International Association of Facilitators
1999 Annual Meeting
Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
January 1999
Thread #3 Teambuilding and Communication
Ed Manning
Leadership Strategies, Inc.
1961 N. Druid Hills Road
Suite 205B Duncan Square
Atlanta, Georgia 30338, USA
(404) 321-5200
(404) 321-5222
lstrategy@mindspring.com
Most facilitators have experienced some type of dysfunctional behavior in a session, such as people refusing to participate (the drop-out), dominating the discussion (the loudmouth), doing other work in the session (the workaholic), arguing with others (the verbal attacker). Good facilitators have techniques for addressing dysfunctional behavior. Great facilitators know the strategies for preventing dysfunction from occurring at all. This session is taking from The Effective Facilitator a three-day course that focuses on the fundamental principles of group facilitation and over 90 "best practices" used by effective facilitators. These techniques can make the difference between highly effective sessions and meetings that end in frustration and wasted time. During this session, the facilitator will overview the principle for managing dysfunction and highlight key techniques that you can employ immediately for preventing, identifying and resolving dysfunction.
6.1 Understand Dysfunctional Behavior
6.2 Separate Symptom from Root Cause
6.3 Focus on Prevention
6.4 Detect Non-Verbal Cues
6.5 Address Dysfunction Effectively
6.6 Inform the Group When Appropriate
6.7 Reward Functional Behavior
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Dysfunctional behavior is any activity by a participant which is consciously or unconsciously a substitution for expressing displeasure with the session content or the facilitation process.
Dysfunctional behavior can take many forms, asserting itself in behavior that can include anything from folded arms and complete silence, to audible sighs of displeasure and walking out the room in disgust.
A facilitator should treat dysfunctional behavior as a sign that the participant is asking for help.
In essence, the participant is waving a red flag and saying, "I don't like what is going on, but I am not ready to tell you yet." Of course the participant may not verbally tell you until their degree of dysfunction has gone through the roof!
Recognize that the dysfunctional behavior is a symptom that is masking the real issue (the root cause), which is typically a problem with the information generated by the session (the content) or the way in which the session is being run (the process).
Dysfunctional behavior tends to get worse over time. One reason is that the participant's level of impatience increases with every additional minute that he/she feels time is being wasted. If you ignore dysfunctional behavior and hope that it will go away by itself, you are probably setting yourself up for a much larger problem later on. Fortunately, dysfunction is easier to address when it is addressed early.
During your preparation stage (see Principle 1, "Preparing for Success"), inquire about issues and concerns that might cause problems during the session. Specifically, you will need to know about the following:
Based on the information from the preparation stage, develop and execute strategies for preventing problems from occurring. Strategies may include the following:
The facilitator must constantly be on the lookout for the early forms of dysfunction. Early in the session, look especially for the following:
Dysfunction Check - Actively looking for signs of dysfunction
To help you remember to do a dysfunction check, consider linking the dysfunction check to an agenda activity.
Example
Before announcing each break, do a dysfunction check: look around the room specifically to observe any non-verbal cues that you may have previously missed.
Throughout the session look for the following:
How you deal with dysfunctional behavior will vary depending upon the nature of the dysfunction, when it occurs, the number of people impacted, the probable root cause, etc.
The general formula for addressing dysfunction is as follows:
(Talk privately with the person at a break, or address your comment to the group as a whole)
"It looks like you have some important work to get done and this session has put you in a crunch so you have brought your work with you."
"I think we need your full participation on this. Are we addressing issues that affect your area?"
"What needs to happen to ensure that the work that needs to get done is done -- and that we get your input in the session? . . . Okay, so we are agreed then that we will make every effort to talk about your areas the first two days so that if necessary the last day you can work outside the session."
