Knowledge Construction Worker

Why Do We, As Leaders, Tend to Apply the Wrong Solutions?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:39:31 PST

Tuesday January 17, 2012

In my leadership classes I often ask people what they think leadership is about. The answer is often something like, "Leadership is about solving problems and making good decisions." If for so many people leadership is about problem solving and decision making, then it might be helpful for all of us to identify the kind of problems that calls for leadership and, more importantly, what kind of solutions - longer term solutions vs. quick fixes - leaders tend to use to address those problems. Here are four examples of problems leaders might face:

· #1: a co-worker is unable to do his share of work in a team project

· #2: a software system has a different rate of adoption across different departments

· #3: a CEO realizes that her company's traditionally most-profitable product is rapidly losing market share to its main competitors

· #4: a local non profit struggles in establishing its first fund-raising annual campaign.

Which of these problems require a quick fix and which a deeper change?

Quick Fixes Vs. Deep Change

Some problems cause disturbances that trigger certain responses. If we have the knowledge, the expertise and the cultural assumptions to deal with those problems, the action resolves the problem by providing the solution. In these situations distress is alleviated fairly quickly because it is within the know-how of the organization to solve.

• in #1: the boss can talk to the coworker
• in #2: the department heads can be asked by the top person to use the system more
• in #3: the CEO can quickly develop a new marketing campaign to counter-attack its competitors and address the losing market share
• in #4: the local non-profit can let go the current fund-raising director and hire a new one.

All those actions can very well bring a solution in a relatively short period of time. And leaders are often under pressure to provide those fixes. They often do because responsiveness is understood as a measure of good leadership: the faster the fix, the more respected the leader. However consider what issue is left untouched in those good solutions:

• in #1: how can every team ensure accountability in the process of working together on a project?
• in #2: what are ways to develop a more customer-focused software development process?
• in #3: how can we be more responsive to changing customer's needs?
• in #4: in what ways can we make the culture of this organization more results-oriented?

Many problems come bundled; they need quick fixes as well as longer terms solutions. Leaders' overuse of quick fixes can be deleterious. Why? Because when a more complex problem comes - one that requires deeper work and one where the distress doesn't go away quickly - a dependency on quick fixes makes people see their leaders as ineffective. They also see themselves as spectators rather than part of the solution.

Engaging in Complex Problem Solving for Deep Change

Whether they are called "adaptive challenges" or "wicked problems" or "swamps," many problems people deal in organizations are complex, and often resistant to quick fixes.

When an issue - addressed before without success - explodes in a sudden crisis, causing a state of conflict, those are all indicators of problems that need a longer-term solution. These are issues that require for people to learn new ways. They require experimentation and patience because the organization currently does not have the know-how to fix it quickly.

Exercising leadership in these situations requires keeping people focused on the ongoing efforts, the ongoing behavioral and aptitudinal change. When a more complex problem comes, leaders must engage in a different conversation, one that requires people to take responsibility, to learn new ways, and to allow solutions to emerge from a collective undertaking.

In this work as leaders we need to keep people - often over a long period of time - in a "productive state of disequilibrium." This is a place that allows for people to be engaged while solving the problem without shortcuts, but also without such a level of discomfort that they are not working productively together. Our job as leaders or as people in a position of authority is to frame the right questions for which answers are discovered over time by the collective intelligence of all the people involved.

Adriano Pianesi | ParticipAction Consulting, Inc.

Is our thinking "emotional intelligent"?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:46:54 PST

Wednesday December 14, 2011

I read this interesting quote the other day: "There is a form of folly that is the absence of everything except our rationality." I never really subscribed to the clear-cut distinction between rational and emotional (and research shows us that emotions are actually located in specific and trackable portions of the brain).

I do agree that ultimately being "only rational" is a sure way to become dysfunctional. In fact I often feel that our ability to think strategically and critically needs to assess not only our cognitive abilities, but also our feelings or emotional states. Or does it?

To disagree or not to disagree?

Some situations reveal the complex interplay of our cognitive and emotional abilities and resist simple labels: think about a time when you were in doubt about whether or not to disagree with your direct supervisor on an important decision.

· Was your thinking rooted in emotions?

· Was your thinking a simple rational calculation based in data?

· What did influence your decision to step in or not into a potentially dangerous situation?

· What role did emotional evaluation played in that choice?

I can imagine the negative consequences that might come my way if I disagree with my boss. Maybe the fear of reprimand plays an important role in my thinking about this and will influence it. Feeling fear is not a nice place to be: how does one deal productively with such a strong emotional response? I think we find the answer in "emotionally intelligent" critical thinking.

I believe that is ultimately our ability to reflect about the crucial link between intelligence and emotions what will allow me to think well in that situation, and maybe muster the courage to take the risk.

Thinking well as interplay of intelligence and emotions

Emotions are not more or less important than thoughts; the fact is that if we want to change a feeling, we need to understand it. To do so it might be helpful to identify the thinking that ultimately leads to the feeling. So in a situation like the one described we might want to ask ourselves:

• What purpose does my decision to disagree serve in this situation?
• What purpose does my decision to agree serve in this situation?
• What feelings are surfacing for me as I think about this?
• What is the risk that I believe I am dealing with here?
• What has been the outcome of similar behaviors in this same context?
• What is the worst that can happen if I decide to take this risk?
• What am I revealing about myself with my decision to take or not take this risk?
• Regardless, how can I claim my "part of the mess" in this situation?
• What would taking responsibility look like in this situation? Where would that lead?

If you think that you can't prevent a bad decision in a meeting with your boss, then you will feel satisfied and decide not to take any risk. Again your assessment of the situation – based on your thinking – will allow you to feel content and satisfied (not taking any risk) or motivated and driven towards a different outcome enough to put yourself on the line (taking the risk).

Thinking well as power

Notice how your "emotional intelligent" thinking about your organization/team/department influences the outcome and –ultimately – gives you or not the power to make a difference in the situation.

In situation A when you think that they "don't get it" and that no matter what is decided, it will make no difference: your behavior will make that thought come true and you will feel satisfied with your decision not to speak up. This is no matter how wrong the final outcome might turn out to be.

In situation B when you think exactly the same but feel that that particular decision is very important to you, and that your organization is really not that horrible and that its mission might be worth risking something, then your choice will be different.

I wish you a courageous and creative new year!

Adriano Pianesi | ParticipAction Consulting, Inc.

Are we "simpatici" in our work with groups?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 06:35:14 PST

Wednesday November 16, 2011

There is a word in Italian and other romance languages that can't be translated into English: Simpatico. The dictionary defines the word as [sim-'pä-ti-'kō] adj Informal 1. pleasant or congenial 2. of similar mind or temperament; compatible. I have also heard it translated as likeable or nice. Yet those translations do not capture an element at the root of the word "simpatia," which poorly translates into English as sympathy.

I catch myself using this word a lot to name the emotional and intuitive "sense" that takes place "below the neck" when people work with groups. We know what it is, and yet we can't define it.

I can say that "simpatia" exists only in the interaction between Individuals; it is not a personality trait, although an individual may be particularly adept at developing rapport in certain situations. And I find that people that are "simpatici" are more creative together and more likely to build positive results. So, what does it mean to be "simpatico" or its opposite "antipatico"? What does "simpatia" mean for our work with groups?

