Facilitation patterns and antipatterns workshop

Editor's Notes

• #3: Two Questions:Who cares?Who facilitates?
• #4: One Answer: You Do!
• #5: Let them read this.
• #6: "Group facilitation is a process in which a person whose selection is acceptable to all the members of the group, who is substantively neutral, and who has no substantive decision-making authority diagnoses and intervenes to help a group improve how it identifies and solves problems and makes decisions to increase the group's effectiveness.” --The Skilled Facilitator by Roger Schwarz [3]
• #7: "Group facilitation is a process in which a person whose selection is acceptable to all the members of the group, who is substantively neutral, and who has no substantive decision-making authority diagnoses and intervenes to help a group improve how it identifies and solves problems and makes decisions to increase the group's effectiveness.” --The Skilled Facilitator by Roger Schwarz [3]
• #8: "Group facilitation is a process in which a person whose selection is acceptable to all the members of the group, who is substantively neutral, and who has no substantive decision-making authority diagnoses and intervenes to help a group improve how it identifies and solves problems and makes decisions to increase the group's effectiveness.” --The Skilled Facilitator by Roger Schwarz [3]
• #9: "Group facilitation is a process in which a person whose selection is acceptable to all the members of the group, who is substantively neutral, and who has no substantive decision-making authority diagnoses and intervenes to help a group improve how it identifies and solves problems and makes decisions to increase the group's effectiveness.” --The Skilled Facilitator by Roger Schwarz [3]
• #10: "Group facilitation is a process in which a person whose selection is acceptable to all the members of the group, who is substantively neutral, and who has no substantive decision-making authority diagnoses and intervenes to help a group improve how it identifies and solves problems and makes decisions to increase the group's effectiveness.” --The Skilled Facilitator by Roger Schwarz [3]
• #11: What biases, prejudices, and opinions do you take into a facilitation with you?NOTHING!
• #13: Patterns Working with Martin Fowler, I felt like I had to address this in patterns and antipatterns ;)Patterns: Attitudes, behaviors, and characteristics that lead to more effective meetings and, therefore, more valuable results. And maybe, just maybe, the meetings will be more enjoyable.AntipatternsAnti-pattern definition on Wikipedia: Some repeated pattern of action, process or structure that initially appears to be beneficial, but ultimately produces more bad consequences than beneficial results,Both apply to Facilitator and Participants
• #15: Motto: I'm here to hold the lamp and show the way.Belief: My role is to help you find your way and shine the light where it's needed.Behavior: Listens, asks, reframes and rephrases.Characteristics: Calm, attentive, patient, and offering.
• #16: Motto: I’m here to ask, not tell.Belief: Asking questions is better than making statements.Behavior: Asks questions, listens actively, and uses effective techniques to clarify and to elicit.Characteristics: Calm, questioning, persistentWhile a facilitator might be an expert in the domain under discussion, or expert in some related domain, the facilitator resists the urge to make statements/assertions/pronouncements. Rather, the facilitator is a master of questioning, bringing out information and encouraging participants to work together.
• #17: Motto: With enough information, we can reach a conclusion.Belief: It’s facts that count, not opinions, bound with reason.Behavior: Asks questions, engages participants in inquiry, and guides them to reaching conclusions based on facts/information in evidence.Characteristics: Patient, inquisitive, articulateA brilliant London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess, and is renowned for his skillful use of "deductive reasoning" while using abductive reasoning (inference to the best explanation) and astute observation to solve difficult cases. See Conclusion Jumper.
• #18: Motto: I know what's best.Belief: I have more knowledge/experience/wisdom than the rest of you, so you should listen to me, and I'll make sure you get to the right place. If you were competent, you probably wouldn't need me.Behavior: Can be condescending, in a nice way – paternalistic.Characteristics: pleasant, but insistent, in directing, driving, and choosing for othersThe Benevolent Dictator is convinced of both his own benevolence and his own authority. That authority usually comes from his own belief, as opposed to any mandate or charter from the group or from above.Story: MCA program, Miha
• #19: Motto: The more I have, the more important I am.Belief: Controlling information gives me power and makes me important.Behavior: Doles out information in little bits, controlling the flow. Waits to be asked before sharing.Characteristics: Quiet, selfish, frightened, insecure, terseThe Hoarder is all about control of information. She believes that it’s all that gives her an edge, makes her important, in a world that seems hostile and highly competitive. She rarely shares without being directly asked, because it’s only her control of information that maintains her sense of position and power.This is not to say that Hoarders are actually powerful. Their power - such as it is - is illusory and mostly perceived only by the Hoarder. Others frequently see the Hoarder as obstructionist, frustrating, and self-serving.Since Hoarders are naturally insecure and suffering from self-image issues, dealing with them requires putting aside your emotional reactions and biases toward this kind of behavior, and encouraging them through recognition and appreciation.As with most of the antipatterns, the people who exhibit Hoarder tendencies can be either moderate or pathological. That is, some do it out of habit, rather than a psychological need to be in control. These folks will probably respond readily when either encouraged or when having it privately explained to them. Note that I said “explained to them” not “confronted”. Confrontation implies attack and hostility, at least to some degree, and those are rarely useful.The pathological, however, as with most of the antipatterns, are outside the scope of your ability or responsibility as a facilitator or coworker or friend to deal with. Please be careful in these circumstances. It’s not your job to deal with pathologies - issues that are deep and tightly held.
