Scenario: Brainstorming
As an Action Learning Coach how would you handle the following situation:
The team feels they are at a point that it would be useful to brainstorm.
Tags: Action Learning Coach, WIAL Action Learning, WIAL Talk
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Sridar
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I would ask the team if a brainstorming session will assist in coming up with a solution to the problem. If the team agrees, i will then ask what are the two ground rules of AL. Then i will ask if a brainstorming session can comply to the 2 ground rules. If they insist that the situation requires a brainstorming session, I would then ask ” Team, could we end the AL session for now to proceed with the brainstorming and commence AL once the brainstorming session is over”?
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elbertor
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I would ask the team if this is something everyone agrees is necessary so that they can move forward. If all say yes, I would then ask them how much time they will need, and how else they would like to proceed.
If at least one says no, I would ask them how they would like to proceed. Perhaps they would like to make a case for why or why not, then put it to another vote.
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elbertor
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I would ask the team if this is something that can be done within the AL context and ground rules. I would also ask if everyone agrees is necessary so that they can move forward. If all say yes, I would then ask them how much time they will need, and how else they would like to proceed.
If at least one says no, I would ask them how they would like to proceed. Perhaps they would like to make a case for why or why not, then put it to another vote. But I feel like there needs o be a unanimous decision on this in order for them to break away from AL and brainstorm. Otherwise, I would ask them what is the impact if at least one person does not feel it is necessary to do something as a team?
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Lei
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I will check with the team if there has been a consensus / agreement of the problem. Assuming that at this point where they brought up the brainstorming idea they already have an agreement to the problem, I will ask team how can AL and ground rules be used in their brainstorming session. As a Coach, I will also ask the team how the brainstorming process will help the team move forward with finding solutions to the problem. This is to raise to their awareness how it will help and its impact to the team. I will also check with the team if there is an agreement from the team members to do brainstorming. If everyone agrees, I would ask the team how they would like to proceed – how much time they need, if they would like to proceed with AL after the braistorming or set another AL.
In the next AL session, I will bring back the learning from the brainstorming and its impact to the team and finding a solutions to the problem.
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DrBea
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Since Brainstorm fits within the rules of Action Learning – a question is asked and many answers are given. But I’d want to be sure the team was ready for this and would raise it to awareness and make sure everyone was good with it.
My questions –
I’ve observed we have a suggestion to move to brain storming. How do other feel about this?
what will the impact on our problem solving be?
How will we brain storm and continue to follow our ground rules?
Happy Coaching
Bea
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Michael Anderson
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This is a fascinating situation. It seems to me, that in many ways AL is brainstorming only in question form. As such, lobbying for one’s opinion, monopolizing the time, and rabbit trails are practically eliminated. The more I facilitate AL, the less inclined I am to do traditional brainstorming. In a case where a team wants to brainstorm, I want to ask them what they actually hope to accomplish with brainstorming. Then ask if it is possible to accomplish the same thing by following the AL rules. I also want to ask them what they believe the advantages and disadvantages of brainstorming to be over AL. If they are adamant about brainstorming as a coach I believe the appropriate thing would be to comply. I like the ideas already expressed about putting a time limit, setting a clear goal, and comparing the experience and results to the AL process after the conclusion of the brainstorming session
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Owen Yeung
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I would firstly ask whether the team agrees with it (if someone flows the idea of brainstorming) and also ask the team to assess the impact of doing brainstorming instead of action learning for the problem in hand. If all agree, I would ask whether what are some of the key considerations they need to make in order to make sure brainstorming works for problem solving, e.g. how long did we allow for brainstorming, who will be responsible of tracking what the team brainstormed, etc.
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Ewa Obałka
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I think brainstorming can lead to good results if all team members agree to that method of working.
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SHA SHA
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I will ask team why they want brainstorming and how the brainstorming will help problem-solving.
Sometimes, when team get stuck in finding the real problem, they hope brainstorming could be a quick way.
Usually, they will find some new directions but will feel some frustrated since they still don’t find the real problem.