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Dysfunction |
Suggested Action |
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Late Arriver/Early Leaver Arrives late to session, leaves early |
- Remind the group of the ground rules.(Start/end on time) - Discuss the behavior privately during break to ensure that there is not an additional problem. |
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Loudmouth Dominates the discussion |
- At the start of the next process, announce, "Let's hear from some people who have been quiet." - At the break, solicit the person's assistance in getting other people to speak; let them know that from time to time you will purposely not call on them. - Occasionally make it a point to acknowledge the person's desire to speak, but call on someone else. |
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Storyteller Likes to tell long-winded stories |
- Remind the group of ground rules. (End point first) - Stand next to the person if they get long-winded. - Discuss the behavior privately during break to ensure that there is no additional problem. |
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Broken Record Repeats the same point |
- Point to what was already said and ask a direct probe, "How is this different?" - Follow this by prompting the group for any other ideas - Consider taking the point off the table: "I know this is an important issue. Let’s take a second to discuss it now? But afterwards, let's avoid coming back to it so we can spend time on other issues that are also important. Can we agree on this?" |
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Drop-out Maintains silence, fails to participate Folds his/her arms, faces door or window
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- Remind the group of ground rules. (Everyone speaks) - Employ a round-robin brainstorming activity to get everyone involved. - Occasionally stand next to the person or direct questions at a variety of people, including him/her. - Discuss privately during break to ensure there is not an additional problem. |
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Whisperer Holds side conversations |
- Remind the group of ground rules. (Respect the speaker) - Stand next to the person if it occurs again. - Discuss privately during break to ensure there is not an additional problem. |
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Workaholic Does other work during session |
- Stand next to the person and make eye contact to let them know that you are aware of the behavior. - If the behavior persists, discuss it privately during break to ensure that there is not an additional problem. |
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Naysayer Demonstrates negative physical reactions Voices audible sighs of displeasure
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- Say with optimism, or jokingly, "It appears that we have some concerns about this alternative. Let's talk about it. What are the issues?" - Seek buy-in by asking, "How can this be made better?" - At the break, attempt to reach a solution in which the person will openly speak about concerns during the group session. - Be sure to get all the issues out. |
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Verbal Attacker Makes negative comments about a person Issues verbal attack directed at a person |
- Move between the people to cut-off the discussion. - Consider taking a break. - Meet with the attacker in conjunction with the project sponsor or project manager to determine the root cause of the behavior. - Consider asking that the person be removed from the session. * |
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Door Slammer Leaves the room in disgust |
- Spend a few minutes with the group debriefing on the event before continuing with the session. * - Take a break. - Get with the project sponsor or project manager to discuss the issue and select a replacement. |
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Physical Attacker Physically attacks someone |
- Stop the session immediately. - Let the group know they will be notified when the next session is scheduled. - Meet with project sponsor and project manager to discuss appropriate actions. |
* Always discuss the situation with the group when someone has been removed or has left the group. Failure to discuss will keep it an issue longer than necessary and may negatively influence the work of the group.
Avoid the following, which could otherwise serve to exacerbate the problem:
For early stages of dysfunction, bringing up the issue is typically enough to remove the dysfunction. However, following resolution, do periodic dysfunction checks with the participant to ensure that the root cause has fully been addressed. (If it wasn't, the dysfunction may take another form.) Upon recognizing dysfunctional behavior, deal with it as soon as the timing is convenient. At each break, address any remaining issues.
If the dysfunction is severe, call for an early break.
There are times when you should announce resolutions to the group.
Example
:John is consistently late (for a reason that is known to you) or Mary is consistently working on something else in the session (which you know is important and have already discussed)
The activities of a participant can cause the others in the group to become dysfunctional if they see that ground rules are being broken without you, the facilitator, doing anything about it.
Announce to the group, the resolution to avoid further dysfunction.
When someone begins participating or brings up issues rather than allowing them to simmer, supply a wealth of positive reinforcement.
Ed Manning
Mr. Manning is a Senior Manager with Leadership Strategies, a firm that specializes in providing organizations with professional facilitators to lead sessions in strategic planning, process improvement, information needs analysis, and issue resolution. The organization also teaches leadership training classes in group facilitation, strategic planning, project planning, team building and management excellence.
He is a certified instructor for a number of the firm’s courses including "the Effective Consultant, "Managing Excellence" and the firm’s flagship course "Principles of Facilitation". This four-day workshop explains the 10 Principles of Facilitation and the over 90 documented techniques that provide professionals critical training in preparing meetings, keeping them on track, dealing with "dysfunctional behavior", and driving groups to consensus.
Prior to Leadership Strategies, Mr. Manning was the Director of Human Resources for American Medical Response, an emergency health services company. Prior to that he worked for Delta Air Lines for over five years. In both companies he acted as an internal consultant facilitating numerous meetings. In addition to Delta, some of his other clients include the Centers for Disease Control, United Way, Atlanta Gas Light, CFT Consulting, Columbus Private Industry Council, and Atlanta Public Schools.
Past participants in seminars have commented that his high-energy presentation style, combined with his sensitivity to group issues, make for an intense, power-packed seminar!
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Contact Ed at lstrategy@mindspring.com