Are we builders of a "community of feelings"?

The meaning of "simpatia" has nothing to do with compassion or pity. Instead, the word comes from sympatheia; sympathes in Greek meaning, "having a fellow feeling, affected by like feelings." Both words come from syn- "together"+ pathos "feeling," literally feeling with. On the other hand, when you do not like someone and perhaps can't explain why, you might say that that person is "antipatica". Literally this mean that you can't feel with that person, you can't connect at an emotional level.

I like to say that "simpatia" highlights the ability to build rapport, to build a "community of feeling" animated by "affinity between certain things." Rapport is the closest concept I have found though this too is not a perfect fit.

Are we antipatici with our groups? Can we connect with others at an emotional level? Can we create with our groups a "community of feeling"? How? Are there people whom you like a lot but are unable to say why? Wouldn't it be great to understand and emulate what it is about those people that makes them "simpatici" to us?

A recipe for "simpatia"?

While everybody is looking to make the most of this enlivening dynamic—whether they are salespeople, teachers, or consultants—we also know that it can't be faked. In fact, individuals experience "simpatia" as the result of a combination of qualities embodied by each individual during an interaction, often at an unconscious level.

Research shows that there are three elements present when rapport exists:

Mutual attentiveness: Paying attention to each other—not focusing on yourself—is one key to building rapport, along with experiencing the dynamic as being reciprocal. Questions to ponder:

· In what ways can we pay attention to each person in the group?

· How do we gain people's attention in a non-manipulative way?

· How do we actively pursue reciprocal attention in our groups?

Shared positive feeling: Another key is to hold a joint focus on each other. This goes beyond paying attention to really "feeling with," and establishing an affinity—a common ground. Questions to ponder:

· Are we really listening to each other?

· What happens when we tune in to each others' feelings in a group?

· In what ways we can find elements of common ground with total strangers?

Coordination or Synchrony: Exchanges that are spontaneous—not guarded, but free-flowing—are most likely to result in rapport. Questions to ponder:

· What if we drop our guard in our exchanges with groups?

· What does it mean to be authentically present with a group for you?

I wish you fun and fulfillment as you explore "simpatia"!

Adriano Pianesi | ParticipAction Consulting, Inc. | Increasing Your Returns on Collaboration and Learning

Why is it so hard to have a "learning conversation" at work?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 09:12:48 PDT

Thursday October 20, 2011

People often ask why it seems so hard for them to replicate at work the same quality conversations they have in my workshops, the kind of conversations that allow people to learn something with and from each other. Indeed, I have found that many organizations struggle with this: How to increase the "learning quotient" of a conversation about a big decision and what can be done to ensure that people learn during an important group discussion.

Is our "problem solving" attitude the problem?

I do not know about you, but I do not listen much when my focus is on winning, showing off or solving somebody's problem. By paying attention to "looking good," "making an impression," or "doing my best," I leave myself little time for learning or reflecting.

Likewise, when I am under attack or under pressure to perform, concerned about avoiding embarrassment or threat, feeling vulnerable or incompetent, I notice that I create impenetrable defensive mechanisms that effectively prevent learning.

When we approach a real-life scenario with an "I win, you lose" mindset, we inevitably end up in a tug-of-war, where conversations break down, listening is superficial, and no learning actually happens. Learning is not possible if a conversation is a competitive game—I win you lose. On the other hand, learning is inevitable when I think cooperatively—I win you win. (To prove this point I often engage groups in a negotiation exercise with the purpose of demonstrating how thinking "win-win" is the beginning of learning.)

In a famous article, Chris Argyris talked about the need for managers to go beyond learning as problem solving and "... look inward...to reflect critically on their own behavior, identify the ways they often inadvertently contribute to the organization's problems, and then change how they act. ... learn how the very way they go about defining and solving problems can be a source of problems in its own right."

So, why is our problem solving attitude the problem? Well, because we want to do just that: Solve the problem. And our focus is not on learning. How can we do both?

Five things to help

"Action Learning" is a methodology that delivers results on two fronts at once: you learn while solving problems. Drawing on that methodology and on many other frameworks, here are a few ready-to-use suggestions to enable great learning conversations in teams:

· MINDSET: Think win-win and make it a point to focus on listening as hard as you possibly can;

· KEY QUESTION: Outline a key question that will direct the learning (that is, uncovering what you do not already know!);

· TIME LIMITS: Establish clear time limits (i.e., 40 minutes), and state the purpose and desired outcome of the session in specific terms;

· INFORMAL TONE: Hold the session in a non-formal setting. Avoid board rooms;

· GROUNDRULE: Enforce the key "Action Learning" groundrule that "Statements can only be made in response to questions". This encourages curiosity and improves inquiry.

Try it and see for yourself a dramatic improvement in your ability to reflect and learn together.

Good luck!

Adriano Pianesi | ParticipAction Consulting, Inc. | Increasing Your Return on Collaboration

Do you engage your team in vigorous debate to improve the quality of your decisions?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 05:24:11 PDT

Wednesday September 14, 2011

If it is true that great leaders do not take "yes" for an answer, your success as a leader may depend on your willingness to push the inquiry of a group into passionate, emotional territory. Are you able to maximize the search for answers while keeping people engaged in vigorous and spirited debate? Does your team attend to the work of deciding what to do, or do they get diverted by interpersonal friction, "broken record" ideas, and intolerance for new questions?

A bias I often notice is the idea that good decision making is dispassionate, rational, and totally unbiased. In fact, I believe the opposite is true: eliminating passion and emotion from decision making is not only nearly impossible; it's counterproductive. At the end of the day, those feelings are the same ones that will drive the successful implementation of the team's decision.

How do you make it vigorous?

Rather than try to put passion aside, the key is to adopt a specific set of actions before, during, and after the actual conversation.

BEFORE THE CONVERSATION: Establish ground-rules for how people should interact during the conversation, clarify the roles people are to play in the decision making process, and—most importantly—test to make sure that the group understands what is being decided (by asking people to restate it).

DURING THE CONVERSATION: Ask questions and reframe statements as the group works though the decision. Involve everyone—especially the silent members—and summarize or revisit what has been said when the group reaches an impasse. Make good use of any distress that arises during the process by dismissing repetitive ideas or openly restating a controversial statement (to increase the controversy). Invite people to verbalize their emotions and reach out to other team members for help (to decrease the emotional discomfort).

AFTER THE CONVERSATION: Ask people not to take themselves too seriously. Take the time to repair any damaged relationships or hurt feelings. Reflect on the value of the work that you've done and celebrate the effective ways in which the group has worked through a difficult decision.

What’s the soundtrack of team performance?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:17:02 PDT

Wednesday July 13, 2011

This article made me think: Are small groups able to work better and more productively if music is played? I am clearly biased on this subject: I love music and use music generously in my sessions. As an avid listener who appreciates every music genre (with a little predilection for old school Blues) I have often wondered about the power of music to improve performance: How can music help your team be a better team? Have you ever thought of music in this way?

