Scenario: Parody
From Tom Janiak
As an Action Learning Coach how would you handle:
In the first session, there is a lot of humor in the team. Participants joke about the the 1st ground rule and answer in a parody manner, e.g. “Dear John, in reply to your question I would venture to say…”. Whenever you ask a serious question, like “what are we doing well?”, first comes a joke and only then a genuine answer.
Tags: Action Learning Coach, WIAL Action Learning
Trackback from your site.
Comments (10)
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Willy
| #
As a AL coach i would:
1. Compliment them with their positive attitude (focus on strength)
2. on the other hand i would ask attention for 90 minutes topsport. the team has to achieve and this necessary focus and concentration. it’s not a game we play!
Reply
bkknox
| #
As the AL coach, I would say:
I notice that we are adding a lot of humor and jokes to our questions and response. Has anyone else noticed that?
What benefits are there in adding humor? What negatives?
How would you like to manage the humor?
Reply
Jayne
| #
I like the idea of mentioning the benefit of humor along with the negatives. Since this is the first session, it may be a way they are dealing with feeling a little uncomfortable with the new process and perhaps the new way of interacting feels awkward at first.
Reply
naveen
| #
As a AL Coach, i would highlight the energy due to humor but emphasise on time.
I notice that there is a lot of humor to the questions and responses. So what is the effect on the team?
what is the impact of humor on the resolving the problem?
how can we manage it better?
Reply
DrBea
| #
After asking the standard 3 questions (How are we doing as a team on a scale of 1 – 10? what are we doing well? What can we do better?) if no one brought up the joking around – i would follow with –
I’m noticing the use of lots of humor – did any one else notice that?
What’s the impact of this on helping us identify the real problem?
How can we help each other focus so we can identify and solve the real problem?
Happy Coaching
Bea
Reply
Joi
| #
First, I would commend the group for their participation and glad that everyone is having fun with the session. Then ask if everyone is OK with how answers are being given. Do they think moving forward with the session in this manner will help the problem presenter come up with a solution/s?
If they are all OK and says yes, then proceed.
If not everyone is agreeable, ask the team how they would be able to still have fun but still ask questions and give answers that would help the problem presenter come up with solutions.
Reply
Tiffany Maurycy
| #
The simplicity of just naming it and asking what’s the impact on the team removes any form of judgement by the coach. It puts the team in a position of choice of what they want to do about it.
Reply
Havan Amin
| #
I believe that a positive attitude will eventually lead to positive outcomes. Therefore, it is very important that your intervention as a coach does not change the positive atmosphere into a negative one.
Firstly, I will slowly intervene and tell them that I’m noticing the use of a lot of humor in the action learning session. Secondly, I would ask them whether they noticed the same thing.
The third, and last question to the team members will be:
Either, does the humor help the team to make the session successful or does it have a negative effect? Or what are the benefits of using humor and what are the drawbacks?
In addition, I would ask them if it is possible to focus for 90 minutes so that we all can benefit from the outcome of this session.
Reply
Havan Amin
| #
***NEW, IMPROVED VERSION:
I believe that a positive attitude will eventually lead to positive outcomes. Therefore, it is very important that your intervention as a coach does not change the positive atmosphere into a negative one.
Firstly, I will slowly intervene and tell them that I’m noticing the use of a lot of humor in the action learning session. Secondly, I would ask them whether they noticed the same thing.
The third, and last question to the team members will be:
“Does the humor either help the team to make the session successful or does it have a negative effect? Or what are the potential benefits and drawbacks of using humor?”
In addition, I would ask them if it is possible to focus for 90 minutes so that we all can benefit from the outcome of this session.
Reply
Stuart Tan
| #
It would be appropriate to have the team consider if the humor is appropriate. “Team, you may have noticed that there has been a lot of humor created during our session together. How has this impacted the team?” This way, the team can make a judgement for themselves by thinking about their own actions. It may well be valid and appropriate to signal good team spirit. conversely, it may become apparent to them that they have been hiding discomfort. I will leave it to the team’s judgement.
Reply