Assessment Questions

Whether you are asking questions in one-on-one interviews or in a survey format, the following questions will be helpful in preparing for a facilitated session:

1. What's the history of the group?
2. What's the proudest achievement of the members?
3. How familiar are members with each other?
4. Are there clear goals?
5. Are there team rules or norms?
6. In meetings, does everyone participate or do a few dominate?
7. To what extent is there a high level of openness and honesty among members?
8. Do members listen to and support each other's ideas?
9. How does the group handle differing views or conflict?
10. How are important decisions made?
11. Do people usually leave meetings feeling like something has been achieved?
12. How would you describe the group atmosphere?
13. Are meetings thoroughly planned and structured or are they basically freewheeling?
14. Does the group ever stop to evaluate how it's doing and make corrections?
15. What's the best thing about the group? What's the worst?
16. How do people feel about being part of this group?
17. Describe a recent incident that illustrates how members typically interact.
18. Are there any reasons why members might not be open and say what they really think?
19. Why do you need facilitation support? Is there any opposition to this?
20. What's the worst thing that could happen at this meeting? What could be done to ensure that this doesn't happen?
21. What advice would you give me in planning this session? Is there a particular pitfall that I need to be aware of?

On the following page, you will find a survey that can be used to assess the internal climate of any group.

What Is a Group?

A group is a collection of people who come together to communicate, tackle a problem, or coordinate an event. Even though they may meet often, they're a group and not a team because they have specific traits. In most groups:

• individual members operate under their own separate parameters and work to achieve individual goals
• groups usually operate by externally set procedures such as the traditional rules of order
• group members usually have separate roles and responsibilities and tend to work on their own
• individuals in groups operate at various levels of empowerment depending on their position in the organization
• little or no time is devoted to building relationships, and issues of cohesion and trust are rarely addressed
• groups rarely focus on feedback between members to improve group effectiveness
• leadership and decision-making power typically lie with the leader

Since group members typically pursue their own individual goals, groups tend to exhibit “I”-centered behavior when debating. This generally makes a group more competitive and argumentative than a true team. When each person strives to obtain what's best for him- or herself, conflict tends to be handled in a more adversarial manner.

How Is a Team Different?

In contrast to a group, a team is a collection of people who come together to achieve a clear and compelling common goal that they have participated in defining. To the members of a true team, that goal is more important than their own individual pursuits. It's this factor that gives a team its cohesion.

A team also creates a set of norms or rules of conduct that define the team's culture. While groups tend to be run by a chairman, according to pre-published rules of order, a team runs itself by guidelines created by the members.

Team members also jointly plan work and coordinate roles much more than groups. Their work lives are linked together, and they depend on each other.

When team members have differences of opinion, they tend to debate the ideas rather than argue points of view. They aren't out to gain personal victory, but to arrive at the best solution for the good of the whole. While the members of a group generally have only the level of authority inherent in their positions within the organization, teams seek and attain higher levels of empowerment. Drawing on each other to make better decisions, a team typically evolves toward greater autonomy in managing its work.

There is a definite sequence of stages a team goes through in order to reach high performance levels. A group does not tend to follow this pattern. One reason is that team membership is more permanent. While a group can operate with members coming and going, the membership of a team needs to be more consistent. In fact, if a member leaves a team, the team may need to return briefly to the forming stage in order to integrate a new member.

Whether teams are created to stay together for just a few meetings or for years, they tend to develop more trust and openness than do most groups. Members have bought into the idea of working together and have made a commitment to common action. This helps create the comfort that many people need before they can freely express their ideas and concerns.

Group/Team Comparison Chart

Do All Groups Need to Become Teams?

The simple answer is no. While teams have some distinct advantages over groups, not all groups should be developed into teams. A group should stay a group if:

• the members will only be together for a short time
• it's only supposed to do one simple task
• its purpose is solely to share information
• the same people don't come to every meeting
• there's no regular or frequent pattern of meetings
• there's no real common goal or need for linked roles
• work is best planned and managed by isolated individuals
• there's no intent to empower
• there's no support for teamwork in the organization
• leadership styles are controlling and directive

Conversely, it is advantageous to do team building with any group if:

• there's a need to create a high level of cohesion and commitment to a common goal
• there's an ongoing task for the group to accomplish
• a consistent set of people will be working closely over an extended period
• members need to link and coordinate their roles closely
• higher empowerment levels would improve effectiveness and performance

As a facilitator, you should be aware that you will probably work with more unstructured groups than with real teams who have been through a team-building process. This is one of the things that makes facilitation a challenge, as unschooled groups are likely to be unstructured, more argumentative, and less skilled at effective interpersonal behaviors.

