Scenario: Laundry List

As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation: The team starts brainstorming some great solutions; stopping short of actually developing a fully and clearly implementable plan.

Tags: Action Leaning, Action Learning Coach, WIAL, WIAL Action Learning, WIAL Talk

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Comments (7)

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    Vicky Glanville

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    I would ask them if they wanted to step outside of Action Learning and brainstorm before coming back to the Action Learning session. Once it is clear that this stage has completed, if no clear direction has been achieved I would ask each person to write down 1 suggestion for the problem presenter to consider and then ask them to read out in turn. I would then ask the PP what they plan on doing at the end

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    Pei Zheng

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    I choose not to intervene immediately, since their communication seems to be on the way of opening other windows. At the end of their talking regarding the “solutions” , I will ask the team “Have we completed a fully and clearly implementable plan? Yes, no, or close?” If no, I hope they could be back to develop the implementable plan.

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    Catherine Sandler

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    I would intervene to say that I had observed great brainstorming with many different possible solutions generated; I would ask the problem presenter what would be most helpful to them at this point? He or she might well say that narrowing down the possible solutions or identifying the best specific actions would be the most helpful next step and we could then continue. If he or she says that continued brainstorming would be the most helpful thing (and I was confident that there was close agreement on the definition of the problem) I would remind the group that in XX minutes I will be asking the problem what specific actions they will taking to solve their problem. When that time comes I would also ask the other members of the group to write down the one most helpful action they think the presenter should take, and share it in turn after he or she has shared their action points.

    My focus throughout would be on what seemed to be most helpful to the presenter. Sometimes this might mean that their problem or challenge has been unblocked rather than completely resolved. I think that this can be extremely helpful, even if there if no fully implementable action plan in place at the end of the session.

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    Wang Juan

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    I chose not to intervene immediately and let the team brainstorm for more possibilities. At the same time, I will ask the team, you can compare the existing implementation plan, ask PP after listening to your ideas and suggestions, whether you need to adjust the implementation plan? What are the specific measures?

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    Alexandra Shevchenko

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    I would ask “what do we need to do to develop a a fully and clearly implementable plan?” After hearing the response to the question I would ask, “so what should the team do right now?”

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    Justyna Truchel

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    I see that my role as an AL coach is to support the team in developing their leadership competences and at the same time to support PP in facilitating the team’s work so that the generated solutions are useful for him/her.
    If I noticed that after a very effective brainstorming the group moved on to unrealistic planning, I would check my observations by asking PP “Is there anything you need from the group to receive more “qualities” important for you?”
    I wrote “qualities” because it can be anything: a specific plan or unrealistic ideas. For me the priority is that after the session, PP is closer to solving his/her problem.
    Depending on PP’s answer, I would run the session accordingly.

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    Li-Chieh Lin

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    I will choose to intervene and ask: How is the quality of our meeting discussions?” Ask the team to rate or “Did we understand the issue clearly and reach a consensus?” Please answer yes or no or close. Then please write it down and read it out to help the team look at each other’s current understanding, and then ask everyone if they think there is a consensus? If the consensus is high, I will ask: “We still have XX minutes to discuss. Under such a time limit, what should we do to complete a complete and clear action plan within the time limit?” If Consensus is still very low. I will ask, “What can the team do to make it better?” It also allows the team to reflect.

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