Before you utter or write a word to your team, you need to understand the challenge that lies before you, Argenti explains. The right mindset is critical, says Edmondson. She recommends sticking to your routines as much as you can. Eat well, exercise, and try to get plenty of sleep. Encourage your employees to use this resource so that the information provided directly addresses their concerns.
Consider your audience. Allay their fears as much as you can. Be humble. Besides, all of the facts of the situation will become apparent over time and softening hard truths can backfire. Be responsible. Try to be consistent.
Communicating openly with your team becomes more complex when or if your immediate boss or upper management is responding to the crisis in a way you disagree with. But you believe in giving employees more autonomy in how and when they work. You might spell out the policy and add that during this stressful time you trust your workers to use their best judgement.
Rise to the occasion of the moment. Due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on business operations, the company has had to make some hard choices. A couple of weeks later, he announced that SquareFoot would implement company-wide pay cuts. I wanted to help make sure that messaging was consistent across the board. To that end, Eugenie has had frequent one-on-one calls with her reports as well as other people managers throughout the company. She is straightforward and confident.
She is also candid. Three or months down the line, we will reassess. Learn more. Community organizations are geared towards action.
There are urgent problems and issues we need to tackle and solve in our communities. That's why we came together in the first place, isn't it? But for groups to be really successful, we need to spend some time focusing on the skills our members and leaders use to make all of this action happen, both within and outside our organizations.
One of the most important sets of skills for leaders and members are facilitation skills. These are the "process" skills we use to guide and direct key parts of our organizing work with groups of people such as meetings, planning sessions, and training of our members and leaders.
Whether it's a meeting big or small or a training session, someone has to shape and guide the process of working together so that you meet your goals and accomplish what you've set out to do. While a group of people might set the agenda and figure out the goals, one person needs to concentrate on how you are going to move through your agenda and meet those goals effectively.
This is the person we call the "facilitator. The best meeting chairs see themselves as facilitators. While they have to get through an agenda and make sure that important issues are discussed, decisions made, and actions taken, good chairs don't feel that they have all of the answers or should talk all the time. The most important thing is what the participants in the meeting have to say. So, focus on how the meeting is structured and run to make sure that everyone can participate.
This includes things like:. If you want to do good planning, keep members involved, and create real leadership opportunities in your organization and skills in your members, you need facilitator skills.
The more you know about how to shape and run a good learning and planning process, the more your members will feel empowered about their own ideas and participation, stay invested in your organization, take on responsibility and ownership, and the better your meetings will be.
Meetings are a big part of our organizing life. We seem to always be going from one meeting to the next. The next session in the Tool Box covers planning and having good meetings in depth. But here, we're going to work on the process skills that good meeting leaders need to have. Remember, these facilitation skills are useful beyond meetings: for planning; for "growing" new leaders; for resolving conflicts; and for keeping good communication in your organization.
Yes, to a degree. Being a good facilitator is both a skill and an art. It is a skill in that people can learn certain techniques and can improve their ability with practice.
It is an art in that some people just have more of a knack for it than others. Sometimes organization leaders are required to facilitate meetings: thus, board presidents must be trained in how to facilitate. But other meetings and planning sessions don't require that any one person act as facilitators, so your organization can draw on members who have the skill and the talent.
A good facilitator is concerned with both the outcome of the meeting or planning session, with how the people in the meeting participate and interact, and also with the process. While achieving the goals and outcomes that everyone wants is of course important, a facilitator also wants to make sure that the process if sound, that everyone is engaged, and that the experience is the best it can be for the participants.
A good facilitator will make plans in each of these areas in advance. Let's look at some of the specifics. There are many factors that impact how safe and comfortable people feel about interacting with each other and participating. The environment and general "climate" of a meeting or planning session sets an important tone for participation. Believe it or not: how people sit, whether they are hungry and whether they can hear can make or break your planning process.
As a facilitator, the logistics of the meeting should be of great concern to you, whether you're responsible for them or not. Some things to consider are:. To build a safe as well as comfortable environment, a good facilitator has a few more points to consider. How do you protect folks who are worried their ideas will be attacked or mocked? How do you hold back the big talkers who tend to dominate while still making them feel good about their participation?
