© 2007 ChoicePoint Consulting1 Facilitation Essentials Going Deeper: Facilitation, Provocation and...

© 2007 ChoicePoint Consulting 1

Facilitation Essentials

Going Deeper:Facilitation, Provocation and

Awareness Tools to Deepen Your Role as an Innovation Catalyst


Workshop Outcomes

To understand and practice core facilitation skills that make it easier to work effectively with groups

To understand how to presence an emerging future possibility

To understand how and when to provoke in service of that possibility


Facilitation Defined

To make easy To move forward To enable the group to:

Fully contribute Arrive at a great story Experience commitment to teams and decisions


Core Distinction: Process vs. Content

Good facilitators know the difference between the content of a meeting and the meeting process.

Are most problems with meetings content or process related?


“Presencing”

The Blind Spot of Facilitation


Self Awareness

Awareness of Others

Awareness of the Field

Flow: The Essence of Story-Telling & Facilitation

FLOW


Flow

Flow is a mental and emotional state of operation in which the team is fully immersed in what they are doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.


Core Practice

Basic Facilitation Strategy: Go Broad then Focus Narrowly

(Open, Narrow, Close)

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Lasting Agreements

Collaboration is built on a series of lasting agreements.

1.Make an Advocacy“I’d like to suggest we hold back from new action items for the first half of our meeting, until after lunch, so that we can understand the root causes for some of our Production problems…”

2.Test for Understanding“Is my proposal clear to everyone?”

3.Check for Agreement“Is there anyone who could not agree to defer new Action Items and solutions until this afternoon?”

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Stages of Group Discussions

In a team project session or any idea-generation meeting, people engage in three mental processes, divergent thinking (open), evaluative thinking (narrow) and convergent thinking (close). Facilitative Leaders assist teams by facilitating agreements in each phase and helping participants focus on the same thought process at the same time.

OPEN NARROW CLOSE

Generate

Ideas Evaluate &

Categorize

Decide &/or

Focus

Adapted from Straus, David “How to Make Collaboration Work”, 2002.

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Tools for Collaboration

OPEN NARROW CLOSE

Build up / Eliminate

Negative Poll Both/And Commitment

Check

Eliminate Identicals

Criteria Checkboard

Target Criteria* Impact/Effort

Matrix N/3 What I Like About Advocate

Brainstorm Open-Ended

Questions Checkerboard What Others

Have Done Clarify

Adapted from Straus, David “How to Make Collaboration Work”, 2002 and * Suzanne Pellican, Intuit.

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Tool: BrainstormingExample:

“Let’s see how many new ideas we can come up with. There are no bad ideas, so let’s just list everything.”“Why don’t we shoot for a minimum of 25 ideas in the next 20 minutes.”

Purpose: To encourage divergent thinking To generate creative ideas

Process Phase: Open



Tool: Open-Ended QuestionsExample:

“How does it feel to be faced with this issue?”“How is this situation impacting us?”“What’s really at stake here?”

Purpose: To help a group start thinking about a complex

issue To model inquiring into assumptions and mental

models

Process Phase: Open

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Tool: CheckerboardSpecific things to say or do:

“OK, you have said that there are three basic kinds of media available: TV, radio and newspapers. And you have three important age groups you are trying to reach: teenagers, young couples and over 65. Let’s examine all the possibilities. How could you reach teenagers using TV? …using radio? …using newspapers? …etc .?

When to use this tool: To provide a structure for the group to consider several

factors at one time. To set up a series of brainstorming.

Tools for CollaborationProcess Phase: Open

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Tool: What others have doneSpecific things to say or do:

“Anybody know what other cities have done about this problem? What are the existing models?”

“Why don’t we try listing all the solutions presently available and see if we get any new ideas.”

When to use this tool: To identify other successes from which you can draw.

Tools for CollaborationProcess Phase: Open

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Tool: ClarifyExample:

“I’ll read our list of ideas … stop me if you don’t understand the idea … this is about understanding only … we’ll do some critical evaluation later.”“If you need clarification we’ll check with the ‘author’ of the idea.”

Purpose: To ensure common understanding so as to build

later agreements

Process Phase: Open

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Tool: Eliminate IdenticalsExample:

“Let’s look over our list … are any of these ideas saying essentially the same thing?”

Purpose: To narrow the number of ideas under consideration

Process Phase: Narrow

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Tool: Criteria checkerboardSpecific things to say or do:

“Let’s agree on three major success criteria for a successful solution.”

