Hi Everyone! Thanks in advance for any ideas or thoughts you have on my current challenge. I am working with a small team where there is significant conflict between two managers. I have been brought in to help the team (n=5) figure out what is working and what isn't and how do we move forward? I plan to use the sailboat exercise to better understand their world and it will enable those team members that feel shut down to have a voice – I love this exercise. I have completed individual interviews with each team member to better understand their challenges. All have an issue with their senior manager. They are however all keen (including the senior manager) to attend the workshop because the conflict in the system is causing so much grief and poor performance it cannot continue. There are also members who have reported mental health challenges as a result of the conflict and one manager has ADHD. I mention this because these have been contentious challenges with the senior manager who feels they have accommodated these challenges but "at what point do you have to have the poor performance" discussion. My question is regarding the heightened emotion within the team. Have any of you facilitated a session with a team that is in significant conflict and has the potential for members to shut down or react during the session? Any specific prep/set-up? Have you set any specific expectations? Handling reactive responses during the session that have worked/not worked? I am a healthcare professional, so have a good idea of how to manage conflict, however I am reaching out to the group to get different perspectives that may help inform my workshop next week. Thanks so much Leanne
It’s also interesting I think to consider what approach would work depending on which country/countries the members of the team are from/operate in- there might be cultural considerations that would change the exercises to use. Re: the space, having a separate room or private area to break out to, with relaxed lighting, drinks, snacks, relaxed music, tissues for the crying etc. might help particularly for those who might get very overwhelmed (much better than crying in the bathroom!).
I was brainstorming with ChatGPT4 for a new video where I want to talk about one-off team-building sessions being a waste of money and instead of an annual event – it's a daily practice. Leaders should be weaving connection activities into every meeting to foster engagement, trust, and collaboration. Well...Just for fun, I asked it to come up with some funny tweets. Here are my favourites, which one is yours? 1) Why limit team building to annual events? Let's throw in connection activities at every meeting – it's like trust falls, but without the chiropractor bills! 😆 #CrackingUpAtWork 2) Team building: from annual trust falls to daily meetings, because nothing says 'we got this' like navigating trust exercises while holding coffee! ☕😂 #CaffeinatedCollaboration 3) Let's make team building a part of every meeting, because who doesn't want to bond over the shared fear of being late to the next call? 🏃♂️😅 #ProcrastinatorsUnite 4) Weave team building into every meeting – because nothing says 'I trust you' like sharing embarrassing work stories over a video call! 🎥🤣 #VirtualTrustCircle 5) Who needs annual team building events when you can turn meetings into group therapy sessions with connection activities? Get ready to laugh and learn! 😂📚 #TherapyWithPowerPoints Let me know in the comments, which one is your favourite 😂#TeamBuilding #Leadership #NoMoreTrustFalls
Great week to everyone! A little bit of context: I have been working as a Business Manager for a while and the most important soft skill that I developed is - Adaptation - I been working in three different markets (Chile, Australia and USA) to finally "ending" this long trip in the heart of the UE (Belgium). Too much blabla? Well, in resume I found myself in this new developed market where IT Methodologies and coordinate working groups are a must. As usual, the bottleneck is how to incorporate new knowledge fast as possible and how I can convert this knowledge in value, In this search for more knowledge I found the Facilitator Club and now I'm eager to learn more about your experiences: General question: What industries have you worked in? How has the adaptation process been in each of them? Have you had to adapt to a new language and/or organizational cultures? A bit more specific: Do any of the facilitators have experience with IT companies? How did you adapted your skills in this industry? What would be your recommendations to be able to join this sector? In my case, I learn by sharing my experiences and analyzing real cases, also in order to learn more quickly, ChatGPT has helped me a lot this last days. 👾 Cheers to all, Michael
Having worked in IT for 15 years and (unwittingly) facilitated many a meeting in this time, I'd say none of the facilitation skills I used or techniques I employed had anything to do with the IT industry or that I was in this sector. I happened to have an idea about what it was the teams were talking about and I participated to these sessions myself as an SME, but as far as the facilitation went it was about how to draw out the answers and the conversations from the other people in the room that contributed to goal and the objectives of those sessions. The people in IT are (mostly) still human people at the end of the day so are relatable just as everyone else is - even if their area of specialisation and focus is niche/technical. Of course, my experience comes from being an insider to IT in the first place, it would be interesting to hear from others about whether there is a knowledge/perception 'barrier' that is put up by the people in IT to turn away 'non-IT facilitators' so to speak - maybe this is more of the situation you are facing? I could see how that could be the case.
