I would ask the problem presenter if they agree that what the team is saying is actually the problem. I would then ask that the group focus during the next segment on asking questions related to that problem. I would give them a decent amount of time so that they don’t rush, and by asking questions I think they will uncover underlying issues.
Time for an intervention! If the team is going around in circles, the questions they have been asking aren’t getting answered to anyone’s satisfaction. I would ask the team what they think they are doing well and what needs improvement, and I would myself answer the latter (after they have had a chance) by saying I think they are asking the same questions over and over. I would note these questions and ask the group why they think no one has been able to answer these completely as yet, prompting them to think about these questions from a new perspective. Then I would ask them to see if they have agreement on the problem, and we would move on to the next segment.
This poses an interesting problem. This shows me that the group’s suggested actions were not clear enough, and the group needs to come back together again to further refine and clarify the actions. I would call a quick session for the group to do this — maybe 45 minutes. We would start with the actions that we finished the last session with, and show that the new problem is that the problem presenter does not feel they can take these actions on their own. This would hopefully lead to teamwork and delegation, or it would lead to a simplification of the actions.
One of the keys to Action Learning is the diversity of thought that the group brings to problem-solving. If one person does not want to participate, I would first try to talk to this person individually and find out why, and see if, as a coach, I can find a way to help this person see the value in their participation. If this does not work, I would look at the size of my group — if the group is big enough to move ahead without this person, I would do so, and ask this person to stay and observe so that they might better understand Action Learning and hopefully participate in a different session. If we do not have enough people to go ahead, I would have to cancel and find another willing participant.
This shows me the group is working really well together. I would let them work for a few minutes longer, and then intervene, asking them what they think the group is doing well and what the group can work on. This would allow them to focus on their building questions, followed by a clear look at what everyone thinks the problem is. Hopefully the build of questions is getting everyone on the same page about the problem and this intervention will help them see that.
As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation:
A member of the team does not want to participate.
As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation:
The participants have asked some very powerful questions and are clearly building on each others questions.
As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation:
After the actions are defined the problem presenter asks for help implementing them.
As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation:
A participant is convinced of the true nature of the problem and repeats the same questions over and over in an effort to persuade the others, even after others have made it clear that they do not believe that is the real problem is. They believe that what this particular participant is advocating is just another symptom.
As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation:
The team members are starting to ask the same questions over and over again.
As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation:
A team new to Action Learning is working on a problem for a single session. Each member has a clear idea of what the solution is and thus only asks questions related to the solution they believe is the right one.
As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation:
A member asks a particularly energizing question, several members follow this with additional questions before there is time for a response.
As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation:
You are working with a team that values being the fastest at everything – including reaching consensus on the problem. Instead of writing the problem in their own words they mimic the words said by the Problem Presenter. They happily agree they are at consensus since the words they say match.
As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation:
You’ve agreed to do a demo for an organization and ask your contact to be the problem presenter. Your contact decides to test the team and the process by giving mis-information. In other words lying when they respond to questions. By the time this becomes apparent, many of the team members are upset and have made the decision that the process is stupid.
As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation:
You ask the team how they want to process based on how they said they could come to consensus. One of the participant shouts out an idea and jumps up to get it started before any other team members have had a chance to respond.