elses.

15
Consensus A decision to act

• Everyone has an opportunity to speak and to be
  heard
• Everyone feels heard and understood
• It is a fair and open process
• Everyone agrees to support the decision, even if
  it is not their first choice

16
Make it visual

• Write out options, alternatives or different
  views on a flip chart
• Identify common ground

17
Test for agreement

• Ask the question Do we agree that?
• Straw poll
• Thumbs up thumbs down
• Everyone speak to the issue
• On a scale of 1-5, how strongly do you feel
  about?
• Create a straw man proposal

18
Prioritize with multi-voting

• Dot voting
• Green solid go, lets do it!
• Yellow proceed, but with caution, concerns
• Red no, at least not now
• (use 1/3 as many dots as options)
• 100 votein 20s
• A, B, C list

19
Test for consensus
What is your level of support for this decision?
1 2 3
4 5
5 Actively advocate 4 Passively support 3
Neutral or undecided 2 Passively oppose 1
Actively oppose
20
Keeping on Track
21
PROCESS
TASK
22

• Task issues are about getting the job done.

23
PointReasonExampleSummary
24
Ask Questions
25
Summarize
Blah, blah, blah
Yada, yada, yada
Now, let me see if Ive got this right
Then he said
I think that
What we need to do is
26
Poll the Group
27
Have we hit 80/20?
Results
Discussion
28

• Process issues are about how the job gets done.

29
Speak for Yourself
30
Listen Actively
31
Be a Gatekeeper
32
and find agreement
33
Use Humor
34
Process Checks Whos on Third?
35
Build Consensus
36
(No Transcript)
37
When things arent working

• Check on the processask the group
• Reframe the issues
• Get more information (sometimes)
• Recycle the tools you have already used
• Take a break, maybe even sleep on it

38
Blocking Arguing, entrenching, word-smithing,
returning to same old issues

• What Im thinking

• What I might say

39
Withdrawing Quits participating, indifferent,
pushes back from table, daydreams, side
conversations, disinterested

• What Im thinking

• What I might say

40
Unprepared Hasnt read material, didnt bring
data, hasnt thought through issues, bluffs
preparation

• What Im thinking

• What I might say

41
Digressing Takes group off point, tells personal
stories, heads off on bunny trails

• What Im thinking

• What I might say

42
Distracting Sighs and other non-verbals, taking
phone calls, joking, inappropriate behavior,
arrives late, leaves early

• What Im thinking

• What I might say

43
Interrupting Talks over people, cuts others off

• What Im thinking

• What I might say

44
Inarticulate Has an idea but can or wont convey
it

• What Im thinking

• What I might say

45
Dead Cat in the Punchbowl Emotional outburst,
negative spin on a positive meeting, raises
conflict inappropriately, lone naysayer

• What Im thinking

• What I might say