What's music got to do with it? (sorry, Tina)

Music can be used as a practice to establish productive norms of relaxed and joyous interaction among people. For example, how might music support the World Café principle of creating a hospitable space, where collective intelligence is given a chance to emerge?

Music can be used as a powerful, non-intrusive behavioral influence during a session. As background music—either online or live—my personal favorites are: a Vivaldi string quartet during reflection time, a joyous Pinetop Perkins's boogie-woogie piece during a long group exercise, a rumba from Cachao to accompany group dialogue, French Caribbean music to go with heavy group work, and Military Band music to close a session.

Music can stand as a metaphor for superior performance. Like a good jam session, "music" and good vibrations are produced when a group is engaged in powerful collaborative work. Each group member improvises within a given set of guidelines to reach what behavioral theorist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls "flow," the optimal experience of heightened awareness and focused consciousness. Music, in this case, is the target objective of working together and ultimately its measure of success.

Music can serve as an artifact of a group's learning experience. You might push the creative juices of a team and request, for instance, that they write and perform a song related to the contents of a session. Have you ever ended a workshop with a group singing an original rap in front of the class with a rap rhythm in the background? This way, music becomes a celebration of the work, and a powerful way to share the product of that work together.

Talking about music, here is a great group whose uncanny ability to create good vibrations will make your soul smile. Download a song here. Enjoy!

Do facts have the power to change your mind?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:27:16 PDT

Wednesday June 8, 2011

We think that most people are objective and that, when presented with the right facts and evidence, they will be open to changing their minds.

Don't you agree that if people are furnished with the facts, they will be clearer thinkers and better citizens? Well, I realized in working with organizational change that this notion is hardly true. In other words: Facts don't necessarily have the power to change people's minds. Sometimes I think that —especially in some organizations—quite the opposite is true.

How do we defend ourselves and our organizations from the powerful human tendency to find comfort in information that we already know and not challenge it? How do we ensure that we are not victims of cognitive biases when we make decisions and agree on actions?

How do you prevent cognitive bias in your decision making?

· Because facts are powerless unless they are articulated in a story that helps us with shared meaning, in my work I stay away from statistics and data and focus on the story of a person impacted by the issue.

· To prevent cognitive biases, ensure that people are free to admit when they are wrong. Research shows that organizations where a culture of admitting mistakes is strong are less prone to cognitive bias. When people are free to change their mind and encouraged to do so, it's easier for people to stop defending positions that are not confirmed by facts.

· Use a variety of decision making tools to explore different options and celebrate disagreements as a healthy way to explore the fertile unknown. These kinds of conversations, called "inquiry on the edge", can become part of your toolkit to improve the decision making capacity of your team. To learn more about how to conduct an "Inquiry on the edge" click here.

Does your team learn from their mistakes?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Wed, 11 May 2011 10:01:48 PDT

Wednesday May 11, 2011

Accepting responsibility is critical for adult learning. It is only when we acknowledge that changing our behavior will improve a situation that we take steps to alter it. So after you accept responsibility for a situation, the first questions to ask yourself are:

· How can I learn from my mistakes?

· How do I contribute to the situation?

· What can I change to achieve different results?

Easier said than done.

Using mistakes to foster innovation in a team

· Establish a "no blame" ground rule. Call a "wrong storming" meeting for 30 minutes to discuss how the team itself contributed to the issue. In fact, blaming others—bosses, co-workers, clients, suppliers — will make it very difficult for your team to learn anything. I am not saying that people outside of your team don't make mistakes; rather, mistakes made by others are part of the context in which your team operates and are often out of your team's control.

· Encourage the team to talk about their mistakes without defensiveness. Go for a "round of mistakes" where—together with other business—you also encourage everyone to share the biggest mistake they made that week and what they learned from it. Done with a cohesive team and the right atmosphere, this exercise can become supremely cathartic.

· Establish prizes for the most useful mistakes—in terms of learning—that your unit has committed in the last month. This creates an environment where mistakes fully explored and understood become a competitive advantage. Not to mention improving your team's capacity not to take themselves too seriously.

I realize that this advice runs counter to the cultural assumptions we have about mistakes and failure in many organizations. However, great organizations and powerful teams are not measured by the absence of mistakes but by their courage, compassion and creativity to deal with them, as well as by their overall ability to learn from them.

PS: Learn from the future, for a change. Sometimes learning from the past is not enough. Sometimes there is the need for a team to start fresh. In those situations - rather than fixing the past - a focus on the future and on what the team wants to create is way more productive. When that is the case, first you need to hold a session that creates a shared understanding of the current situation the team is dealing with. That can be a great springboard for the team to start building a shared vision of what future can be possible together.

What is Leadership?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:14:25 PDT

March 16, 2011

I find the concept of leadership full of paradoxes and ambiguities. The notion itself seems very personal to me and deeply ingrained in everyone's individual experience.

Now, a complicated idea - difficult to understand or define - is very hard to teach to others. For some help I searched leadership quotes from big names to see if they give some clarity on this mystery: What does leadership mean at this time in human history? Here are a few that I found:

· The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.Kenneth Blanchard, University of Massachusetts, Schatz, Managing By Influence, (Prentice-Hall, 1986)

· Contrary to the opinion of many people, leaders are not born. Leaders are made, and they are made by effort and hard work. Vince Lombardi, 1913-1970, Professional football coach

· Leadership, like swimming, cannot be learned by reading about it. Henry Mintzberg, McGill University School of Management, The Nature of Managerial Work, Harper & Row, 1973

· The best leader is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it. Theodore Roosevelt, American President

· Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. Steve Jobs

· Leadership includes wisdom of the mind, body, spirit, and emotions. Author Unknown

What is your best leadership quote? Enter it in our Facebook contest here.

My Leadership Questions

I realized that when it comes to leadership, I have some key questions that I like to explore. Questions like:

· What if true leadership is more about "unlearning" and "stop doing" than adopting yet another management concept?

· What if all we need about leadership is an awareness of our "implicit" theory of leadership, the one we are already using?

· If leadership is not only about influencing others, what can leadership also be about?

How Do You Help Experts Share Their Knowledge?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 18:29:58 PST

Wednesday February 16, 2011

Accessing the knowledge of experts is critical in order to make informed decisions, communicate an organization's messages, or effectively train. But extracting specialist knowledge with the purpose of sharing it with non-experts is often a challenge.

Expertise comes from years of familiarity -- and from a lot of opportunity, both formal and informal, to develop it. So while experts know their stuff and live in it like a fish live in the water, they don't always know how to best share what they know in "laymen's terms". They are often unable to define what information is most essential for a novice.

We can relate to this, as we are all experts in some subject. But what would help us regain perspective? What thinking process should we go through to communicate meaningfully with people that have less knowledge than we have? What can help us work with a beginner's mind in our own area of expertise?

Three Questions to Ask/Three Things to Do

To be effective with experts we need to ask some critical questions that connect their knowledge to the day-to-day life of a less-technical audience.

· ASK: Among all the things that you know, what does our audience need to know? What would people care the most about?" What matters to your audience is a key criterion for selecting what truly needs to be shared vs. what would be nice to share. This brutally honest question can be helpful to clarify this for the expert: people wantto know things that meet their goals. DO: With your expert, list all the possible topics and select only the ones that your audience cares the most.