“Now let’s draw a matrix and list our alternatives on one axis and the criteria on the other axis. Remember, this is only a way of analyzing the alternatives. The alternative which scores highest is not necessarily the ‘best’ solution. Now, let’s take a straw vote. Does this alternative meet that criterion - yes or now? OK? Let’s begin: the first criterion is ‘easy to test’. How many of you think alternative A is easy to test? …How many think alternative B is easy to test? …etc.”

When to use this tool: When you need a systematic way to compare

alternatives using key criteria.

Tools for CollaborationProcess Phase: Narrow

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Tool: Target CriteriaSpecific things to say or do:

“Let’s agree whether the ideas generated will produce incremental change or be a ‘game changer.’

“Now let’s draw 3 concentric circles. In the smaller circle, ‘the bulls eye’, we’ll write ‘game changer’ In the circle that is further out, let’s write incremental. Now let’s put the ideas generated in the appropriate circle.

When to use this tool: When you need a way to weigh the relative value of

each idea regarding it’s impact on innovation and change.




Tool: Impact/Effort MatrixExample:

“Let’s assess the overall impact these ideas will have versus the effort required to make them happen.”Draw matrix. Vertical line, intersected half way by a horizontal line. The vertical line represents impact, the horizontal effort.

Purpose: To assess both the impact and effort of the ideas

generated To look for ideas with maximum effort and minimum

effort.


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Tool: Rank Order (N/3)Specific things to say or do:

“Let’s try rank ordering to see how much agreement there is. There are 12 solutions, so each of you should vote for the four alternatives you like the best. OK, how many for alternative A? …How many for alternative B? …etc.”

When to use this tool: To test the degree of alignment around a creative idea

and/or solution. To make sense or provide order to a random set of

alternatives.


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Tool: What I like about itSpecific things to say or do:

“I would suggest that in evaluating each other’s ideas you say what you like about the idea first before you voice your concerns or dislikes. Not only does it build a more supportive climate here but it also forces you to look at the positive aspects which are contained in most ideas.”

When to use this tool: To allow group members to influence each other,

supporting their favorite ideas/options. Often useful prior to prioritizing or decision making.




Tool: AdvocateExample:

“Is there any one or two items here, someone wants to advocate for? Please let us know why this is important to you?”“Even though, some items got a low vote on N/3, are there items with a low vote that someone strongly feels needs to be included?”

Purpose: To give the minority viewpoint a chance to be heard To create space for the “Margaret Mead” to influence the

group


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Tool: Build Up/EliminateExample:

“Juan, you seem to have a strong reservation about this proposal. What could we add or take away that would alleviate your concern?”“How might we combine elements of both proposals to build a better solution?”

Purpose: To break an impasse between two parties To create more acceptable solutions by eliminating

the objectives to or building on the strengths of an option

Process Phase: Close

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Tool: Negative PollExample:

“It’s important that we all feel good about the solution. Are any of these ideas totally unacceptable to anyone?”“Chris has stated that Option B would alienate her team; any objections to eliminating B?”

Purpose: The group seems to need some sense of forward

movement The group seems ready to drop some ideas so as to

focus


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Tool: Both/AndExample:

“Let’s step back for a moment. Do we truly need to chose between these two options? Is there a way to implement both?”

Purpose: To legitimize all ideas that have been proposed To avoid group polarization To avoid either/or thinking


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Tool: Commitment CheckExample:

“Then N/3 identified these 3 elements of a solution. Who might be unwilling to support this solution going forward? Is there anyone who would be unable to assist with implementation”

Purpose: To ensure buy-in To avoid malicious compliance


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Facilitation Practice #1

Challenges Facing Our Organization

Desired Outcome Reach agreement on 3-5 key challenges facing our

organization

Instructions Conduct a team session using the agenda provided by

your instructor

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Core Practice

Facilitation & Provocation

With Wendy Castleman,Innovation Catalysts, Intuit

Provocation (When & How)

Calling out the obvious and pulling out the unique

Identifying the Unspoken Assumptions Restating and Reframing Interpreting and inserting your POV Addressing Common Challenges:

Falling in love with the solution Intuit-Centric Mindset Not going uncomfortably narrow (aka solving for

everyone)

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Provocation

Always ask for permission up front.

Get clarification ahead of time on what your

role is. 31

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ProvocationProcess Phase: Open

This is not the time to challenge the obvious… Instead, this is a great time to inspire and reframe. Try inspiring using Analogous Solutions, Analogous Experiences & Extreme UsersAlso, try questionstorming

Provocation in the Open Phase

OPEN

Bringing in Outside Thinkers Let’s bring in some other folks to brainstorm with us. Who has a different perspective than we do?

