Scenario: Leg Stretch
As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation:
A member stands during a session.
Tags: Action Learning Coach, WIAL Action Learning
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Ram Gopalan
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OMG !!! That is a clear violation of the ground rules. I will walk over to him and force him to sit down. Then I would proceed to talk about the ill effects of standing up during an Action Learning session.
Just kidding, you know 😉
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Marisol Lopez
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It depends. If the session has just begun, like 30 minutes, then I would intervene and ask the group what do they think about members standing up and ask them how they want to handle this behavior and how it is impacting on their learning process. This would allow them to decide how to handle the situation. If it was two hours into the session, I would ask the group what do they think of the person who stood up and would they need a leg stretch break as well.
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Adam Walz
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Context is probably king here, but I would see very little place for an immediate intervention. Is he just standing behind his chair and still engaged in the conversation? Is he pacing around the room? Is he distracting others? Does it seem like the person is going to stand for a few minutes or for the rest of the session? All of these questions, probably mean I would keep my eye on the situation, but likely just let things unfold. Unless it’s impacting others or their own ability to engage, I would think no response is the best response. If it was impacting then a quick time out just to clarify the person’s intent and to double-check if that works for the group or if a different solution is required (i.e. we all take a break, we all stand, the team member sits back down after stretching).
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Joseph
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This really depends on the situation. If the meeting is long and he just stands up to stretch a bit, that’s fine. I shall probably wait a bit to see what he is going to do next before intervention or let the group self rectify. If he discontinues to participate or disturbs others, intervention seems necessary.
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Dennis
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I agree with Adam. If i would notice any observable signs that the participant’s behaviour (standing up) distracts others, I would ask the group if anyone minds any group participant moving around whie still being fully engaged.
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Vow
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I agree with Marisol and Adam. So if the participant continues to be engaged and the session has been in progress for some time, I would ask the group if they feel that it is time for a health break; whereas if this was done in the first few minutes into the session and continued for more than five minutes, I would say to the group what I had observed and ask if they would like to set some norms around this.
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donna
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I would watch and evaluate as well. It might be nothing more than a bad back or it might indicate a lack of engagement. No way to know immediately. Watch and wait–notice the group’s reaction to this as well.
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Will
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The context and the timing of this behaviour determines what has to happen. It’s not really an issue except if he disturbs others, detracts from the process or otherwise wants to draw attention to himself. I might need to ask myself several things before I choose to intervene: is it significant? (ie. an indicator they may need a break!); does it appear to impact negatively on others? Does it draw a reaction from others? Is it indicating some form of disengagement? If I intervene it might then be to ask the group about the impact and any norms they wish to agree to handle it.
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DrBea
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This is another one of those trick question – no rule against standing up. I would do nothing – assuming the person was still engaged.
As other have noted the context would play on it greatly. My intent was simply standing to stretch.
Happy Coaching
Bea
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elinaqu
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It really depends on when this happened and how this happened. If this happened when the team is having a fiercely conversation, it might help to adjust the serious atmosphere then I will not intervene. If this happened at the beginning of the session, I will ask the team to rate the energy level and what the team likes to do.
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chunqingyu
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If no member disagree this, let it go.
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Yuri
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Some researches shows that one can think better when he/she is in dynamic movement, not in sidantary mode. Sure, the prerequisite is that his/her dynamic movement didn’t bring distractions to team member as they were working in a team. So probably I will follow Adam’s step. Observe the team member’s movement for a little bit while, and intervene if there are no body raised questions to aware that: Do we observe that someone is standing up from his chair?
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Genalee
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I would observe what the member’s intention is. If it is just for a while for a quick stretch, I would let the discussion flow. If this prolongs, I would ask the team if they have observed anything during the discussion. If someone point out that one member is standing up, I would continue to ask if there’s an impact on the discussion. If there’s no concern, I would let it go. On the other hand, if there’s an impact, I would take this as a learning opportunity. How does one action or behaviour affects the dynamic of discussion. What can we do better as a team?
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Gurpreet Bhatia
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As long as it is not disturbing others and he is standing behind his chair, it’s completely fine.
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