Challenge One
I’m a subject matter expert in my department (i.e. marketing), but the only person who knows how to facilitate. Any ideas to help me handle this dual role?
My Suggestions:
- Ask questions to get people to think more broadly or more specifically. Be careful not to add too many ‘leading’ questions (i.e. should we be thinking about technology as a means to deliver our service?) as this may come across as manipulative. Rather, ask ‘what other methods of service delivery are similar
companies using?” - Have someone else represent your opinion that you know has similar beliefs, ideas, etc.
- Identify your area of expertise early in planning stages; agree on when and how to share it; restate this at the start of the meeting especially if there are any members present that weren’t involved at the planning stage.
- Design the agenda so that content-sharing sessions are clearly segregated from facilitated group discussions.
- If an unexpected need for your expertise arises, clearly state “I’m stepping out of the facilitator role to offer expert advice on … “ (emphasize this with a shift in posture from inviting to authoritative, step away from the flipchart). Repeat when stepping back in to the facilitator role.
- Always be clear whether you’re sharing an expert opinion (open to debate) versus non-negotiable input (mandated policy)
- State your opinion upfront and acknowledge your bias but remind the group that the meeting’s purpose is to generate/ decide on the BEST ideas; put on facilitator hat and have the group challenge you if they detect bias
- Pre-meeting, gather and collect all ideas (including yours) and email these to the group to consider for a facilitated idea prioritization session
How would you handle this challenge? Any comments on my suggestions?
Challenge Two
I’m facilitating an upcoming meeting with both senior and junior level staff. Many of the staff are new, and kudos to management for wanting to involve them in process improvement ideas. However, my concern is that ‘rank’ will impede the level of candor on the part of staff. What can I do?
P.S. I have a performance review with my boss next week and seriously don’t want to risk a CLM (career limiting move) with this upcoming meeting!
My Suggestion
I tried this recently with a group and it appeared to really have a positive impact on them. I asked the group, ‘is it possible that being candid today could be a struggle due to different status levels present?’ Many of the staff shook their head up and down instead of saying yes, which already indicated a lack of desire in being verbal.
I then said ‘OK, so would it be helpful if we left our status at the door?’ Again, most people shook their heads up and down.
I had everyone then write their full name and status on a ‘Hi my name is …’ sticker and place it on their shirt.
I then asked everyone to go to the entry door where I had posted a flipchart labeled ‘Name & Status’ (I had prepped this pre-meeting in anticipation of this problem). I asked them to remove their sticker and place it on the flipchart and return to their seat.
I said, ‘now that we’ve left our status at the door what additional guidelines could we follow that would help everyone feel more free to speak their minds? What came up were norms such as:
‘what’s said here stays here’
‘everyone gets a chance to speak their minds’
‘ there’s no such thing as a bad idea during brainstorming’
I also asked the group permission to intervene if anyone broke the guidelines and they all agreed.
The good news is that following the symbolic gesture of leaving status at the door and the voicing of guidelines, dialogue appeared to be candid and flowed much better. Feedback following the meeting indicated that people were going to use the same methods in their own meetings!
How would you handle this challenge? Any comments on my suggestions?
I'm happy to provide suggestions to your specific facilitation challenges, so feel to ask for advice in a comment.
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