So if the team haven’t found the real problem, I will add one question:
I find we haven’t reached consensus on what the real problem is. So how brainstorming will impact on find the real problem?
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Justin Li
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i would like to ask, “whether you all will follow AL grand rule during brainstrom?” if they say yes, i think that will be ok; but if they say no, i would like to ask, “why do you think brainstrom is so important to the team?” and “does everyone agree with this suggestion”, if all the team member agree, and the coach evaluate that brainstrom will improve the team’s work, i would like to give them certain time for brainstorm, and then back to the AL meeting again.
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Eric Yang
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Check with the team if what’s the impact and the relevence to the topic
“Team ,what’s the impact to the team?
How’s your feeling to the brainstorming?
What’s the suitble approach in this stage?
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Chun Tyng LOW
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I will pose a question to the team; “Is brainstoming session can constantly give learning to each member and self reflection on leadership skills?”
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Chongli Tian
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我会提问团队头脑风暴是否符合行动学习的原则？如果团队认为可以使用行动学习的原则进行头脑风暴，比如团队某位成员提出一个问题，其他团队成员依次回答，同时提问的团队成员记录所有人的回答并进行归类与合并。然后，他进一步就每类回答向团队提问以征求意见和建议。
如果团队不是所有人都认为头脑风暴应在符合行动学习基本原则的情况下进行，那么就不可使用或者暂停当前的行动学习研讨一段时间，团队另行进行头脑风暴研讨，并在约定的时间回来继续进行行动学习。
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Nanda Oomen
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In this case I assume that the group has reached consensus on the formulation of the problem and has ended up in the phase of generating solutions and associated actions. Brainstorming can be a solution / action that the team can execute after the action learning session. I would like to keep the action learning session pure, follow the script and not build a brainstorming session in an action learning session. I would, however, guard that the group properly discusses the why, how, what, where, when and who in relation to the brainstorming action.
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Michelle Lin
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As the coach I would intervene to ask each individual to state whether they agree to brainstorming at that point. I would then reinforce the two ground rules and state that they still apply if all participants wanted to brainstorm. I would need to conduct a time check to ensure that there is adequate time – but I would also ask participants how much time they needed to do this and whether this would be sufficient in the allocated remaining time we have. If there was insufficient time, I would ask if participants would like to brainstorm at the next session.
My view is that if there is a question being asked and the brainstorm responses aims to answer the question being asked it may be an effective way of problem solving. This however, also depends on where the team is at with their level of functioning as a team. If the team consists of a small number of individuals dominating the discussion I would be very careful to ensure that during the brainstorming session the same pattern does not occur. If there was equal voice it may be useful (and particularly if there was consensus to conduct the brainstorming) for the team to charge ahead with the brainstorming.
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Delia Peixoto
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I would ask them what is the first ground rule of action learning. then ask why it is important to follow this rule and what is the impact of following it. Then i would ask them if the brainstorming would fit to this methodology, having affirmative sentences only if answering to questions. Then i would ask them how we could manage the brainstorming making sure that we will follow the ground rules of action learning and how the group would like to manage it. If the group decides to start the brainstorming, i would keep make interventions if the ground rule would not be followed.
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Allen Tillman
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As an Action Learning Coach, I would intervene with the following questions:
– Do we have consensus as a team to start brainstorming following the rules to Action Learning? (Requiring answers from each team member)
– Do we feel as a team that brainstorming will help develop our questions and solutions? (Requiring answers from each team member)
– Can brainstorming add to the learning within this Action Learning session?
(Okay, who has the next question?)
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Pascale Brady
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Assuming the team has gotten to the point of agreeing on the problem – if someone has asked to brainstorm, I would make sure that everyone agrees with brainstorming following AL rules
“what are the 2 ground rules of AL?
“how could you get the team’s input re. brainstorming”
Therefore helping the team to lead a brainstorming session in the frame of AL (i.e. the frame of Q&A)
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Aleksandra Lemanska
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I would ask what could using the brainstorm give us regarding finding solution to the problem? And I would ask if the whole group is ok with using this tool – if somebody isn’t, I would ask what would you need to be ok with it.