Getting a Group to Act Like a Team

Even when a group isn't destined to become a team, it's a good idea to take some tips from rudimentary team building and get members to at least act like a team while they're working together. This can be achieved by incorporating the following key team-building activities right into the agenda. These activities include:

1. ____ getting people to participate in creating a clear goal for the session or topic being discussed
2. ____ creating a set of norms or rules to guide conduct, posting these rules, and encouraging members to use them to maintain effective behaviors
3. ____ clarifying roles and responsibilities for all action plans generated by the group
4. ____ clarifying all accountabilities to ensure that everyone is clear about expected results
5. ____ training members in effective behaviors such as how to handle conflict and make decisions
6. ____ conducting process checks, building in feedback loops and other evaluation mechanisms so that members can take responsibility for improving how the group functions

Facilitating the Formation of a Team

When facilitating a new team, you need to be optimistic and encouraging in order to ease anxieties. You also need to:

1. ____ make sure there's clarity about the mandate and parameters for the new team
2. ____ help the members collaborate to create a goal that achieves the stated mandate
3. ____ break the ice with activities that create comfort and disclosure
4. ____ help members develop norms or rules of conduct
5. ____ identify tasks and specify roles and responsibilities
6. ____ provide structure for all discussions
7. ____ manage participation so that everyone has an equal say
8. ____ provide training in decision making and effective behaviors

Creating Team Norms

A major difference between groups and teams is that teams have clear norms or rules set by the team's members. These rules are used by the members to control their own and their peers' behaviors.

Developing norms is essential at the forming stage. Once they're in place, the norms are posted, referred to when behaviors become less than desirable, and amended as the team matures.

Norms are always developed by team members. It only makes sense that bringing in guidelines from outside and asking the members to adhere to them will be largely ineffective. Members will be more likely to follow rules that they've created together.

Norms will vary somewhat with each team, but these are some of the most common. When you facilitate a discussion to generate a set of norms, you can ask questions to prompt members to consider adding to these rules.

• We will listen actively to all ideas.
• Everyone's opinions count.
• No interrupting while someone is talking.
• Anyone can call time out if he or she feels the need for a break.
• We will be open, yet honor privacy.
• All team discussions will remain confidential.
• We will respect differences.
• We will be supportive rather than judgmental.
• We will give helpful feedback directly and openly.
• All team members will offer their ideas and resources.
• Each member will take responsibility for the work of the team.
• We will respect team meeting times by starting on time, returning from breaks promptly, and avoiding unnecessary interruptions.
• We will stay focused on our goals and avoid getting sidetracked.
• When we have a difference of opinion, we'll debate the facts of the situation and not personalities.
• We will all work to make sure there are no hidden agendas and that all issues and concerns can be dealt with openly by all members.

Once a set of norms is in place, they can be used as the basis for making interventions. When group members violate one of the rules that they set, you can point this out and ask them to honor their agreements. Suggestions about how to word these types of interventions can be found on page 143 in Chapter Eight.

Beware of the Iceberg!

Many people mistakenly think that storming is essentially caused by interpersonal conflict. While conflict is a reliable sign of storming, think of it more as a symptom rather than the cause. In other words, people may be in conflict as a result of problems with the task, lack of process, skill gaps, ineffective leadership, or organizational barriers.

Reacting to Storming

One of the most reliable signs that a team has entered the storming stage is that members feel dissatisfied with their dependence on someone else's authority, most often that of the team leader. It's not unusual for members to challenge or even reject the leader at this stage. Power struggles can also take place as team members compete for authority.

Due to these power struggles, team members can become distracted. As people become embroiled in interpersonal stress, productivity plummets. Frustration increases. This is accompanied by a corresponding decline in morale. There's a feeling of ineffectiveness, and there may be meetings during which little is achieved. People start to wonder whether the team is a good idea, since so much time seems to be wasted.