Analogies/Extreme Inspiration What is an analogous situation to this one? (Go have the experience)

Give Examples of Extreme What if we ‘hired a personal assistant for all of the Small Businesses to type in all of their receipts?’

Remove/Add a Constraint What if it had to be mobile? What if money was no object?

What’s already out there Who else does this? How do people do this now?

Suggest a Challenge What are other ways that we could ‘capture this information’ that would be more unique?

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This is the time to challenge the obvious…and to call out unspoken assumptions


Tools for Provocation

Tool: Remove the obvious and point out the uniqueExample:

“Are any of these ideas is obvious or incremental? Let’s take those off so we can focus on the unique and interesting ideas ”“Is this idea really innovative and new? How is this different than the current way?”

Purpose: To get teams beyond the obvious ideas To minimize the influence of risk-aversion


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Tool: Calling out an Intuit-Centric ChoiceExample:

“How is the customer better off with this choice?”“I see what would be good about that for us, but what would be good about that… for the customer?”

Purpose: To make sure that the focus of the team is on the

customer benefit, not too Intuit-Centric To ensure that choices that teams proceed with are

customer-back


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Tool: Calling out Solving for EveryoneExample:

“Is this choice trying to solve for everyone, or for a specific type of customer?”“Who would this not solve for?”

Purpose: To make sure that the team has a narrow focus that

helps them make decisions and learn quickly To increase the likelihood of delighting a customer

with a solution that is perfect for them


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Tool: Calling out Similar ChoicesExample:

“All of these choices seem similar to one another. Are they really different? How?”“Did we miss a really unique choice when we were narrowing?”

Purpose: To help teams avoid falling in love with their ideas,

not the problem To ensure that choices are really different from one

another, so the team can maximize learning


Escalating Provocation in Narrowing

Narrow

Push Back Let’s wait on narrowing based on our implementation constraints until after we’ve narrowed based on the most innovative ideas.

Suggest a Challenge Can we take this idea up a notch to make it a little more unique?

Hyper-Provocative Narrowing Criteria

Which of these ideas might get you fired?

Provide a Specific Opportunity

Since we’re looking for innovative ideas, let’s remove the ideas that are incremental or “just do”

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Escalating Levels of Provocation

Close

Take a Stand This just doesn’t seem awesome.If you aren’t trying to push beyond the obvious, I should step away…

Push Back This one seems too obvious to me. What’s the unique insight that’s driving it?

Point Out/ Inquire If Is ‘type in a receipt’ too obvious? Is this something that Microsoft might do?

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Core Practice

Facilitative Behaviors:Preventions and Interventions


Definition

Facilitative Behaviors are actions anyone can take to make sessions run effectively

Preventions: Facilitative Behaviors done before or during the session to prevent the session from getting off track (re: content or process).

Interventions: Facilitative Behaviors done during the session to help people get back on track (re: content or process)

David Straus and Michael Doyle,How to Make Meetings Work

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Preventions

At the beginning of a session get agreement on: Desired Outcomes Agenda Roles Decision-Making Method Guidelines/Groundrules

Adapted from Straus and Doyle, How to Make Meetings Work

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Preventions (continued)

During a session Make a suggestion on how the group could

proceed (a process suggestion) Get agreement on how the group will proceed (a

process agreement) Educate the group (process commercials) Ask open-ended questions to generate

participation Request that people reserve judgment



Interventions

Boomerang Maintain/Regain Focus Ask/Say What’s going on Enforce process agreements Accept/Legitimize/Deal With or Defer Use body language Use humor



3 Key Questions

Leveraging the Strategic Moment

Where Are We?1

How Do We Move Forward?

3

Where Do We Want To Go?

2

Adapted from How to Make Meetings Work, by David Straus

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Escalating Levels of Intervention

Basic Approach:

Start with the most subtle and least threatening intervention.

If behavior continues, gradually escalate the interventions.

Gives people an opportunity to let go of difficult behaviors gracefully

Adapted from the work of David Straus and Interactions Associates

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Escalating Levels of Intervention

LOW LEVEL INTERVENTIONS

HIGH LEVEL INTERVENTIONS

MAKE EYE CONTACT

STAND UP

WALK HALFWAY

WALK BY THEM, MAKE EYE CONTACT

ASK - “What do you think?”

TOUCH AND TALK DIRECTLY

CONFRONT - ON A BREAK

CONFRONT - BEFORE THE WHOLE

GROUP


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Creating and Balancing Form and Void

What it is:

Creating form is actively providing session participants with a framework or approach to managing themselves and moving toward achieving their desired outcome.

Creating void means literally stepping back and allowing open space in the room both verbally and physically.

