Scenario: Sit still

As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation:

The teams members are locked to the table. They are adhering to the two grounds rules but not making use of any other resources.

 

Tags: Action Learning Coach, WIAL Action Learning

Trackback from your site.

Comments (7)

  • Avatar

    Colin Yeow

    |

    I will start by asking “Team, how are we doing on a scale of 1-10 where 10 means we are making great progress and 1 means we are not progressing?”

    My next question would be “Team, what other resources can we use to help us progress at a 10?”

    Reply

  • Avatar

    fabienne

    |

    As AL coach I would ask the group of a scale how we are doing as a group of a scale of 1-10, then engage with what have we done good, what could we do better? If the team is not coming up to that point that they could use any other resources, I could ask ‘What could be useful to the team as this stage?’ and/or ‘Which resource would benefit the team currently?’. I would first ask broadly, then specify the question to open up new possibilities for the team and allow them to learn.

    Reply

  • Avatar

    xyvivien

    |

    I think it depends. Firstly I will need to see how long this has been going. If it lasts for quite some time and the team dynamic becomes rigid I will intervene at this time. Otherwise I’d observe a bit longer let the pattern surface and become more obvious. Firstly, the intervene question should be asking the group to score how they are doing as a group on the scale (1 – 10). Following with questions of ‘What have we doing well?’ Then ‘What we can do differently?’ Secondly, use more specific and focused questions to inspire them to learn deeper – “What other resources we can leverage to make the discussion more effective?’ or ‘What resources we can leverage in order to help us as a group to perform even better?’ Last but not least, as an Action Learning coach, we may use a bit sense of humor if needed.

    Reply

  • Avatar

    Faz_Kamaruddin

    |

    I’d like to build on Colin’s input and I would start the same way.

    The learning opportunity I see here is the importance of being resourceful in learning and solving problems.

    I would ask the group – Team, how are we doing on a scale of 1 to 10? 1 is we are not making progress and 10 is we are making excellent progress.

    To get the group to start realizing that there are underutilized resources, I would ask – What resources can be useful to us in order to progress further?

    I would then ask – Team, what can we do to help each other use those resources well?

    Thanks!

    Reply

  • Avatar

    Ngozi Stanley Obi

    |

    I will stop the session and ask these 4 questions,What are we doing well?; what are we not doing well?; what can we do better? ; then I will ask how we are doing building on each other’s questions and restart the session.

    Reply

  • Avatar

    Angela Chen

    |

    I will first get a sense of timing and the progress of the session. I will intervene when the team has defined the problem and is generating solution ideas. If the team is making slow progress, I will ask, “How are we doing as a team thus far – okay or not okay?” If most members replied “not that okay”, I will ask, “What hindered us?” If most members replied “okay”, I could ask “What have we done well?” and “What could we do better?” My next question would be, “What resources are helpful to solve the problem?” and “Does anyone have any resources that worked well in the past and could be applied to the current situation?” Finally, I will confirm with Problem Presenter, “Do you need any further support or resources from the team?”

    Reply

  • Avatar

    DrBea

    |

    Some really great responses. Be careful to keep the questions nonjudgmental and future positive focused, as the words you choose will plant seeds of behavior.

    After asking the 3 standard questions – How are we doing? What are we doing well? What could we do better? – I would ask
    How are we doing utilizing all the resources available to us for solving this problem?
    Why is it important that remember to utilize the resources we have available?
    How do we want to make better use of the resources available?

    Happy Coaching
    Bea

    Reply

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.