If you find yourself facilitating a team that is storming, be careful not to take this personally. Check to see whether you're thinking:

• “This is awful. Things are falling apart!”
• “They're not being very nice.”
• “I can't facilitate these people!”

In order to survive storming, you need to believe:

• “Storming is okay. It's a normal stage.”
• “They don't hate each other; they're just storming.”
• “This is energy I have to channel into solutions.”

Signs of Storming

Use the following checklist to raise your awareness of storming. It can help you determine whether the team you're working with is in this sensitive state:

1. ____ the team isn't achieving its goals
2. ____ people express frustration with blocks and barriers
3. ____ people say the team makes them feel drained of energy
4. ____ people no longer think the team is a good idea
5. ____ there's no attention to process or how the team functions
6. ____ there's a tendency toward arguing viewpoints instead of debating ideas
7. ____ people don't listen actively or support each other's ideas
8. ____ the team is divided into factions
9. ____ members vie for power with and against each other
10. ____ members demonstrate their lack of respect for the leader
11. ____ meetings go in circles; little is achieved
12. ____ there's a tendency to complain and second-guess decisions
13. ____ people are often late, absent, or don't do their homework
14. ____ no one wants to take responsibility; follow-through is poor
15. ____ some people have withdrawn; they no longer participate
16. ____ members go to each other after meetings to air their concerns
17. ____ people express frustration with blocks and barriers
18. ____ people say the team makes them feel drained of energy
19. ____ people no longer think the team is a good idea

Facilitating a Team in Storming

Storming is the most difficult stage to facilitate because feelings are running high. Facilitators need to handle storming carefully in order to remain absolutely neutral and not take sides in any debates. Storming also demands a high degree of assertiveness. Facilitators need to:

1. ____ expect and accept tension as normal
2. ____ stay totally neutral and calm
3. ____ create an environment in which people can safely express feelings
4. ____ honestly and openly admit that there's conflict
5. ____ help members identify issues and solve them together
6. ____ invite input and feedback
7. ____ make interventions to correct dysfunctional behaviors
8. ____ assertively referee heated discussions
9. ____ train members in group skills
10. ____ facilitate communication

When a Team Storms

Consider the best and worst things to do during storming:

BEST ACTIONS	WORST ACTIONS
Surface all problems to get them on the table to be solved	Ignore problems
Create norms that make it safe to discuss problems. Encourage members to debate ideas in a non-personal way	Avoid all arguments
Offer clear options and encourage members to take control	Take back control
Help members identify strategies and action plans	Tell people what to do
Help members identify their problems and resolve them	Take a punitive attitude

The Facilitator's Role in Storming

If you're facilitating a group that's storming, you will need to intervene. This means stopping the team's work to draw members' attention to the process.

During this phase it's more important than ever to stay totally neutral and offer the group tools with which they can solve their own problems. It is also important to recognize that receiving feedback and addressing issues are scary activities. One of the first things that the facilitator needs to do, therefore, is to help members identify the rules of the feedback activities that will ensure that everyone stays safe. Refer to page 97 in Chapter Six for details on how to establish what are known as safety norms.

Key facilitator strategies include:

• helping members create ground rules for giving and receiving feedback that ensures everyone stays safe
• offering feedback and inviting input
• encouraging problem identification and problem solving
• offering training and support to team members
• further sharing of power
• mediating in personality clashes
• coaching and counseling individuals
• encouraging others to take on leadership roles
• supporting members while they make improvements

Facilitating a Performing Team

You'll find that the easiest group to facilitate is a high-performance team whose members have learned to manage their own conflict and who have highly developed interpersonal skills. But that doesn't mean your job's over yet. When facilitating a high-performance team, facilitators must:

1. ____ collaborate with members more to obtain their input
2. ____ share facilitation duties
3. ____ offer expertise to the team
4. ____ help the team reward and celebrate success
5. ____ offer to observe and give feedback to further improve the team

Facilitating Team Adjournment

The main role of the facilitator in the adjournment phase is to provide process tools that allow the team to reflect on past experiences. This can include facilitating some or all of the following activities:

1. ____ a team retrospective meeting such as described on page 273 in Chapter Eleven
2. ____ a team closure meeting during which members say goodbye and celebrate their success