· ASK: "What specific actions will your audience perform with the information you provide?" People understand specific actions better than abstract concepts. Keep people's attention on a complex subject with a call to action or an uncommon point of view right up front. Make a compelling case in actionable terms for your audience. This motivates people to follow with interest the expert's supporting evidence. DO: With your expert, brainstorm all the new things your audience will be doing differently with the new knowledge.

· ASK: "How can we extract this information out of context? How can we communicate the how the context and some key principles interact?" Context is important to an expert. Often, they offer all sorts of contextual nuances -- and that is right, because their experience isn't based on black and white solutions. Instead they're nuanced based on variables that they've learned to master over the years. However, for the rest of us at the early stage of knowledge on a given topic, it is very helpful to name a pattern or a principle and then see it in action – even in all its different instances and contexts. DO: Ask your expert to generalize, identify a pattern, and discuss the difference instances of that pattern in varied contexts.

What Question Can Change Your Life in 2011?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 13:29:58 PST

Tuesday January 18, 2011

I love poetry and I want to take this opportunity to wish a great 2011 to all my friends with the verses of David Whyte, a poet that has brought his talent into the field of organizational development.
I read his verses often in my work with groups and find his words graceful and energetic at the same time.

This poem touches on the theme of the questions that waits us, those fateful questions that have the potential - if properly asked and given enough time - to make a difference in our life and work.

Enyoy! To your great questions!

SOMETIMES

Sometimes
if you move carefully
through the forest

breathing
like the ones
in the old stories

who could cross
a shimmering bed of dry leaves
without a sound,

you come
to a place
whose only task

is to trouble you
with tiny
but frightening requests

conceived out of nowhere
but in this place
beginning to lead everywhere.

Requests to stop what
you are doing right now,
and

to stop what you
are becoming
while you do it,

questions
that can make
or unmake
a life,

questions
that have patiently
waited for you,

questions
that have no right
to go away.

David Whyte

How do you manipulate (compassionately) a meeting that is going nowhere?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 06:12:12 PST

Tuesday November 30, 2010

The boring meeting has become a common evil of office life. Even with designated facilitators, meetings can still go terribly wrong and when we are not the meeting leader it can be hard to know what to do. However even in the most difficult situations we can still show leadership and make a little contribution. What are some empowering alternatives to just sitting there and feeling like a victim? The key is about asking innocent, real, authentic questions so that the meeting participants can take the action that is needed.

back to top

What questions can be asked?

· What is the purpose of this meeting? This is the key question that can often save you hours of meeting aggravation. Asked right at the begining it gives you a chance to quickly understand if you are supposed to be in the meeting and if you can contribute. If you feel strongly that the purpose is unclear or that is not one you can really help achieve, do mention to the meeting organizers that you do not need to be in the meeting.

· What are we going to do with the decisions, ideas, recommendations from this meeting? Oftentimes meetings have no real follow up. It is important to assess the impact of the meeting you are in by asking this question in order to define right away if it is worth your time.

· Do we have an agenda/a recorder for this meeting? A meeting without an agenda or a recorder is normally not worth attending. Ask this question and request the meeting organizer to briefly define time limits, items of discussion and possibly name a recorder.

· Do we have a timekeeper for this meeting? Time is the scarcest resource in today's busy workplace. By asking this question you voice your concern with ending on time and following the agenda. Do consider volunteering as timekeeper if there is no one doing it as a sign of your committment to a good meeting output.

· How can we make sure everyone participates in this meeting? If someone dominates the conversation, this question can really make a difference as it challenges the group to come up with a way to equalize "air time".

How do you ensure candid feedback in your next meeting?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 05:40:52 PDT

Friday October 29, 2010

It is not always easy to ensure that people talk with honesty and candor about a work issue. Nevertheless there are ways - inspired by the World Cafe' methodology - to ensure that even with the most difficult topic, participants will give you their best ideas and - at a minimum - the gift of honesty.

Principles for hosting honest conversations

· Create a comfortable meeting space. Whether you are convening several dozen or several hundred people, it is critical to create a comfortable environment that evokes a feeling of both informality and intimacy. When your guests arrive, they should sense immediately that this is no ordinary meeting.

· Make sure the meeting is about something they care about. When people focus on questions they care about, they begin thinking together rather than spinning off in random directions. Trying to convince others of a predetermined point of view is replaced by curiosity and new ways of understanding.

· Encourage curiosity. State that learning something together is the objective of your meeting. Ask people to be curious and to listen for differences, surprises, and challenges. Consider different perspectives and assumptions as gifts; even when they make us uncomfortable, they offer rich soil for discovering unforeseen possibilities and unanticipated learning.

How do you do it?

· Stay away from conference rooms! Instead be creative with your venue. If you can arrange tables in a staggered, random fashion rather than in neat rows. Ask people to sit in group of four or five at each tables. Background music is recommended.

· Ask good questions, those that need not imply immediate action steps or problem solving. Instead, they should invite inquiry and discovery rather than advocacy and advantage. For example a conversation about the status of a project might feature questions like "What opportunities you see?" or "What is bigger than the committment to our client?", "What would a good project also look like?
rather than "What action should we take?" or "What's the next step?" or "What problems do you see?"

· Join in the conversation and do not facilitate the meeting. Your behavior will model that you are a peer among peers in the quest for learning something together.

· Encourage people to move to other tables in several rounds so that everyone can all meet everyone else. Have fun in the process.

· At the end of the meeting, ask the participants to share a common theme heard from all conversations.

· Be mindful of time. Never go over the scheduled end time.

Adriano Pianesi
ParticipAction Consulting Inc. | www.participactioninc.com
Join me and David Isaacs in Boston on November 11 at the Systems Thinking in Action Conference

Check the FIRST ITALIAN WORLD CAFE' in Milan on October 20th, 2010

The Leadership Elephant

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 14:33:15 PDT

Friday September 10, 2010

By Adriano Pianesi and David Isaacs

Can we define what leadership is, so that when it shows up we'll recognize it?

Alas, it's an impossible task! Such a variety of ideas exist on this subject that it seems too difficult to say something new or vaguely original about it. A quick glance at the current theories of leadership reveals a wide range of choices: authentic leadership, exemplary leadership, heroic leadership, servant leadership, systemic leadership, open leadership, resonant leadership, transactional leadership. Indeed, you likely have other items that you could add to this list.

The fable of the blind men and the elephant tells a story in which six men describe an elephant in the six different ways that they perceive it. One feels the animal's tail; another grasps its leg; a third touches its flank. Similarly, when it comes to leadership, each theory sheds partial light, but none gives us the whole picture.

Yet our fascination with leadership is growing daily. The truth is that we badly need leaders to deal with the issues of our age, yet our world—at work, in our communities, in our politics—is empty of real examples of positive leadership.

Maybe we should start by exploring our unconscious assumptions and deeply held beliefs about this key role. If leadership is about power, why do we give our certain people power rather than seeking to share it with them? Is a leader our leader because he or she represents something important to us—our alter egos, perhaps, or some sort of collective fantasy of ourselves magnified in some way? If this is the case, what is leadership telling us about ourselves? And about the people we hope will guide us?

