Scenario: May I

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

You say “may I do a checkin?” amd a team member says “NO”

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

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Comments (12)

  • Avatar

    Marie Tseng

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    As a coach, I have the right to intervene whenever I see a learning opportunity. So I would avoid to use “May I”.
    If I do, I would turn it into a joke and say it was meant as a polite way to intervene, rather than asking for permission, remind the team of rule number 2 and proceed with what I wanted to say.
    This would bring a second learning opportunity : the impact of my intervention. I would ask the team: “Is it important to be assertive as a team member if you feel you have something valuable to share? Why ? What are the options to intervene?”

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    Jill Johnson

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    I agree with Marie. I would avoid asking for permission to intervene. I would start off by saying, “I would like to take a moment to intervene” or “I would like to take a minute to ask a question.” If someone still says no I would say, “I know it might seem like I am interrupting your process time, but I would like to take just a couple of minutes to ask you a question and get some feedback.”

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  • Avatar

    Tim de Jonker

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    why should i ask for an intervention. My job as coach is to intervene when i see an opportunity for the group to learn. So, if it happen, i’ll make an joke and say ‘sorry, but i’ll do it anyway’
    Otherwise i’ll ask why the group don’t want an intervention? what is the reason, wat is the meaning of the group?

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  • Avatar

    Song Chen

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    As a coach, when I want to intervene, I will say, I’ve found an interesting thing about….would you like give me some feedback?
    The second rule: As a coach, I can intervene when I find learning opportunities.

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    Sumaia Thomas

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    Well, I should take care to not let it happen again because it is a fault. The second rule is very explicit: As an AL Coach I have the authority to intervene whenever there is the opportunity for learning. So I do not ask permission. In this situation I would lean in and excuse myself with “it was a force of expression. As our second ground rule the coach is focused on learning,( And I would move on with something like: I have observed that……. How does the group want to….. ? )

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    Jeroen van der Ven

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    As a coach, it is my job to make an intervention when I see a learning opportunity. By clearly indicating this to the group ” I want to intervene because I see a learning opportunity ” I think that as a coach you should have the space of the group to commit this intervention. This is because it is also a rule that ties in with action learning. A coach may intervene when he sees a learning opportunity.

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    Akshay Seth

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    As a coach, I will not ask “may I” because the second ground rule states that I have the authority to intervene at any time whenever I find a learning opportunity.

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  • Avatar

    Sitthimet Solthong

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    If that is the case. I would say ” Sorry if this is interrupting”. Then, I would say to them “May be you have a question?…please continue” Then afterwards, I would not say “May I” but rather interrupting as I see it fit and beneficial to the team.

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  • Avatar

    Christophe GARS

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    I think ” May I ” is not an appropriate vocabulary as a coach to intervene.
    When the right time is coming to intervene, I would intervene without asking the permission to the team simply by using my body language and a high voice tone. I believe this is the good way to show confidence of leading an action learning session.

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  • Avatar

    Monika Wawoczny

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    As a coach, I have the right to intervene whenever I see an opportunity to learn. It is worth starting with other words, e.g. “Let’s stop for a moment and look at how are we working.” or something similar. Then I would ask the question . However if a situation like the one described in this case happened and someone actually said “No” – I would check what other members of the group would say. If the group’s decision were consistent – I’d accept it and say: “Let’s keep working, then.” After a few minutes I would come back with intervention, but more resolute.

    Regards
    Monika

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  • Avatar

    Thị Lan Anh Nguyen

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    Mindset:
    When Coach observes an opportunity to learn, she has the right to intervene without asking for team’s permission.

    Action:
    Firstly, Coach keeps calm, smiles brightly and asks questions.
    1. “According to the team, what is Action Learning’s role?”
    2. “Please repeat rule number 2”
    3. “What would happen if Coach observed an opportunity for the team to learn new lessons but the team skip it?”
    4. “What would we do now to increase team’s chances of learning?”

    Coach’s reflection: “the reason why team member says “no””

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  • Avatar

    Ana Goncalves

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    As a coach, I have the right to intervene whenever I see a learning opportunity. So I would avoid to use “May I”.
    If I do, I would turn it into a joke and say it was meant as a polite way to intervene, rather than asking for permission, remind the team of rule number 2 and proceed with what I wanted to say.
    This would bring a second learning opportunity : the impact of my intervention. I would ask the team: “Is it important to be assertive as a team member if you feel you have something valuable to share? Why ? What are the options to intervene?”

    Reply

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