"Turning thoughts into words sharpens reasoning. What's fuzzy in your head is clear on the page"-Adam Grant Reading this made me think of one of the core principles of workshopping which is explained in detail in our Workshopper Master Program at AJ&Smart ⭐️Core Principle 2: Discussions are Visualised⭐️ ⚡️It can be very difficult for a group of people to keep more than a few pieces of information/data in their heads at once. ⚡️The Facilitators job is to remove this burden by helping a group visualise conversations in a standardised way. ⚡️This means helping individuals to capture and visualise relevant information (writing/drawing ideas on post-its and placing them on the wall/whiteboard in a structured way) that can be recalled later on in the workshop. ⚡️Visualising conversations also allows the more shyer members of a group share their thoughts and ideas. I love this illustration by PJ Milani (@milanicreative on instagram). I feel it highlights the importance of using writing as a tool for thinking and how necessary it is to visualise conversations during workshops. I would love to hear what you think about this in the comments 🙂 What other benefits can visualising conversations during workshops/meetings have?
I feel like I'm always writing or drawing (or both!) during all meetings, whether its only for me or for everyone! I find it super useful for: 🎯 Alignment/consensus of the points that were voiced/thought in a discussion 🖇️ Connecting ideas and recognising trends/themes 💭 Being able to circle back/revisit topics mentioned before 💥 Refine or expand upon ideas 🗺️ Track the journey/progress of a meeting 🙌 Giving a sense of achievement i.e. its not a talking shop with no output Also completely agree with @Michael Gnos on highlighting and as de-facto documentation (I'm always on the lookout for ways to avoid post workshop documentation if at all possible!)
Hello there! I'm brand new to Facilitator Club and of course felt compelled to diligently follow the suggested activities (who doesn't love activities right?!) and write a little introduction to myself and how I have come to be in this wonderful place with all of you wonderful people. Some career/work-related facts and stats: - I have worked for 1 company my whole career (17 years and counting!) - I have held 5 different 'job titles' in that time but in reality have probably done 10+ roles - Most of my roles have been IT-related, from the helpdesk, through software development and PM'ing to Head of Data and Analytics and all in the UK arm of the company - My current role is where I pivoted slightly from IT and moved into digital transformation across the global supply management function Some me-related facts and stats: - I am super creative and have an inordinately long list of hobbies - I can't get enough of learning about new things, and I LOVE hearing other people talk about the things they know and explain them to me with passion. Like their love for their subject is like a song for me. - I am a mother of 2, age 5 and under which makes work-life balance... interesting but has lead me to have a strong word with myself and make sure that the work I do (and need to do for myself) is something I really love and that really speaks to my values of connection, making a difference to people, making them feel valued and moving them forward. - I work from home (with all its pros and cons) which is near Manchester, UK What brings me to this wonderful place? When I returned back from maternity leave to my current role and didn't settle back into the daily grind I knew it was time to seriously rethink about what my values, passions and strengths were and start on a proper journey towards them - and although I have never had any official job title of facilitator, or coach, or workshopper or anything like that the areas that I always find myself drawn to and the experiences I remember most fondly generally link back to the beginning of projects, or starting committees, or leading groups on a short-term project (basically, new shiny things at the beginning of their life).
@Rebecca Courtney Thank you Rebecca, I’ve already used some of the advice I’ve found here in regular conversations and meetings. It’s such a great place you have here!