And what if leadership is not about solving problems? What if leaders are most effective when they ask questions rather than get answers? In this case, what would prevent us all from being leaders?

And, if questions contain the seeds for lasting organizational success, how do we live in our organization's questions? What are the questions we need to ask to create, in the words of H. Thomas Johnson, "profit beyond measure"?

Leadership lessons are omnipresent, if we take the time to access the wisdom that is present for us through the power of questions that matter. When we are able to clear away the clutter that weighs us down as leaders, we can connect to a deeper level of relationships, strategy, resilience, vision, ethics, and creativity.

We believe that when we take time to "unlearn" what we already believe to be true about leadership and fully examine our assumptions, we become deeply present, act intentionally, and generate renewed power and direction in our own lives and work. Are you ready to unlearn? What steps can you take in your organization, today, to stop waiting for leadership and start creating it?

Join me and David Isaacs on Leadership on November 11, 2010

Regards to all

Adriano Pianesi
www.participactioninc.com

Learning: Why Are Adults Different from Kids?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:45:10 PDT

Tuesday August 10, 2010

Since my son Dylan was born I have been constantly amazed by the magic of his learning. Is learning for children (pedagogy) really that different from learning for adults (andragogy)?

Here are a few facts I have collected that might help clarify the difference. I hope these ideas can help you clarify what challenges you might encounter next time you are asked to teach a class at work -- or to entertain a group of children at a party!

Children are natural learners and their readiness to learn is rooted in biological development. Adult learners need to take a break from "doing things" before they can get into the "learning mode." Adult learners view learning as a solution to cope with something that is impacting their immediate circumstances. For adults, learning is often sought out as a way to solve a problem or to deal better with something new. As such, adult learners are "problem-centered" and want to immediately apply new information or skills to current problems or situations.

Children have a limited experience base. Adult learners have a powerful resource for the learning process: their rich life experience; and they use it actively as they continuously relate new information to previously learned knowledge and experiences. Unfortunately, adult learners are more set in their ways, and are much more likely to reject or explain away new information that contradicts their values, beliefs and opinions. Children, in turn, are open to new information and will readily adjust their views. (I say this, despite having a two-year-old with hearty attachments to his toy alligator and other strong opinions. It's a phase, right?)

Children do not have to deal with the anxiety of the "un-learning" process before constructing new knowledge. Adult learners are proud. When a classroom environment is not perceived as safe or supportive, major issues of self-esteem and ego tend to degenerate into conflict. Adults perceive any lack of skill or knowledge as a gap that must be filled as quickly as possible to defend their acquired sense of professionalism and competence.

Children do not question the importance of the learning content. Adults have preconceived ideas about what is important to learn and why.

Children can be easily segmented by age when they come from similar socioeconomic backgrounds, etc. Adults exhibit significant differences and complexity as individuals, making them much harder to teach in a group with shared learning goals.

Adriano Pianesi
ParticipAction Consulting Inc. | www.participactioninc.com
306 Aspen Place, Alexandria, Virginia 22305

Ph: 703-920-0208 | Fax: 703-562-0856 | Cell: 202-262-3371

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How do you teach by using dialogue? Here are some ideas that have worked for me

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:30:49 PDT

Monday July 12, 2010

While using dialogic techniques can greatly boost the power of learning, imperfect execution is always a possibility when you try dialogue for adult learning. However, when dialogue has not worked in my classes—that is, when I have not been able to generate participation, engagement, or bring educational value to the content— I have noticed three things that were always missing.

What three things can make or break your attempt to become a "dialogic teacher"?

Three conditions for ensuring that dialogue works in the class

· The silence of the trainer. The condition for dialogue to flourish in the class is rather simple for the trainer: He or she needs to be silent more, or, as Stephen Brookfield and Stephen Preskill wrote: "…[curb] the compulsion to say all they would like to say in the interests of promoting engagement and participation." (Discussion as a Way of Teaching, 1999)

· A safe learning environment. A learning dialogue is impossible if the environment has not been clearly made safe. When you set the right class atmosphere, dialogue starts effortlessly. Avoid lifeless conference rooms if possible, and use or replicate informal room settings with natural light and round tables.

· A set of clear ground rules. To ensure that a learning dialogue is conducted properly and achieves full participation, it is important to state and request explicit buy-in to the ground rules you will follow. For example, here are the ones I circulate: shift focus from ideas, to the connection between ideas; shift focus from conflicting views, to how differences bring new insight to the whole; shift focus from the person to the idea, respecting the latter and always reserving skepticism.

Five tips to improve the quality of dialogue (in meetings or classes!)

· An invitation to remember. Start by inviting people to remember a time in their lives when they had a really good conversation. The ability to have good conversations is something people already possess, they simply need to use it in a different context. Remembering what they already know is much easier to learning it from scratch.

· Duration and purpose. At the outset, clarify the time available and the purpose of the conversation to encourage more effective and productive exchanges.

· A talking stick. Only the person holding it can speak. This prevents people from talking at the same time.

· A stone for your thoughts. Distribute five stones per person at the beginning of the dialogue. Whoever talks must relinquish one stone. This works well as a subtle invitation to those dominating the conversation to listen more!

· A quick reflection. Always make a point to ask: "What could we have done better to improve our dialogue?". Exploring how this inherent human capacity can be used to its full potential is a worthwhile and relevant closing for your dialogue.

What are LEARNING IMPACT MAPS? How do you use them?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 07:15:28 PDT

Wednesday June 9, 2010

Have you ever tried to guess the final outcome of your training classes in an organization? It's a daunting exercise, especially when your classes deal indirectly with a challenge that your organization is experiencing. So how can you make sure that a training class really makes a dent on the problem? I have successfully used LEARNING IMPACT MAPS and I am happy to share with you how this simple tool can work wonders for any of your learning projects.

IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE...

Quality training programs are focused on creating a change of behavior that affects the bottom line in an organization. We fail in this effort if we do not anticipate and clearly chart a map of:

· how new knowledge in the workplace is going to translate into effective behaviors

· how new effective behaviors are going to translate into business results

· how business results are going to translate into organizational goals

Defining in advance the effective beaviors that your classes are supposed to create results in more effective learning experiences that strengthen the possibilities of real organizational renewal and change.

Effective beahaviors through LEARNING IMPACT MAPS should not be viewed as an end in itself, but as a means to ensure learning excellence, innovation, and ultimately change.

TRAINING TIP: How do you use LEARNING IMPACT MAPS?

· Draw four columns in a piece of paper. In the first column write the learning objective of your session

· In the second column write the behaviors as a result of your session that you hope will emerge after the class

· In the third column write down the business results that will come from people adopting the effective behaviors described earlier

· In the fourth column list how these business results will serve the overall organizational goal of the organization you are working in

· Share the resulting document with your stakeholders and trainees. The discussion that originates will provide clear guidelines for the creation of value as you deliver training sessions.

How have you dealt with making sure people understand the link between learning and effective behaviors? In what ways have you helped others to see the link between training and business results? Write your comments here.

How do you engage your learners when teaching a dry subject?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 07:14:19 PDT

Wednesday May 12, 2010

When I'm asked this question, I answer with a quote that I like a lot by Jacques Barzun, French-American historian and scholar:

"It is not the subject but the imagination of the teacher that has to be alive before the interest can be felt."

