FYI or more? How involved will people be...

When you engage with people, to get input or feedback or work with them to reach outcomes, how involved will they be? This week I’ve heard phrases like ‘consulting with’, ‘socialising the strategy’, ‘run it by them’ and ‘keep them in the loop’.
 
It’s vital that you plan for, and position, how involved people will be in you project, workshop, consultation. Position it clearly and upfront. You don’t want people coming along thinking their view is going to count if the ‘consultation’ is really about information. Or you ask about views and concerns but you have no way of incorporating them into the final design.
 
“Today’s meeting is for information only, to keep you up to date with progress…”
“Here’s what we want your input on; this part, not that part…”
“I’m getting your views on the project today and the ultimate decision will be made by the project sponsor...”
“We’re meeting with you to find out what your key concerns are so we can make changes to address them…”
 
Note the distinct differences:
Informing – it’s for information only so people understand what’s going on
Consulting – you seek feedback on the information, the alternatives or what might be decided on
Involving – you work with people to understand their concerns, and of course, you’re going to consider them
Collaborating – you work with people at every step of the way, working on alternatives and finding the solution with them
Empowering – you're giving the decision making power to them; you’ll do what they decide on.

It’s a broad spectrum from information through to empowering. And it’s much easier to engage and collaborate with people when you make it clear where you’re at.

 
So this is for your information (FYI). It’s up to you where you’d like to take it from here!

A Presentation Unplugged

It was a brave and creative leader who took up the challenge I gave him recently when I said: 'turn off the data projector; deliver your entire presentation unplugged."

This leader of a national team was about to embark on the classic roadshow; you know, fly about the country or region at great expense (airfares, transfers, accommodation) and present to a room of the organisation's leaders. This room of leaders is there at great expense too! They've stepped away from their work, projects and teams and are about to give their time and attention to your message. You hope. 

So without the safety net of his slide show, he unplugged the technology and went with his prepared points, key messages, structures, stories and examples ... plus a flip chart and a thick black chisel point marker.

A 30-minute presentation was broken down to six flip charts that he created in the moment. They included: where the business was now, the challenges ahead, how the business was addressing the challenges and what the call to action was for the people across the organisation. His presentation was scripted and structured using this one-pager which you're free to use.

Rather than those good people snoozing in their seats, they listened and interacted with him. Best of all he said, "they came up at the end of the presentation and pointed to the flip charts; they talked about what I'd presented, they asked questions, they engaged!"

You know you need to reduce your reliance on that data show presentation and to stop that 'click and talk' syndrome, but what do you use instead? Start with a good structure to give your thinking clarity; clarity about key messages. Aim for less wordy content. Get yourself a thick black chisel tip marker and use some strong visuals, created in the moment. Get your thinking clear and they'll get your message. 

Getting to decision and action

You know when you're in a meeting or conversation and things don't seem to be getting anywhere, at the speed you'd like? You know the round and round thing? 'Didn't we just cover that?' 'OK, she said that before, let's move on!' 'When, if ever, will we decide on something?' 

I wanted to give you a valuable tool for meetings and conversations that helps you keep things moving, towards decisionmaking. I call it 'The Facilitator 4-Step'. It's simple, it's clear and you just need to signal with the group what stage of the meeting or conversation topic you're at. These four steps will help you everytime, if your meeting goes for five minutes or even for a full day. I've used it in team workshops, strategic planning days, community meetings, even one-on-one conversations. It was a part of some recent facilitation training I delivered for project management teams to help them move from talking about it, to acting on it!

Facilitator 4-Step
1. Facts and Evidence : what do we know? Deal with the facts first, whether you're reviewing what this is all about or you need to clarify the details. Hold back on opinions for now.
2. Discussion and Opinion : what do we think? Now you can let the discussion and opinions flow...! Identify common themes, capture thoughts and views. Hold off on solutions for now.
3. Ideas and Opportunity : what could we do? If you need to generate ideas and solutions, now is the time. Make sure you don't cycle back to opinion and discussion, unneccesarily. 
4. Actions and Commitments : what will we do? When there are decisions to be made, now is the time. The facts are out there, you've discussed thoroughly, come up with ideas, now act!

The Facilitator 4-Step is available here as a visual I created using Brushes on the ipad; you can save or print it. You can use the questions in blue to explain to the group where you're at. 

You can get to decision and stop the round and round. But make sure you capture views and opinions along the way too. No steamrolling ok? And if you're meeting to decide, decide to follow a process that will actually get you all somewhere...  phew!

Map out the conversation

When you're heading off to a meeting today or tomorrow, take your notepad along, sure. Only this time, map out how the conversation goes.

Rather than jotting your own notes or actions, capture what the conversation is about. What are the key points? Where are the forks in the road? Where are the blocks or barriers? Where is the humour and lightness? You'll soon see so much more - and the person or group you're having the conversation with will too. 

Last week I met with a client about a customer engagement project. I mapped out our chat and before long, we had three phases, a series of key questions and some follow-up actions. I can recall greater detail of that meeting just by looking at my 'conversation map'. It's a few wavy lines, squares, circles and cloud shapes - just like the cloud shape in the left column of this newsletter. And there were words too. Make sure you've captured words!

Visual notes are engaging, powerful and effective. They serve as one of the greatest mental filing cabinets you have. Just looking at the notes from that conversation helps me recall detail. Here are the notes from my meeting - though they might mean even more if you'd been there. So next time we meet, I'll map out our conversation too. Pick up your pen and map out your next conversation with a client, customer, or colleague. It will stay stronger in your mental filing cabinet!

When you bring a team together this year...

Facilitating as a Leader

2012 is off and running - so in the important first few meetings, workshops or catch-up conversations you have this year, remember to make use of some of the super-skills of the facilitator to help you handle group dynamics and decision making.

Late in 2011, I designed and facilitated a one-day program on Facilitation Skills to help a client's team boost their management and people skills – particularly when handling projects and meetings.
 
Some of the most useful outcomes were related to getting group buy-in or input to decisions, generating ideas and ... most of all, getting out of discussion mode and into decision mode.

How much of a facilitating manager or leader are you? There are some great skills to learn. If you haven’t checked out the International Association of Facilitators free starter guide to facilitation – and how to have more productive meetings – this great PDF can be found here…
 
What to start doing
1. Check the expectations of everyone in the group or meeting as you start; why do they think they’re there?
2. Have an agenda – even a rough one that outlines how you’ll begin, how you’ll run the middle bit and how you’ll wrap things up.
3. Listen. Facilitators let people talk … and then they use a variety of techniques to help people summarise, wrap up or focus in on their point.
4. Go where there might be a bit of tension, rather than avoiding or running from it. Get it out there and it can be dealt with rather than hidden. Progress will be easier.
5. Use visuals (words + images) – either on a notepad, a flip chart or a whiteboard – to help the group or team ‘see’ where they’re at and where they're trying to get to.
 
Most of all, if you're getting the team together, be clear about why. Is it for information only, discussion, debate, decision making, strategising or brainstorming? They're all very different reasons and need different approaches to achieve great outcomes.