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Renata Czajkowska
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I would ask whether the group members whether the suggested brainstorming would help them solve the problem and whether they all agree to using this method. The consensus of all the members would be needed to proceed.
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Kanokwan Srisunthorn
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I will intervene and ask the team members. “What does the brainstorming assist on solution finding?”. If they say “yes”. Then, I will remind them to follow the ground rules and take the brainstorming in form of Questions and Answers session.
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Adam Kwiecień
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This situation reminds me of one of my favorite team coaching tools: as a coach postpone your intervention. This way you 1. give the group a chance to handle the situation themselves 2. gather new information about the group (how they behave, what skills they have, how brave they are, how they cooperate, deal with emotions etc).
Brainstorming generally is not consistent or inconsistent with AL. Generating ideas or solutions (this is how I understand brainstorming) can be done in many different ways or using different techniques, also by just asking questions and giving answers (sounds like AL 🙂
One scenario is this: I don’t ask any question in advance, I keep watching if they adhere to the first ground rule (statements before questions). If everything goes well I end the session in a typical way asking what they did best, what they have learned etc. This is the time when they can reflect on brainstorming.
Another scenario: I use the second ground rule – if I notice that the group can learn something I intervene in the way “I noticed that … how does it influence your efficiency? … what will you do?” Example: I can see you want to use a technique which has not been used in this group ever before, how this can influence your flexibility in solving complex problems? What can you do to be even more effective and flexible?
And another scenario: the group is doing really great 🙂 becomes more effective every minute and decides that other method than AL will be better for them (for a minute or forever). I follow the group, it is more important for me to support the group (and individuals and the organization) in becoming better and in solving problems than following any single method or set of rules. In this case as an AL coach I would make sure whether we use AL or not and would switch my roles accordingly.
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Waranunt Chooprasertchok
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I,as a coach, will consider the situation and the possibility that the brainstorm is really beneficial to the team. I will ask the team members.What is the purpose or the benefits that the team will recieve from the brainstorm. If they can answer clearly, they can do a brainstorm by following two basic rules. And I will intervene If the team member does not follow the two basic rules or the results of the brainstorm cannot provide the benefits that the team members expect. I will ask the team to create awareness. What are the results of your brainstorm? Now, how are the team members working? Will we continue to use the brainstorm method?
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Pattranee Jullakasewee
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I would start by asking the team whether they are on the same page or not. If so, I would ask the participants to write what they see about the problem in short sentences and read aloud when the team is ready. If what the team wrote is consistent to each other, I would then ask if there are any possibilities that there are other problems that the team does not see yet, and if so, what would be the consequences of ignoring them and proceeding anyway.
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Joanna Lee
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Another thought in addition to those shared above (seeking consensus, managing time etc), I might ask: What was a key lesson learnt from a previous brain-storming session that you would apply in this brainstorming session?
The idea is to direct the team to an awareness of how they can be effective during the brain-storming session which all members have agreed to.
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SAGOONSRI JINAPUNMONGKOL
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I will intervene by asking question , What’s the action learning ? Did you remember 2 ground rules?
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Yen Le Thi Hai
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I think that brainstorming is also a good way of proceeding the team discussion when it is properly conducted. First of all, it’s important to make sure that team members get consensus about the idea of brainstorming : what is called a brainstorming? How is a brainstorming is going? Do you all agree to proceed that way? What are expected outcome?
Secondly, as a action learning coach, if I notice that the team does not clarify/ agree on the problem to solve, I would take this opportunity (when someone raise the idea of brainstorming) to remind the team on the progress of the discussion: do you agree on the problem to be solved? If you are not define the problem yet, how can the brainstorming impact to your not-defined-yet problem?, etc. What does the team have to decide here and now?
Finally, in case that the brainstorming starts, I still keep my coaching role by making sure that all team members can contribute into the discussion, follow the process of brainstorming (one question, many answers, between experts ) and they can learn. I will make the debriefing by the end: what was the brainstorming going? Can it help us to get the expected outcome? How did you do as a team during the brainstorming? Why is this not successful? Can we do it better? etc.