I like to use Learning Tasks to engage learners and make my training workshop interesting and engaging. Here is what I specifically do:

· I turn the content of the materials I need to teach from "things learners need to know" (content) into "things learners need to do" (learning tasks)

· I create scripts for giving instructions for learning tasks so that I can provide my participants with unequivocal understanding of what they are supposed to do

· I force myself to act as a resource rather then a "talking head" during the actual tasks letting the trainees do the work

· I prepare in advance four or five key questions to manage the learning dialogue that follows an experiential learning task

Why do I do all this, rather than traditional lecturing? Isn't easier to create a Powerpoint presentation?

Sure, but not as effective. I've noticed from direct observation that the so-called domain knowledge (concepts, facts, and procedures) presented in Powerpoint, while often necessary, seems largely insufficient to empower people to solve problems at work. Adult learners are focused on "knowing how," "knowing when," and "knowing if" in order to improve their own ability to solve problems, often with limited time and incomplete information, in the context of their day-to-day tasks. I've noticed that a workshop made up entirely of learning tasks supports this kind of integration and brings about a more "transferable" and effective learning experience.

My feature article in the latest issue of the THE SYSTEMS THINKER says more about this. Check it out by clicking here.

Thanks for sharing your experience

What dry subjects have you successfully or unsuccessfully taught? What has worked for you? Share your experience by clicking here.

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What's wrong with lecturing?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 08:29:00 PDT

Thursday April 1, 2010

Nothing. It can be a great, simple way to teach but unfortunately the most abused method. Lecturing is a leading cause of death of organizational learning during training programs. So I had an irreverent idea: why not mourn its death on April 1st?

Check out our tongue-in-cheek death announcement for April Fool's day by clicking here...

Why is UN-LEARNING important? How do you deal with it?

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 07:11:30 PDT

Wednesday March 17, 2010

Have you ever tried to drive on the left side of the road if you are born in a country in which one drives on the right? Or have you broken out in a sweat trying to learn a foreign language or the latest version of a software system you have been using for years? All these situations confront us with replacing one behavior with a totally different one; one in which our previous knowledge acts as a barrier to learning something new. How do you deal with this challenge?

IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE...

Good, quality training programs are focused on creating a change of behavior that affects the bottom line in an organization. We fail in this effort if we do not recognize that people's ability to acquire new knowledge in the workplace on an ongoing basis is limited by:

· their previous knowledge/skills and deeply held assumptions

· their previous attitudes towards their organization's change initiatives/new programs/new opportunities.

Confronting the dimensions of unlearning and relearning results in more effective learning experiences that strengthen the possibilities of real organizational renewal and change.

Unlearning should not be viewed as an end in itself, but as a means to ensure learning excellence, innovation, and ultimately change.

TRAINING TIP: How do you deal with UNLEARNING?

· Try to hold three fundamental assumptions towards your trainees: regard, awareness and compassion

· Be clear about your unlearning objectives: either "sunglasses,""contact lenses," or "eye surgery"

· In the class take on the four roles that facilitate the unlearning process of your trainees: host, co-learner, devil's advocate, supporter

· Use experential learning tasks that explicitly touch on previous knowledge and future implemention of learning

· Support the "after-the-class" process of implementation of learning with technology, trainees supervisor's involvement, and informal events

See more about this by clicking here.

How have you dealt with your own unlearning? In what ways have you helped others to unlearn? Write your comments here.

Why Innovative Training (without PowerPoint) has Great Value

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 07:08:22 PDT

Wednesday February 17, 2010

Recently, I had a conversation with someone new to my work and it struck me that she didn't fully understand the value that innovative training (without Powerpoint) can bring to her organization. Understanding training's value helps you make the best decisions about when and why to use it.

Innovative Training Supports the Organization's Goals

Lowered Training Costs.

Producing traditional training is time consuming whether it's in person or online. With innovative approaches like Conversational Learning, the Learning Construction Site and the World Café , each time a learning opportunity presents itself the training can be set up in less than a week. Because your preparation costs are minimal and the returns you gain from your team avoiding past mistakes has real impact, you lower training costs considerably.

Improved Morale.

Training organized this way is essentially a work of capacity building. Recent studies reveal that recognition for a job well done is the number one motivator at work. Allowing top-performers to teach your team not only recognizes their work, but it also allows urgent learning topics to bubble up and be dealt with in an organized forum.

Increased Productivity.

Innovative training is not only done in person but also uses e-learning and webconferencing. It is not bound by geography or time. As a result you can control training's impact on production by training people during down times. In addition, with the current economy, you're asking people to do more with less. So innovative training is a great way to give them the tools and skills needed to enhance their performance.

Innovative Training Nurtures a Learning Organization & Community

Effective Knowledge Management.

Many people see training as a workshop experience. But innovative training includes all sort of online technologies. If - aside from classroom time - you incorporate some of the tools that allow collaboration and conversation, you can capture organizational knowledge that is available for future learners.

Encouragement of Sharing.

The foundation of a learning community is built on sharing what you know with others. This is where incorporating a forum or wiki really adds value to your team. Depending on how the course is structured, you can encourage sharing of resources and insight gained from the course.

TRAINING TIP

One of the challenges with making training more effective is to clearly state its results. I'm an advocate of defining the training results in business terms.

If you're training your employees, you might consider how that impacts their learning and new results. Do people have access to training resources when the course is complete? Are you rewarding them for implementing the learning? What accountability mechanism exists after the class?

ASK YOURSELF: What action will need to happen in the next 90 days to verify that the knowledge gained in this class has changed some behaviors?

Innovative training is cost effective and can produce great results. Where have you seen innovative training effectiveness in action? What suggestions would you offer to those who are just getting started?
Feel free to share your ideas via the comments link.

Adriano Pianesi
ParticipAction Consulting Inc. | www.participactioninc.com
306 Aspen Place, Alexandria, VA 22305 Ph: 703-920-0208 | Fax: 703-562-0856 | Cell: 202-262-3371

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Is it Work or is it Training? “Work-based learning” with Action Learning

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 10:46:05 PDT

By Adriano Pianesi

I would like to share my excitement for the effectiveness of a new approach to learning from experience called Action Learning. I recently completed my certification as an Action Learning coach and have already facilitated two workshops using the method.

Action Learning is an instructional method of solving a problem in a group setting while learning from experience under the guidance of an Action Learning coach.
In an Action Learning session people discuss and reflect about a problem owned either by an individual, a group or a team. Dialogue is guaranteed by one of the method’s critical ground rules: “Statements can be made only in response to questions.” This rule is established at the beginning of the session and generates a spirit of inquiry that releases the pooled knowledge of the group to solve a problem. The process is this: a participant presents a real problem to the group and participants proceed to ask questions in order to understand the problem and come up with potential solutions. While the group is in this discussion, the Action Learning coach focuses exclusively on the learning that comes from experience and intervenes from time to time stopping the action to solicit learning reflections from participants.

