Productive Groups

New Skills

The previous page, "Challenges" identified three challenge areas. This page looks more closely at the third area: new skills needed to have effective groups. These include conversational skills (listening and talking), and closure skills (coming to agreement and reaching the goal).

Conversational Skills: Shared Norms

Norms are the guidelines by which the group agrees to operate. Guidelines can be set for how members of the group will communicate with each other, how decisions will be made, responsibilities and time limits, and determination of quality of tasks completed. What is essential to the group cohesiveness and its effectiveness is that the norms are determined together. Once determined it becomes each person's responsibility, not just the faciltator's, to be sure that all are honoring the norms. It is good to review the norms occasionally, adjusting, adding, or removing any that are more useful to the group. As new members are added to the group it is important to introduce them to the norms, but if the group make-up changes significantly it is necessary to go through the process of collectively determining the norms.

Some sample norms for teaching and learning:

• Watch your air time (reminds people to let others speak)
• Speak out, clearly and respectfully (reminds people to add their thoughts)
• If you wonder it, ask it (the teacher's golden rule - there are no stupid questions)
• Assume good intentions (if someone offends, assume it was not on purpose)
• Be ready for conversation
• Listen actively

These are just possibilties. It is up to the group to come to an agreement on the norms by which they will operate. Borrowing another group's set of norms defeats the purpose of a group deciding together and sharing the norms and see pp. 26-28 in "The Power of Protocols" for protocol for setting norms..

Conversational Skills: Protocols

A number of organizations and schools involved in using group processes in their schools use tools or "protocols" to aid the group. In general, these protocols assist the conversation, providing focus, limiting people's airtime, and giving everyone an opportunity to speak. Some tools are also designed to aid a group through a process (making a decision or determining a plan of action). The communication in a classroom we are most familiar with is about telling. a one-way form of communication. Group processes require, at the minimum, two-way communication, with all parties actively involved in listening, thinking, and speaking. Since educators often aren't as experienced as they need for this more complex communication style, protocols can assist. They act as a set of training wheels, if you will, until the group is practiced enough to engage in actions that support the group process without needing continual assistance.

Protocols that IPSP staff members have found useful include:

• Tuning Protocol -- where feedback on an assignment or assessment is needed
• Consultancy -- similar to the Tuning Protocol it provides other perspectives to a challenge or concern raised by a member of the group
• Charette -- borrowed from the architectural environment, this protocol provides for some significant improvement to a project or piece of work
• Written Conversation -- as a way to break up the normal routines of oral conversation, members dialogue using writing, slowing the conversation down, and extending the thinking time
• Save the Last Word -- a tool to assist people in looking at a text carefully and to add their thoughts to a conversation
• Graffiti Board -- encourages participants to pursue tensions and personal connections to situation at hand, not just consider only a "right" answer
• Webbing What's on Your Mind -- an aid to helping people begin to brainstorm and see connections between ideas
• Moments of Awareness -- a self-reflection tool designed for stressful and emotional situations
• Guided Reflection -- a more general self-reflection tool
• The Five Whys -- to assist a group in understanding and "reseeing" a challenging situation
• Skillful Discussion -- a series of protocols for mindfully reaching a decision

The above list are those most commonly used. IPSP staff members have a number of others in their toolbox. Please feel free to contact us for suggestions that best suit your needs.

Closure Skills: Getting to Yes

In the 1980's Roger Fisher & William Ury wrote the first edition of "Getting to Yes" to help people negotiate agreements - particularly an agreement in which all parties would see a benefit. Emotions and opinions can often play a great role in decision-making, group tasks, and negotiations. Briefly, Fisher & Ury suggest the following will lead to more successful decisions.

1. Separate the People from the Problem -- Through communication work to limit the impact of emotions and perception on the conversation. Help people identify their emotions and perceptions around a situation, to consider the situation in and of itself.
2. Focus on Interests, Not Positions -- People can often quickly take a stand for or against something (often directed by their emotions) and then become stuck in those positions. Help people identify their interests by asking "What do you want to have happen? Why?" Discussing the answers with others in the group helps everyone understand the interests. For example, some people have taken the stand that the way to improve education is to have charter schools, while others have taken the position that it is to provide more money for public schools. These are positions. Most likely they share the same interest: 1) a good education for all is needed and/or 2) students should have a choice of where to go to school. Identifying interests is critical for the third step to occur.
3. Invent Options for Mutual Gains -- Often called "Win-Win," this step looks at the mutual interests identified in Step 2 and considers which interests are shared mutually, and which all parties can get without the any one "giving up" something of importance. The focus of the discussion should be to best meet these interests.
4. Insist on Using Objective Criteria -- Building on the concern in Step 1 of the impact of emotions and perception on decision-making, this step asks the group to develop criteria against which ideas or solutions can be measured. It is important that they are objective, so that all sides can agree on the results of the comparison. It is very important to then stick to the criteria in making decisions.

The above explanation is quite brief and those interested in trying such ideas should review the book to more fully understand not only each of the four steps, but also to consider how to respond to challenges to using such a tool.

My strengths

A group is most productive when it builds upon the strengths of each of its members. Take a moment to consider your strengths that you would bring to a group. Being aware of strengths makes it more likely that you will use that strength when the group needs it. Write them down. Uncertain of whether you really have a particular strength? Ask a colleague to identify the strengths he/she has seen in you. There may be strengths that you aren't aware of - or didn't think of as strengths. And don't forget that some characteristics are strengths in some situations and not in others (taking time to smell the roses is not the best when there is a fire; taking a chance can lead to some great experiences).

....to find out more about these protocols

Facilitating Comments

 

IPSP Module Series

Working as a Team Module