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SUNISA PHUMPAKA
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I will intervene by said Let’s me remind our 2 ground rules ” Statements only in response to question; anyone can ask anyone questions” and ” Action learning coach has the authority to intervene whenever he/she identifies learning opportunity ” Do we agree with 2 ground rule ?”
if yes, let continue our action learning process . Who has the next question ?
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Kathy Zou
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I will ask the team what they mean by “brainstorming”? What’s the exact process they would follow to brainstorm? How this aligns or not aligns with 2 AL ground rules? How this helps to solve the problem. People may have different versions of brainstorm process so I would bring this to surface and let the team see their version (s) of brainstorming process and how it helps to solve the problem. If the team can reach the consensus of the brainstorming process and I will let them to do for a while. I did encounter such a situation in real life. After discussing the problem for a while, one of the members ask a question about the root causes of the problem and she proposed to use “brainstorming” approach, i.e. every member to give the answer of the root causes of the problem. I asked the team if they all agree the approach and how they think it helps for solving the problem. The team reached the consensus that they would “brainstorm” for the root causes and I let the team to go. Later on, the team reflected that this is not so helpful as they have not yet reached the full consensus of the “problem” they are addressing.
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Katherine Steele
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I think it is important to continue to ask questions of the team to determine what they mean by brainstorming. It can be a tool that is useful to their processes if they are trying to capture various thought or patterns. Keeping them within the ground rules of AL would be important during this process. How will the team capture everyone’s comments? What is the impact of brainstorming at this moment on problem clarification? What is the question we are trying to answer by brainstorming? What topic are you brainstorming about? Again, as long we are focused on following AL rules this is a path they can go down. I would just suggest a check-in on that process after they have decided to give it a try to determine through questions things like if they are accomplishing all they wanted to accomplish today.
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Ronald Sifford
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What is the question we are trying to answer by brainstorming? Do you all (Team) feel that brainstorming will get us closer to a possible solution? Do we have agreement on what the problem is at this point? YES / NO / or CLOSE… I would ask each participant for their input on agreement and follow that up with having each person notate what they see as the problem. After they share their responses, ask if we have agreement as a Team? Based on the Team’s responses, ask the Team how they would like to proceed based on the results of agreement. I would also remind the Team of the two ground rules for ALP.
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Surawut Dudsdeemaytha
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If this happened, I would intervene them using
“Team what is our 2 ground rules?”
“What do you think we are doing now?”
“Do we agree that it would be better if we stick on the ground rules”
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Phi Angelina
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I will propose to the group with the opening sentence:
– We all know there is more than one effective discussion, do you agree we should find some way?
– How’s your feeling to the brainstorming?
– What will the impact on our problem?
– Do we feel as a team that brainstorming will help develop our questions and solutions?
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HONGXIA ZHANG
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This goes against the process and principles of Action Learning, so I must intervene decisively. I will remind the team by asking, “Do you still remember the way we chose to solve the problem before the meeting or the project started?” When someone answers, “Action Learning.” I will continue to ask, “Do you still remember the second principle of Action Learning? Does brainstorming conform to this principle?” When a team member recalls the second principle and clarifies that brainstorming does not conform to it, I will briefly explain different scenarios for brainstorming and action learning. I will tell them, “Brainstorming is indeed a good way of sparking ideas and collecting opinions, but it is more important for us to give a clear definition when faced with a complex problem, in which Action Learning is more effective. In this meeting or this project, we can try learning to solve a difficult problem in a new way.” Then, I will withdraw from the intervention by asking “Who has another question?” and give time back to the team.
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Loc Do
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As an Action Learning Coach, we will have to “dance with the team” and trust the team that they have ability to deliver best results based on their teamwork.