In addition, at the beginning of an Action Learning session the coach asks each participant to name a leadership skill he/she wants to work on. At the end of the session each individual receives feedback from the group on how he/she did in reference to that particular skill during the conversation. In this way, Action Learning serves the dual purpose of solving problems and developing leadership skills.

An Action Learning program is such if six key elements are in place:
• A team willing to meet face-to-face at least once, better if more or on a regular basis
• An Action Learning Coach
• An urgent problem that needs some resolution. The problem must not have an existing solution. For example, “What is the capital of Kyrgyzstan?” does not qualify as an Action Learning problem as only one solution exists; “How can I find out what the capital of Kyrgyzstan is?” does, as there are several ways for somebody to find out.
• A commitment to questioning and reflecting by the members of the group
• A commitment by the problem-owner to action based on the result of the session
• A commitment to learning.

As such Action Learning:
• is not a task force or a quality circle, because in those groups the purpose is exclusively to act while learning is incidental. In Action Learning, learning is one of the main objectives of the session.
• is not a simple dialogue, because the session generates action items as solutions to the problem that the problem owner commits to use in real life.
• is not coaching individuals about a problem, because the group generates the solution while the Action Learning coach only focuses on the learning of the group.

One of the Action Learning’s elements that I found most important is that it uses one of the key findings of contemporary learning theory -- that the process of acquiring expertise must be through applied learning and communication with peers and experts in the workplace, not with top-down communication.

Action Learning addresses effectively the unwillingness of many organizations to send managers away from work to training and the common misconception of seeing learning as separated from “real work” and, ultimately, of little value.
Why? Because Action Learning generates value and distills learning from experience while solving real-world problems. Peter Drucker’s 1959 idea of the “knowledge worker”—the visionary concept of a workforce whose primary job is to develop knowledge to, in turn, generate value fits to Action Learning to a T.

Yet, I worry about how far from this concept the reality of today’s workplace is, with the trainer’s job still shaped by the traditional model of an expert teaching with Power Point presentations!

Colleagues, let’s step up our efforts! I announced my first Action Learning workshop “No Training! Action Learning for Managers” with an invitation that read: “Disclaimer: No PowerPoint slides were created for the design of this course.” and “Bring your work problems with you; we will solve them together and learn something in the process!” This set the collaborative and original tone that lasted through the highly enjoyable session. I might add that the session was also highly effective.

One of the elements I was struck with about Action Learning is its ability to bridge formal corporate knowledge needs with the unpredictability of informal workplace communities. In fact Action Learning implicitly assumes that:
• The solution to problems exists already in workplace communities—not with experts
• The pooled knowledge of learners is the critical resource for learning —not a textbook
• Learning at work must generate knowledge to solve problems –not abstract theory
• Learning is facilitated in action – not away from it

Today, the demand for more and better workplace learning calls for a new generation of training that focuses on pooling and creating knowledge rather than on functions carried out more effectively by computers (like information-dispensing and skill-drilling). I believe Action Learning can be a useful additional tool in the repertoire of adult educators to address this challenge.

I am planning to facilitate another Action Learning workshop soon and I am looking forward to continuing to share my experience further with the readers of my blog.

I own Participaction Consulting, Inc., a consultancy that develops custom training solutions through collaboration to reach lasting organizational change.

Dialogue is Dangerous When it is Done Right:

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 12:54:10 PDT

by Christine Little
Director of Global Learning & Organizational Development
Habitat for Humanity International

The meeting was stalled with 40 people standing in clusters around the edges of the room. They were stuck, frustrated, and looking for me help them out. For a day we had moved through the safer activities of the meeting, working in small groups, gathering input for the content of a purpose statement, discussing and charting the stickier points of process and structure.

But this question was a high risk question. "Which of these points are you personally committed to putting some action to?" There was no hiding from that question in a small group. There was no hiding from it in the creation of more elegant bullet points. It could not be anonymously penned on a flip chart or jotted onto a sticky note right before darting out the door.

This question was personal. It was confrontational. It confronted them with their own freedom to choose - am I committing to what we can create in this room, or am I opting out?

Since reading Peter Block's compelling book "the answer to how is yes," (and having been in an even more compelling two-day workshop with him) I have rethought the way I design for safety in dialogue.

"Threat can work against dialogue. If I will be ridiculed for a wrong answer, I am likely to withhold my answers until I am sure they are right. If honest opinion gets punished, I may opt for the safe, comfortable, slightly less honest dialogue that frequently fills meeting, training and conference rooms.
Threat can work against dialogue. If I will be ridiculed for a wrong answer, I am likely to withhold my answers until I am sure they are right. If honest opinion gets punished, I may opt for the safe, comfortable, slightly less honest dialogue that frequently fills meeting, training and conference rooms.

Safety can also work against dialogue. Exposure is the price for meaningful dialogue. And significant change -- the ultimate pay off for learning -- is not safe, painless or easy. It requires courage. Our design and facilitation would do well to promote courage rather than safety. Courage is ultimately more useful for the world.

I have facilitated, and participated in, elegantly designed processes that made it easy to hide, to play it safe or to avoid meaning. In these gatherings, dissent has been put on the "parking lot" so that it can't derail the process in the room. Questions and reporting techniques keep the dialogue manageable (especially for the facilitator), but they neutralize expressions of doubt, confusion, and disagreement.

I still use small groups. I still sequence activities to move from easy to more difficult. I don't call on individuals to confront them with the question I think they are dodging. But I also create space for individuals and for the group to participate in more courageous dialogue.

Here are some ways I have changed my approach to design and facilitation in pursuit of courage over safety:

I use questions that examine doubt, commitment and personal choice. "Head" questions can generate good information - we need them to get the ideas out there, but "gut" questions can bring a group to confront its choice.
I have greatly reduced my reliance on clever techniques that gather information in manageable bites. The SNOW cards, graphic organizers and two-word answers that I favored in order to boost dialogue, generate more information and create safety, were also diminishing some of the meaningfulness of the dialogue. They have their place. But the frequently served my need for time management and control more than they served

I build time into my design to process with the group how they are functioning (individually and as a group) in the meeting room. Block notes that the meeting itself is a metaphor for the organization. It is rich with data, and often partly invisible to people in the room. It is worthwhile to examine what it means if people are quietly agreeing to decisions in the meeting, then frenetically trying to lobby the CEO at break.

I stay with the group when the tension builds, when they are stuck, or resisting, or polarizing, but I don't give into the temptation to save us all by quickly designing a safer task.

This last part takes the most courage from me. I am proud of my capacity to design tasks, ask the right questions, keep the group engaged in the work. I like to be the person in the room who can design the environment and the work in such a way that a group produces what it set out to produce. The trouble is, if the session is mainly a demonstration of my design capacity, it may not actually be a demonstration of the commitment of the people in the room to carry forward what they have planned.

As we stood in that meeting room, the tension grew. The participants stopped talking about their own dilemma and switched to talking about how the meeting was being run. They said I was asking the wrong question. That we needed to go back and get the wording of the bullet points right first. That the categories were all wrong.

In my own mind, I could already hear how the story would be told about this failed meeting. "Two wasted days! The CEO sitting in the room for two days! All those wasted airfares. And the problem is she got the design all wrong." It was an act of will not to break the tension by moving them into small groups and giving them the task of rewording some bullet points. That would have guaranteed an output. But the bigger prize -- personal commitment to the decision -- would have been lost.

