Scenario: Too slow

As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation: You are coaching a leadership development program with a group of senior engineers…One of them is a Six Sigma Black Belt with years of experience in problem solving methods. During the middle of your second meeting to frame the problem, the Black Belt notes that it is taking way too long to come to agreement on the problem. Some of the Type A members of the group nod their heads in agreement. What do you do?

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

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Comments (22)

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    Janice Chan

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    Team, what is happening here?

    Reply

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      taweepong pawachalotorn

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      I will intervened by using SID mode

      Reply

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    SITI AMIRA SHUKOR

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    As a coach in AL, I will intervened when I find out that the team still don’t have agreement on the problem. I will asked ‘ Team, how are we going so far, as a team?’. After getting some feedbacks, I will asked everybody again, about the agreement to the actual problem. Also will do some intervention if I noticed that team are out of tracked.

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      Dr Debra Clary

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      Considering asking them to rate, from 1 – 5, how important it is to solve the problem.

      Reply

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    Pieke Houben

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    I would ask the group how they would rate the process of identifying the problem on a scale of 1-10. I would also ask them to name one thing they are missing and one thing that they find is going well. I would base my next action on the outcome of those questions.

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    Tala Ocampo

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    I would ask the rest of the team: [what] “how about the rest, what do you think about the process of identifying the problem?” I will then follow up with [so what]: “what would happen if we continue this way?” and [now what]: “what do we need to do differently?”

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    Marietta Dembek

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    I would ask the group how we are doing in reaching an agreement on the problem? If the group said that the work was going too slowly, I would ask: “What can we do differently to speed up this stage?” and then asking the person presenting the problem: “What do you need from the group?”.

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    Yui Lee

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    I would do a quick pulse check to see if all are in agreement and then reopen the floor for questions with the newfound insight of where the group stands collectively. I would ask the group “what do we need as a team to get to consensus” or “what is missing for us to get to a consensus”. I would also follow up with a question around “what the benefits/drawbacks are of getting to consensus to quickly/slowly in an organisational setting to deepen the learning.

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    b t hang tuah baharudin

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    Team, what is your view to our progress in solving the problem so far? Anyone want to share anything?

    Reply

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    Janine Clarke

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    I would check in with the group to see if all members felt that there was agreement on what the problem is (it would seem that there is not) and as point of learning, ask the group how each of them felt (scale of 1 to 10) how the group is doing at narrowing down the problem. Then I would ask the group what they see themselves doing well, and then what they believe they could do better to make progress towards identifying a common understanding of the problem.

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    SIYI YAO

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    As an action learning coach, I would take some time to observe each team member before checking in with the group and PP by posing the following questions:
    1. Do we truly need to increase the agreement-making process’ speed right now? if, yes.
    2. What do you think prevents us from reaching a consensus on the issue?
    3. What can we do to speed up the process?

    Reply

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    An Nguyễn

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    – Hello team, what do you think about the problem identification process?
    – How will the quality of the solution be affected?
    – What will our team do to improve the quality of the solution?

    Reply

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    Aleksandra

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    As a coach, in a right moment of intervention I would ask the group these questions:
    1. Hey team! I have a feeling that there is unequal pace of reaching the agreement about the problem. Do you see/ notice that too? (WHAT)
    2. What do you think? How does this affect our work? (SO WHAT)
    3. How can we change the way we work to work better/ quicker/ more effectively?

    Reply

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    William Teo

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    I will intervene, ” How comfortable is the team with the pace? How will this pace impact the completion of the project?”

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    Gil Vaillant

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    I would intervene given the potential agreement or frustration shown by others in the group and try to establish whether this is a consensus view by asking each person in the team “How do you think we are going?” (scale 1-5, revealed all at once).

    Then I would follow up and ask the team: “How are we going at using all our tools and knowledge available to us?” This will give an opportunity for those who feel things are taking too long to propose an action to move forward.

    I would then ask the team “Why is it important to identify the problem before we move to solutions?” to ensure that the tools and expertise identified in response to the previous question are steered toward finding the problem first, rather than shortcutting to premature solutions.

    Finally I would re-open the discussion by asking the team: “What would you like to do as a result of what you’ve just identified?”

    Reply

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    Danel Trisi

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    First it depends on when this comes up. If the Black Belt just blurted out to say it is taking too long to come to agreement on the problem, then I would kindly ask “What is the question on the table right now?” If no one responds then I would say “Who has the next question?” Alternatively, if this comes up during one our interventions I would go through the process and have everyone write down their definition of the problem and read them out loud. Then I would ask “Do we have agreement on what the problem is?”, then no matter what they respond my next question would be… “Why is it important that we have agreement on the problem before we jump to identifying solutions?”…then I would ask… “What can we do as a team to help us get to agreement on the problem?”….then I would turn back to them…”Who has the next question?”

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    Tomasz Tawkin

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    In this situation, I would address the concern raised by the Six Sigma Black Belt and the agreeing members by asking the group,
    – How do we feel about our progress in agreeing on the problem?
    – Are we moving too slowly, and if so, what can we do to expedite this process while ensuring everyone’s input is considered?

    Reply

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    Mai Nguyen

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    – Identify intervention points: Determine the team’s consensus on a raised opinion
    – Lean in: Hello team
    – Intervention using What – So what – Now what
    – What: The coach observed that one team member voiced concerns about the prolonged time taken to reach consensus on the issue. And some other members also agree. “What do the rest of the members think about this? How do you assess the team’s effectiveness in coming together to resolve the problem?”
    – So what: “What would happen if we continue this way?” Or if the whole team agrees that we need to speed up the progress: “what might occur if we hasten our efforts in resolving the team’s issue?”
    – Now what: “What do we need to do differently?” or “What can we do differently to speed up this stage?”
    – Lean out: Who has the next question?

    Reply

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    Rosie Dao Hanh Giang

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    Intervention:
    -Hello team, are we trying to find the way to agree on the problem that team needs to solve?
    (Team answered)
    – What are your suggestions to help our team reaching the agreement on problem statement to move forward?
    (Team answered)
    -Who is asking next?
    (Team answered)

    Reply

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    Elena Ernst

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    I would need to ponder the group as an entirety, and ask how they feel they are doing as a group, indicating on a scale of 1-10 for example. If the numbers were low, think about the group dynamics as a potential hindrance and ask the group if they would consider adding another as a new perspective.

    Reply

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    Mike Mustafa

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    As a AL coach, would seek the opinions of all participants what they understood the problem is and how close they felt they were to reaching an agreement on what the problem is

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    Amar PATEL

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    Acknowledge the feedback, head nodding observation and then ask the whole team:
    • on a scale of 1-10 do we have agreement on the problem?
    • (if a low score), ask what impact will not having agreement on the problem have on the quality of the solution
    • (if a higher score), ask what actions they will be taking for the next session, what they have learnt and and how they demonstated their chosen leadership skill in this session

    Reply

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