Introduction to a course on workshop facilitation for MSc Agile Software Projects

1. CREATING BETTER
GROUPS
The Obvious Stuff

2. PREFACE
This material is here because 3 of the best
facilitators I know recommend the book:
The Zen of Groups,
Hunter D, Bailey A & Taylor B, 1995, Fisher Books
Its full of obvious stuff, but there are also
little gems of advice. I recognise these
gems as things that these 3 facilitators do.
So, I pass this summary on to you.
Use whichever gems make sense to you.

3. CREATING BETTER GROUPS
In a better group, people:
– Feel part of the group
– Warm to one another
– Trust each other
– Share common beliefs and values
– Get to know each other better

4. BAGGAGE
Baggage is stuff that I bring to the meeting
from other parts of my life
• Worries, dreams
• Expectations, attitudes, beliefs,
• Internal dialogue
• Tolerance or intolerance of self and of others
What baggage did I bring today?
Can I make room for someone else’s baggage?

5. GETTING TO EFFECTIVENESS
For a group to operate effectively,
members need to sort out:
• Aims and values
• Membership, commitments and limits
• Leadership
• Power, how decisions will be made
• Relationships
• Feelings

6. LEADERSHIP
Leadership can be:
• Formal (given by someone outside the group) /
OR informal (by consent)
• Fluid = changes over time
OR gives different people different functions
Facilitation is part of leadership.
• To facilitate is ‘to make easy’
• Facilitators guide a group past pitfalls towards
ways that empower and create synergy

7. POWER
Power is neutral. It can be used or misused.
Different people have very different ideas
about the appropriate use of power
What are the power relationships?
How do people exercise their power?
Conflict is often a symptom of
unclear or unrecognised power relationships

8. TYPES of POWER
• Positional power – officially given from outside,
person can override group decisions
• Assigned power - group gives a role to a person
the group can withdraw this power
• Knowledge power - having specialist knowledge
OR membership of another group
• Personal power – comes from skills or qualities
communication skills, age, appearance
• Factional power - a subgroup exerts influence

9. FEELINGS
Feelings may:
• Be correct useful reactions, even if they seem irrational
• Come from old baggage, no longer relevant or sensible
• Emerge from different interpretations of the same event
We live in a sea of feelings (ours and other people’s)
• Some people are more aware of their feelings
• Some are more at the mercy of their feelings

10. MANAGING our FEELINGS
Aim to have control over feelings,
to be at ease with them
To help cope with feelings, we should:
• identify them
• name them
• talk about them

11. TYPES of FEELINGS
1. Old feelings are part of our baggage.
– May go off whenever something triggers them
– May shape our reactions, pattern our behaviour
2. Present-time feelings
– Come and go like waves
– Don’t last long. If it lasts, its probably an old feeling
3. Group feelings
– Normally present-time feelings
– Shared feelings develop trust and group identity

12. PARTICIPATION
• Speaking in itself creates participation
• To ensure that everyone speaks early on:
– Use warm-up exercises for new groups
– Use rounds and brainstorming
– Paired sharing gets everyone talking
– Direct questions to non-participants
BUT some people prefer to participate later
Forcing participation can create problems

13. TYPES of DECISION-MAKING
CONSENSUS
• Keep going till we reach agreement
• People directly affected must agree
• Work through disagreements. Note dissent
• This takes more time
• May avert resistance later
• Can representative convince all stakeholders
• Acquiescence may be temporary

14. TYPES of DECISION-MAKING
MAJORITY DECISION
• Take a vote
• Chair has casting vote
• Consistently out-voted factions resentful
INDIVIDUAL
• One person may make emergency decision
• OK occasionally, if group consented in advance
SUBGROUP for specific tasks

15. SPEAKING
• Use open questions
• Use ‘I’. I think… I feel…
• Use reflective listening, ‘Did I hear you say…
• Avoid speaking blocks. Don’t say
– They won’t think this is important
– I might say it wrong. I’ll think now and say later
– I’ve said it once, I won’t say it again
– Nobody ever listens anyway
– They must know by now

16. LISTENING
• Avoid listening blocks. Don’t:
– Evaluate the speaker (wonderful, silly …)
– Think about what you’ll say next
– Think what advice they need
– Jump to conclusions
– Daydream

17. WITHHOLDING
• We don’t speak all our internal dialogue
• More sharing gives groups more energy
• Practice awareness of what you withhold
• Try sharing more:
– I wish you’d take up some of my ideas
– Why did you criticise me when I wasn’t there?
– I wish you weren’t leaving. I’ll miss you.
Some of us could practice withholding more

18. HIDDEN AGENDAS
• I am only here because I was told to come
• Hurry up. I want to get back to my team.
• I need to get to know more people here.
• I want to get a better appraisal from Jo.

19. ATTRACTION / REPULSION
Most attraction/repulsion come from our
past
To soften the feelings, try an identity check:
• Who does this person remind me of?
• In what way is the person
• like them?
• In what way different?
• Continue until the two are quite distinct

20. CONFLICT
Lack of any conflict is a symptom of apathy
Some conflict is inevitable.
Best taken care of straight away.
Left to fester, it becomes resentment, gets worse
Given our tendency to avoid conflict:
If in doubt, act now. Say,
‘I’m feeling worried. Can we talk about…’
‘Are you uncomfortable about something?’
‘What’s going on in the group right now?’
‘We need to sort this out. Let’s break first?’

21. A GOOD GROUP MEMBER
To be an effective group member:
• Get to know people, show interest
• Use people’s name. If you forget, ask.
• Be clear about group aims, values …
• Clarify your commitment & limits. Then fulfil them.
• Go to all meetings and contribute to discussion
• Share yourself
• Listen generously
• Speak concisely and to the point
• Contribute proactively, initiate, suggest, fill gaps
• Admit if you don’t understand. Probably you’re not alone.
• Keep to ground rules and help with process

22. A GOOD FACILITATOR
A good facilitator is:
• 100% aware. Present in each moment
• Adaptable. Has a plan, ready to change it.
• Willing to say, ‘I don’t know what to do.’
• Culturally sensitive
• Honours each group member
• Taps group energy
• Relaxed, not formal, genuine
• Listening & seeing with discernment, not judging
• Comfortable with conflict

23. A GOOD FACILITATOR
A good facilitator does:
• Monitor the energy level, use activities to fix
• Seek agreement, consensus (not votes)
• Trust that group has resources needed
• Negotiate, propose, contract
• Ensure everyone agrees, each to say ‘Yes’.
• Suggest (not advise) ‘What would happen if …?
• Acknowledge and affirm
• Use humour to defuse tense moments

24. SYNERGY
Synergy is like magic: 1+1+1=5,
A group can achieve more than the sum of what
each could do working separately
Synergy only happens if everyone feels comfortable
to express themselves
A group is as strong as its weakest member.’
Synergy is trust, flexibility, closeness, joy.
It comes from genuineness and cannot be forced.
First shed baggage. It keeps people apart.

25. PATH TO SYNERGY
• Everyone committed to a clear purpose
• An inspiring vision of where we’re going
• Clear roles, ground rules, expectations
• Creating projects, action plans (responsibilities)
• Trust, honest sharing, making allowances
• Working through conflict, accepting feelings
• Learning is fun, monitor, evaluate, celebrate

26. LIFECYCLE of a GROUP
Over time a group may go through 5 stages:
1. Orientation (Forming)
2. Dissatisfaction (Storming)
3. Resolution (Norming)
4. Production (Performing)
5. Termination (Adjourning)
Bruce Tuckman (1965, 1975)