• #20: Motto: The end, if it’s what I want, justifies any means.Belief: I can, and will, utilize any tool or stratagem to achieve my goals. I’m entitled to do so because I’m smarter and cleverer and it’s what I want.Behavior: Manipulates, uses loaded language, conspires, convinces, distracts, distortsCharacteristics: Insidious, manipulative, conspiratorial, superficially open and honest This may be one of my least favorite antipatterns, because it’s so destructive, while trying to wear the guise of constructive and collaborative. The Evil Genius is the one who’s whispering to others, who catches others alone during breaks, who speaks against one to another, who proposes antagonistic ideas and tries to make them sound constructive, and so on.It does go on and on.It’s frequently hard to spot the Evil Genius, because they mask their insidious manipulation so well.And their manipulations are destructive, because they violate all the principles of collaboration.“If I can get this one to side with me against that one, then I’ll weaken the entire group so that I can achieve my ends.”And they frequently delude themselves into thinking that they are working for the good of the group.Frankly, I have trouble imagining someone acting in this antipattern as a facilitator. And if they were, I can’t imagine that they’d be open and honest enough to own up to it and change.This one is hard to deal with, because they are so good at being deceitful and duplicitous.Story: Bret
• #21: Motto: It’s all about the combat!Belief: The best results come from heated discussion/argument.Behavior: Challenging and confrontational.Characteristics: Doesn’t take it personally, and doesn’t understand why you do.There are some people who seem to be happiest when they are immersed in conflict of various sorts. “Violent agreement” is frequently heard, along with being told that it’s more interesting that way, or that you shouldn’t have to hold back, or that it’s not personal, or…The problem is that most people do not respond positively to being attacked, assaulted, dominated, overwhelmed with perceived verbal and physical violence. They frequently do take it personally.As a facilitator, behaving this way is right up there with the Evil Genius - you just shouldn’t be facilitating, unless it’s the Ultimate Fighting Championships!As a participant, you contribute to creating a situation in which no one else is interested in speaking up. Why speak up when someone is going to challenge you to a fight? That’s not fun for most people.Dealing with The Gladiator requires the patience and confidence to talk to them directly and ask them to tone it down. In many cases, Gladiators are not actually bad people - they’ve just fallen into a pattern of behavior that has worked for them.Story: Scott & Bret
• #22: Motto: I'm here to rescue you.Belief: I bring special skills and knowledge, and you must want me to use them.Behavior: Leaps into the breach to answer questions, solve problems, soothe injured feelings, and otherwise care for the participants.Characteristics: Gentle but firm, frequently offering answers/solutions rather than asking questions.The Superhero operates from the conviction that she is here to save the group, to apply her special powers and knowledge to make sure that everything comes out right. While this can be benevolent, it frequently disempowers the group.
• #24: Motto: I don’t need to hear everything you have to say - I’ve got it!Belief: I am quicker than others in figuring things out, and am required to tell them so.Behavior: States a conclusion as if they have enough information, then argues the point.Characteristics: articulate, convincingIn my life, I have been so guilty of this. When I was younger, because I knew I was smart, I always assumed that I knew where the other person was going and would jump in. Of course, the other person was offended/annoyed, even if I was right.Why? Because they wanted to finish what they had to say. They didn’t care that I was impatient to move on, that I thought I knew what they were going to say and where they were going, that I thought I was smart - they wanted a show of respect.Yup - Conclusion Jumpers are generally disrespectful. What their behavior says is “I’m smart, I’m fast, and what you have to say is less important than my desire to show my smarts and move things forward.” Who is that about? Them - the Jumper - not me.If you are a facilitator, even if only for one meeting, then your responsibility is to be patient, listen, ask questions - not interrupt, nor assume that you know what someone means or what they’re going to say. Your responsibility is to encourage all parties to listen to all parties - if you don’t do it, then they will learn that they don’t have to.In fact, part of your responsibility is to teach everyone present about respect and patience and listening.I seem to have used the word resonsibility a lot in this post, don’t I?Story: me
• #31: What did you learn? What was hard to detect? Was anyone a facilitator?
• #33: InterruptAskRedirectCommit
• #34: Excuse me…
• #35: …do you mind if I…
• #36: …ask Joe what he thinks about this?
• #37: I promise we’ll come back to you.
• #39: Ask: how are you feeling about that? What do you think about that?Mirror: when you believe someone is not being forthcoming about what’s really motivating/driving them“You say you’re okay, but by the tone of your voice, you seem upset.”“You seem angry to me.”“You look nervous about confronting him. Are you sure you’re willing to do it?”Paraphrase: when you want to clarify and break the flow“Let’s see if I’ve got this right. What I understood you to say is…”Prime: when no one is forthcomingAre you thinking…?”
• #40: Have people argue/present an opposing/different perspective or approach. It forces them to consider the other’s point of view, especially if they really get into it. [CLICK]
• #41: People will resist, or say things like “I can’t argue for that because I don’t believe it.” Get them to take it on as role play – encourage them to speak and act as the other person, trying to say what the other person would say. Be cautious of people who try to belittle the other by exaggerating in a negative way.
• #42: Aka Working Agreements – setting things up in advance, social contract – [CLICK] treat each other with respect, no interrupting, etc.
• #43: [CLICK] to next slide for example
• #45: First person turns to person on their left, asks question. Second person answers – no one else speaks – then turns to the person on their left and asks a question. Continues around circle.
• #47: http://www.stevenlist.com/blog/2009/02/15/the-margolis-wheel/