Why it’s important

One of the goals of a group facilitator is to enable the group to take responsibility for its own behavior and its own results. Being able to effectively balance form and void is critical to facilitate a group towards a desired outcome and responsibility for that outcome.


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Strategic questions for determining the appropriate balance

How can I best help focus the cognitive energy of the group?

How can I best build and maintain the physical energy of the group?

How can I limit emotional and physical drain?

Creating and Balancing Form and Void

Form

Void



Core Practice

Working with Creative Tension

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Structural Tension or Creative Tension

Desired FutureState

Current Reality

Learning Gap

-- Creative Tension --

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Creative Tension

2 Orientations/ Strategies

“Push” off of

(Reactive)“Pull”

(Generative)

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Reactive Stances: Two “Strategies”

Conflict Manipulation Focus on dire consequences Over-emphasis on Current Reality Fixate on Challenges

Willpower Manipulation “Goosing into Action” Over-riding emotions Over-stretching

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Creative Tension vs. Psychological Tension

Current Reality

“Tool” = Mastery of Creative/ Structural

Tension

vs.

Falling Prey to Psychological

Tension over Gap

My Approach to Leadership

My Life, Family, Etc

Desired FutureState

Gap


Reactive-Responsive to Creative

Reactive-Responsive orientation - your life is determined by the circumstances - either outer or inner.

Orientation to the Creative - the outer and inner circumstances become part of current reality; the determining factor is in what you choose to create.

The power in life is in what you choose.

Outer circumstances: How much time you

have How noisy the kids are What your living

situation is

Inner circumstances: your mood your feelings your energy level


Core Practice

Presencing:Accessing the Field


What is the field?

Shifting the Inner Place From Where We Operate

“The success of our actions as change-makers does not depend on what we do or how we do it but from the inner place from where we operate”

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Attention

“We cannot transform the behavior of systems unless we transform the quality of attention that people apply to their actions within the system”

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Levels of Listening

http://www.presencing.com/permissions/

Presencing

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Presence

Connecting with the Field

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…”By emptying oneself of one’s smaller, individual mind and by losing the individual’s intense self consciousness, we are able to tap into this larger, more creative, universal mind.” – Professor Kenneth Kraft, Zen Scholar, Leigh University

Accessing the Field: Open Intelligence

Data = thoughts, emotions, sensations

Closed intelligence = identification with thoughts, emotions, sensations

Open intelligence = the vast expanse in which all thoughts, emotions, sensations arise, endure and then dissolve (like a flight path of a bird)

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Adapted from Short Moments of Clarity, Candice O’Denver & The Balanced View Team

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Open Intelligence

Open intelligence exists whether not thinking or thinking

Data (Points of view) occur within the all encompassing view open intelligence

Through practice, shift identity from data (points of view) to open intelligence (the all compassing view)

Open Intelligence = creative intent, clear thinking, emotional stability and beneficial action.

Adapted from Short Moments of Clarity, Candice O’Denver & The Balanced View Team

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Open Intelligence Practice

“Short moments of open intelligence, repeated many times become continuous”

Rest with whatever arises in our awareness

Don’t indulge, avoid, replace

Thought/emotions arise, endure and then dissolve naturally

The effect is an opening, a growing experience of our own open intelligence and the transformative impact this can have on our life.

Adapted from Short Moments of Clarity, The Balanced View Team

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Resources

“Short moments of open intelligence, repeated many times become continuous”

Rest with whatever arises in our awareness

Don’t indulge, avoid, replace

Thought/emotions arise, endure and then dissolve naturally

The effect is an opening, a growing experience of our own open intelligence and the transformative impact this can have on our life.

Adapted from Short Moments of Clarity, The Balanced View Team


ResourcesBens, Ingrid -- Facilitating to LeadFisher & Ury -- Getting To YesGeorge, Bill – True NorthGoleman, Daniel -- Working with Emotional

IntelligenceGoleman, Daniel – Focus: The Hidden Power of

AttentionKelley, David & Thomas – Creative Confidence:

Unleashing the Creative Potential Within All of UsKouzes & Posner -- The Leadership ChallengeO’Denver, Candice – One Simple ChangeSenge, Peter -- The Fifth DisciplineScharmer, Otto – Theory U: Leading from the Future

as It EmergesStraus, David -- How to Make Meetings WorkStraus, David -- How to Make Collaboration Work

© 2007 ChoicePoint Consulting1 Facilitation Essentials Going Deeper: Facilitation, Provocation and...

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Transcript of © 2007 ChoicePoint Consulting1 Facilitation Essentials Going Deeper: Facilitation, Provocation and...