In this case, I suggest we intervene to help the team define their goal clearly before applying brainstrom technique as structured questions below:
1. Hello team, I heard that we are about to brainstorming, what will be 3 deliverable results we have after applying brainstorm technique? (Listen and take note)
2. I noted there are 3 results we aim to achieve, first is…, second is…, third is…, do we have agreement on these results?
3. How will you conduct brainstorm technique to get those results?
Or: What are our specific actions to conduct brainstorm technique to get those results?
Or: What are our steps to conduct brainstorm technique to get those results? (Step 1, step 2…)
4. I would like to remind that we have … minutes remaining for discussion, how long will the brainstorm last? (Note the answer)
5. At the end of this session, I will ask each of you how did you express leadership competency, so please remember to practice your chosen leadership competencies. Our … minutes start now!
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Camila valente
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Taking advantage of a learning opportunity, I would ask the group:
“Group, I noticed that a participant went to the easel to take notes.
Did everyone notice too?”
“What is the impact of taking individual actions within the group?”
“How could we ensure that there is consensus within the group?”
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Thao Vo
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As Coach, I will ask the team if they agree to Brainstoming. What is the goal you want to achieve?
If the members agree, I will announce the time allowed and ask the team how long they want to spend. And how will they get the best results.
If there is a member who disagrees, that member will raise his opinion and the team will discuss to reach a consensus.
Depending on the situation, Coach will intervene to ask the team “What did we do best?”, “What better can we do” and start again the AL process
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Maria Moro
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As coach AL I understand that braisnstorming is another type of metodology. I will ask to the team to reflect about that, for example asking…There is a point to be considered about to do right now a brainstorming session. How we will handle that situation as a team? If the team reinforce the desire to do a brainstorming I would remind then about the two roules agreed in the begining of the session, and also the advantages of use of questions just to settle posibles doubts, but if the team decide to interrupt I would propose to go to the last topic of AL session to reflect about learnings and take away.
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Toan Than
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I think the brainstorming may be used as the way to collect idea to answer question raised in the session. So, I will check by asking “how brainstorming impact to the team working”, so team member can discuss & conclude they agree or not to brainstorm. If they agree, I will continue with question “the brainstorming will be the answer for which question from team” and let them start the brainstorming.
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Sharifah Azizah Haron
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Assuming that they have reach an agreement on the problem, having brainstorming session has many implication – e.g. to the arrangement of the session, to the team, the coach and time. Therefore, the steps I will take in this situation are as follows:
I. Raise their awareness on its justification and impact: I will check if the team see it as is justifiable to have brainstorming session and how it would impact them. So, I will ask the group this question “Team, I observe that there is a suggestion to have a brainstorming session, how would this help in finding solution to the problem?”
II. Getting their agreement and commitment. If the team insisted that it is something that they want to do, I will ascertain if it is a consensus decision and if every members are committed to the group decision. I will ask the team member [one by one] the following question, “Mr/s XYZ , do we have agreement to proceed with the brainstorming session”.
III. How to go about doing it: The way I see it, the brainstorming process can be done as part of the AL process or as a separate session [from AL] altogether depending on i.e. duration [will be done in an hour or half a day?] and approach [abide to AL ground rules etc] – i.e. depends on how the team decision on how they want it done. So, at this point
I will ask the them this question “Team, how do you intend to conduct your brainstorming session to get the intended result” When they answered, I will follow up with the following questions “Team, how much time do you think you all need to conclude the brainstorming session? Based on their answer, I as a coach can forsee if it is advisable to have it done as part of the AL session or otherwise.
Scenario 1: Brainstorm as part of the AL session
For this scenario, I would still continue coaching but raise their awareness about the time limit and the two ground rules of the AL. Then ask, “Team, who has the next question”
Scenario 2: Brainstorm as a separate session [from AL]
If they requires longer deliberation, and the coach forsee that it is not possible to make the brainstorm session as part of the existing AL session, I would put ask the following question: “Team, seems like you all expect to be needing more than one day to complete the brainstorm session, so, could we end or Al session until after the brainstorming session is completed?” If they agreed, I will proceed assigning someone who would be responsible in reporting the outcome of the brainstorming session for the continuation of the abruptly ended AL session].
