Scenario: Bathroom Break

As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation: The session has been going for a long stretch and participants start stepping out to use the bathroom.

Tags: Action Learning, ActionLearning Coach, Team Coach, WIAL, WIAL Action Learning, WIAL Talk

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Comments (14)

  • Avatar

    Keith Almalvez

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    Bathroom breaks or bio breaks can’t be helped sometimes, but proper intervention needs to be in place to ensure the Action Learning session will still be a productive one. I will start calling out the team’s attention by asking “Team, I observed we’re already working for XX minutes now and some of our members stepped out. Have you also noticed it?” Once the team affirmed, I’ll continue by asking “Team, what would be the impact if members are stepping out while we’re still in session?” After the team provided their insights, I’ll ask “As a team, how would you like to handle the session with some members not present?” If the team suggests to wait for them, then I’ll ask them in return how many minutes should we wait before resuming the session. If the team decides to call for a short break, I’ll ask the team to decide how long the break should be factoring in the remaining time in the Action Learning session. This is also a good opportunity to ask the team (once they’re back or complete) to have an agreement when it comes to the frequency of bio breaks in the session.

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  • Avatar

    Anna Kozoń

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    I would ask the group if they need a break. I would also check if the structure of the session and planning is allowing fulfilment of all basic needs.

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  • Avatar

    Phạm Thanh Tùng

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    I intervened: “Hello Team, I observed a few members leaving the session, what do you think if we continue to ask questions to the rest of the members?”

    “What does the team think if we take a 5 minute break?”

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  • Avatar

    Kwan Leong Lee

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    If I were the Action Learning coach, I would in the beginning ask the team how they can be fully engaged in the session. If the bathroom issue is raised, I will allow them to set the team norm. If in the beginning there is no group norm being mentioned about bathroom breaks and since the session has been going on for a while, I will intervene and ask the team whether they want to take a short break.

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    Minh Hao Phan Thi

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    As an Action Learning, I will intervene as follows:
    1. I observed that there are few member leaving our discussion, do you all observe the same thing?
    2. What does the impact to our teamwork?
    3. What do our team decide to do to enhance our teamwork?

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    yosaporn punjamawat

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    I would intervene
    -Team! Did we see one member of us left the group now due to a matter issue?
    – Team! How are we doing about situation?

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    • Avatar

      Somsith Meesangnil

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      I will intervene, “Team, do you notice that some members stepped out to the bathroom?” (S) If team members go to the bathroom during the process, what will the effect be on our session? ” or “If we miss some members during the process, how does it affect help the problem present? (I) ” Some members propose that we take a break for 15 minutes to stretch. then carry on the process. How about the other ideas? (D).

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  • Avatar

    Nabih Jabr

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    I struggle a bit with asking too many questions about a simple, natural issue. This can risk exasperating some participants. I would keep it as simple and possible and ask if they’d like to take a short break.

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    Katarzyna Kochańska

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    I would intervene, if it was more people I would ask the groups if they needed a break. If it was one person I would ask the groups ” I noticed that we are not all in . what effect does this have on the work of the team? what rules about leaving during our meeting can we make?

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  • Avatar

    Giuseppe Casella

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    If there are various participants leaving the room for a bio break, probably the team has been there too long, I should have checked how the team was going long before. Once I realise it I would probably propose a small break to avoid continuous interruptions and to keep the quality of the discussion high.

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  • Avatar

    Nguyen Son

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    Coach can apply “what-so what-now what” by asking:
    – I observe there are members stepping out, are you observing the same thing
    – What impact does this have into our team’s effectiveness
    – What would we be doing better
    If there is real need of a break, then i would ask the group what should the sufficient time for this break and let them have short break

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  • Avatar

    Phuong Le Thi Thu

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    Coach will intervene by using SID model:
    – I noticed that a team member started stepping out, has anyone else observed this?
    – What will happen to the team if we continue?
    – What can we do as a team in this situation?
    Based on the team members’ agreement, coach will respect and support this.

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  • Avatar

    Niwat Theeraviwatwong

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    As a action learning coach. I’ll intervene by using “SID Model” as follows;
    S : Hello team! ; What is the team’s situation now? I observed that some team members stepping out to the bathroom.
    I : What’s impact our the team if member are not adhering the ground rule?
    D : What do we decide to do on this situation?

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  • Avatar

    Surawut Dudsdeemaytha

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    When team members stepping out to use the bathroom, I will check if the session has been going too long and I will intervene them by these questions
    Team, I notice that we have someone leaving the session, do you all notice the same thing?
    Then I will ask
    What will happen if people keep stepping out during the process do you think it will impact the session?

    As the biological break is a normal situation in daily life I will say to the team that
    “Since we start the process we didn’t have any break yet, what do you think if we have a short break for fresh up and go to bath room, before we continue?
    Then I will ask them for how long they want for the break ( I will not allow them to go further than 15 minutes )
    Before they go to break I will remind them that they will come back with momentum and focus, to ensure that the session remains productive
    Then I will let them go for break.

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