After a torturous 20 minutes, something shifted. The group took control of the meeting. They started moving the tables around so that the room was better designed for the work. They very quickly formed groups and figured out their own process for collecting and reporting. I had designed some questions for them, but I didn't even put the flipchart up. My questions no longer mattered. They had decided to commit, and they already knew what had to be created in the next two hours. All I needed to do was sit down and let them work.

The final diary of my Classroom Timer

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 09:14:14 PDT

The dramatic account in the words of Rory McLean, former Lead Developer of my team and Humorist Maximus NOTE I do keep a bag with markers, mp3 player, pens, a bell and a timer in a box for use in my classroom sessions. I never thought it would become the subject of such drama :-)

Tuesday:
Another day in the box with the other "toys". I'm crushed up against a cupie doll that has eyes and ears that expand when you squeeze it. I can't believe a serious electronic device like me if forced to share space with a cupie doll...I have three split times for Christ's sake...this is outrageous...I should be in a hand-crafted box. What's worse is that my backside is crushed against the cupie doll and I don't know what else expands when he's squeezed. I pray that nobody sits on the box.

Wednesday:
I can't really tell what's going on since the plastic box is so cloudy. Adriano might have a training class...maybe I can finally get out of here. He's running around, showing a screen to everyone. It looks like the zoom button screen. I can't tell. Maybe we're training some FBA folks.

Thursday:
No meeting...damn. Adriano did open the box to take the bell for a little bit. When bell returned he said it was just the weekly departmental meeting and they would ring him some nobody could abuse Kenny for more than three minutes each.

Friday:
I can't take it any longer. Some people say they like the smell of markers but try smelling "grape" for five days straight. Makes me want to vomit.
...But I do have a plan. I'm setting off my alarm and that should get attention.

Late Friday Night:
The alarm didn't get Adriano's attention. Trinh was here a few minutes ago, but she couldn't locate me and left.

Saturday:
Alarm is still going off...but nobody can hear me. I feel so lonely. The drain on my batteries is scaring me.

Sunday:
No hope. Alarm is starting to make sick chirping noise. No energy left. Tell Adriano I was always there for himmmmmm.....

Conflict Resolution Training: Aim high

noreply@blogger.com (Adriano) — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 11:40:24 PDT

We published - with the author's permission - an article about the purpose of conflict resolution training in government agencies. I feel Geoff’s article applies not just to Conflict Resolution Training but to many other Federal Government training classes . Enjoy!

Conflict Resolution Training: Aim high

The cardinal rule of organizational behavior is that what gets measured gets done. Applied to training, the means the criteria used to evaluate a course not only dictate how it is designed and delivered, they also shape how trainees interpret and apply the course content.

This article discusses how three approaches to evaluation used by government agencies affect the extent to which conflict resolution training has a positive impact on the workplace.

Compliance
The purpose of many training courses is to comply with a statute, regulation, Executive Order, or agency directive that requires certain categories of employees to receive training on a particular subject within a designated timeframe. These mandates rarely, if ever, require employees to retain or use the knowledge
or skills conveyed to them. They require only that certain information be transmitted. As a result, agencies typically track only whether such transmission occurs.

One method is documenting content and attendance. For live training, this means ensuring that employees' names appear on sign-in sheets, and that the video or PowerPoint slides they view and the manual they receive contain the requisite content. A second method for documenting the transmission of information
is requiring employees to answer questions designed to test
their comprehension of the material. Both methods provide a clear audit trial for proving compliance with a training mandate, but they reveal nothing about
what employees do when they return to the workplace.

As a result, these measures provide no incentive to provide quality training. The simplest and quickest ways to convey information are passive: requiring students to listen to a lecture, watch a video, or read materials on a website. Unfortunately, these are also the least effective methods for training adults. In theory, testing would create a demand for quality, but in reality this often is not the case. Since the agency's goal is documenting compliance, it wants as high a pass rate as possible. Retraining, retesting, or, worse yet, having to discipline employees who fail tests is an administrative burden. The easiest ways to ensure a high pass rate are to teach to the test (stress the material covered in the questions) and to make the questions as easy as possible to answer. If they are warned during a course that certain actions are illegal and could lead to prosecution, disciplinary action, or other adverse consequences, employees are likely to adjust their behavior accordingly regardless of how the course is evaluated.

But if the course is intended in whole or in part to inspire rather than command certain behaviors, the agency's apparent lack of concern about what they do when they return to their workstations is likely to strongly influence employee behavior.
The message that usually comes through loud and clear is that this course is just another bureaucratic interruption of their real work.

Reaction
Training in conflict resolution skills is often used to react to perceived problems in the workplace. If there are a lot of disputes, why not provide training in how to resolve them? If communication seems to be lacking or ineffective, communications
training seems like a sensible response.

Are lawyers and other agency personnel spending a lot of time or money on litigation?
Training in negotiation or mediation skills might help. The methods typically used to gauge the success of this type of training are attendance and participant feedback. At the end of the course, employees are asked to rate various aspects
of the training. Participant evaluations provide an incentive to make a course enjoyable and provide valuable information about what participants like and dislike.

But there is a serious downside to assuming that if employees like a course they will
use what they learned in some beneficial way. Without any proof of a return on investment, it is hard to justify spending money on training. Many theoretically sound ideas fail to hold up in real world testing. Furthermore, as is the case with compliance training, if an agency does not commit to measuring the impact of skills
training on workplace behavior, employees may assume the agency is more concerned with "looking good" by reacting to a problem than it is with changing how things are done.

Everyone in the federal sector has seen flavor-of-the-month initiatives that come and go faster than celebrity marriages.

Performance
An agency may commit to bettering its performance on a mission- related goal and determine that training is a means to this end. Training in conflict resolution skills may further such agency goals as reducing complaints or grievances; improving
employee satisfaction or productivity; or lowering sick leave abuse, attrition, or transfer requests.

Measuring the impact of conflict resolution training on employee performance creates a powerful incentive to provide top quality training. Measuring impact also makes it imperative to incorporate training into a comprehensive plan for promoting positive
change. If employees are tasked with achieving a goal and are informed that training will help them achieve it, they have a strong incentive to figure out how to apply the skills they learn productively. It all gets back to the simple rule that what gets measured gets done. If the measure of success for conflict resolution training is workplace performance, employees get the message that improving performance matters.

Since impact on a mission-related goal cannot be measured until well after a course ends, content, attendance, testing, and course evaluations are useful for ensuring a course is on track. Used as tools instead of goals, these measures can play a constructive role in promoting effective training.

The downside of measuring success by employee performance is the increased risk of failure. Content and attendance are a breeze to control, and good trainers can easily ensure that employees pass tests and review a course favorably. But
staking your reputation on how others perform post-training may seem downright scary. Just remember there is tremendous power in letting go. If an agency demonstrates its belief in the skills it is teaching and the employees it is teaching them to by committing to measurable results, employees will strive
to live up to expectations.

Geoff Drucker is the Director of Federal Dispute Resolution with the McCammon Group and can be reached at 703.582.9971 www.mccammongroup.com