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Aparna Jindal
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This is an interesting scenerio as I feel action learning is brain storming in a much superior version. Assuming that there is a consesus on the problem I will ask what does the team feel about doing a brain storming session. Does all team members agree on doing a session. If it’s unanimous then my next question would be. What would be the impact of doing brain storming on the team and learning process. Can we do brain storming session within the set ground rules of action learning. If all say yes then I will say let’s do it. Who has the next question
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Makie Ho
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Really interesting, this one sparked so many comments. I would like to add my two cents as well.
leaving all the hinden assumptions behind about this scenario. I see this as the team suggesting to use a tool/method to help moving forward. It definitely fits AL rules and setting as everyday business discussion involving using tools. As a coach, I will 1. ask for their consensue of the stage of the problem solving. 2. ask about the impact of using this method with the current problem-solving status, what are the expected outcomes? any other methods that can give the same or even better outcomes? 3. how the team proceed with “this method” to ensure success, any successful experience can be leveraged in the team?
then let the team to start by reminding the AL rules and ask “who has the next question?”
^*^
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Justyna M
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The main purpose of the AL session is to help the presenter solve the problem. I would just state that to the team and ask them how to they think brainstorming will help to get to the bottom of the problem and come out with actions. After their responses I would ask if they still think that brainstorming is a good idea. If they all agree then they should decide how to proceed.
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Cris Lorenzana
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My instinctive thought would be, “Are they not brainstorming already?”
However, as an Action Learning Coach, I will respect the team’s desire to self-regulate. As such, I will intervene with the following questions: “Team, I hear that you feel that you are at a point where it would be useful for you to brainstorm. What would the impact of brainstorming be in your problem-solving process?” If their answer revolves around the theme of generating ideas to solve the problem, I will follow through with: “Do you think it would be possible for you to brainstorm, guided by the Action Learning ground rules?” If they answer yes, then we proceed with “Who has the next question?” If they insist that a separate brainstorming session would benefit their process, I would ask how they want to proceed and respect the same, even if it would mean “pausing the Action Learning” as they brainstorm.
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Andrea Chow
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As an Action Learning Coach, I will interview with the following questons “Team, what is happening?” and then “On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the session?”. After this discussion from team, perhaps ask the impact question of “What will happen to the team if we continue?” and “How will the quality of solution be impacted?” and “Team, what can we do to improve?”. “Who has the first question?”
With the intervene, the whole idea is to bring the group back to focus and back onto solving the problem.
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Janine Clarke
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I would ask the team if they felt (thumbs up or thumbs down) that they had concensus on the problem statement. If so, I would request each to write down their understanding of the problem. When they share these, they would have to decide if they had a common understanding, and then could move on to brainstorming. My intervention would serve to emphasize the importance of coming to a common understanding of the problem before brainstorming. If the group decided to brainstorm anyway, I would check in in five minutes to ask what the group was doing well, and how their process was serving their team goal.
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Rosie Dao Hanh Giang
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Intervention:
– Hello team, I notice that team say that this is the point for brainstorming. I would like to ask if a brainstorming session will assist us in coming up with a solution to the problem?
– (Team answer)
– If we all agree. Let me remind of 2 ground rules of Action Learning. “…..” Please apply these 2 rules during your asking and answering/statement.
– (Team answer)
In case, they want to move to a session of brainstorming instead of action learning. Then coach can end the AL session with the completion of the commitment to actions part and reflections on learning part and appreciate team part.
Next session will conduct accordingly with the results from brainstorming session.
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b t hang tuah baharudin
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I would have asked the team if they all agrees to have the brainstorming session? Before proceeding to that, I would have asked them to write down their individual understanding of the problem. Once shared, they will realised if they are close to agreement with regards to the problem or not. Should it be close, I would have advised them that the AL is working effectively for them to draw into the same conclusion. Should they don’t come to the agreement of the real problem, I would allow them to proceed with brainstorming, but following the AL method, where answers will be given based on questions asked.
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