Much of the answer lies in the Ground Rules. Most meetings have some kind of operating rules. Some groups use Robert's Rules of Order parliamentary procedure to run their meetings while others have rules they've adopted over time. When you want the participation to flow and for folks to really feel invested in following the rules, the best way to go is to have the group develop them as one of the first steps in the process.
This builds a sense of power in the participants "Hey, she isn't telling us how to act. It's up to us to figure out what we think is important! Common ground rules are:. As we've already said, the facilitator is responsible for providing a "safe" climate and working atmosphere for the meeting. But you're probably wondering, "What do I actually do during the meeting to guide the process along? Few of us start our meetings on time. The result? Those who come on time feel cheated that they rushed to get there!
Start no more than five minutes late, ten at the maximum and thank everyone who came on time. When latecomers straggle in, don't stop your process to acknowledge them. Wait until after a break or another appropriate time to have them introduce themselves. Make a point to welcome everyone who comes. Don't complain about the size of a group if the turnout is small!
Nothing will turn the folks off who did come out faster. Thank all of those who are there for coming and analyze the turnout attendance later. Go with who you have. There are lots of ways for people to introduce themselves to each other that are better than just going around the room. The kinds of introductions you do should depend on what kind of meeting you are having, the number of people, the overall goals of the meeting, and what kind of information it would be useful to know.
Some key questions you can ask members to include in their introductions are:. Go over what's going to happen in the meeting. Check with the group to make sure they agree with and like the agenda. You never know if someone will want to comment and suggest something a little different. This builds a sense of ownership of the meeting and lets people know early on that you're there to facilitate their process and their meeting, not your own agenda.
The same is true for the outcomes of the meeting. You'll want to go over these with folks as well to get their input and check that these are the desired outcomes they're looking for. This is also where the ground rules that we covered earlier come in. This is one of your main jobs as a facilitator. It's up to you to get those who need to listen to listen and those who ought to speak. Encourage people to share their experiences and ideas and urge those with relevant background information share it at appropriate times.
Groups have a tendency to wander far from the original agenda, sometimes without knowing it. When you hear the discussion wandering off, bring it to the group's attention. You can say "That's an interesting issue, but perhaps we should get back to the original discussion.
Sometimes, it's easier for groups to discuss the color of napkins than the real issues they are facing. Help the group not to get immersed in details. Suggest instead, "Perhaps the committee could resolve the matter. Getting commitments for future involvement is often a meeting goal. You want leaders to commit to certain tasks, people to volunteer to help on a campaign, or organizations to support your group.
Make sure adequate time is allocated for seeking commitment. For small meetings, write people's names down on newsprint next to the tasks they agreed to undertake. One important rule of thumb is that no one should leave a meeting without something to do. Don't ever close a meeting by saying "We'll get back to you to confirm how you might like to get involved. Sign them up! Many groups will discuss things ten times longer than they need to unless a facilitator helps them to recognize they're basically in agreement.
Summarize a consensus position, or ask someone in the group to summarize the points of agreement, and then move forward. If one or two people disagree, state the situation as clearly as you can: "Tom and Levonia seem to have other feelings on this matter, but everyone else seems to go in this direction. Perhaps we can decide to go in the direction that most of the group wants, and maybe Tom and Levonia can get back to us on other ways to accommodate their concerns.
Some groups feel strongly about reaching consensus on issues before moving ahead. If your group is one of them, be sure to read a good manual or book on consensus decision making. Many groups, however, find that voting is a fine way to make decisions. A good rule of thumb is that a vote must pass by a two-thirds majority for it to be a valid decision.
For most groups to work well, they should seek consensus where possible, but take votes when needed in order to move the process forward. The facilitator protects the shy and quiet folks in a meeting and encourages them to speak out. There is also the important job of keeping domineering people from monopolizing the meeting or ridiculing the ideas of others. Sometimes, people dominate a discussion because they are really passionate about an issue and have lots of things to say.
One way to channel their interest is to suggest that they consider serving on a committee or task force on that issue. Other people, however, talk to hear themselves talk. If someone like that shows up at your meeting, look further ahead in this chapter for some tips on dealing with "disrupters.
Sometimes issues will arise in the meeting that are so important, they will take much more time than you thought. Sometimes, nobody will have thought of them at all. You may run over time or have to alter your agenda to discuss them. Be sure to check with group about whether this is O. If necessary, ask for a five-minute break to confer with key leaders or participants on how to handle the issue and how to restructure the agenda.
Be prepared to recommend an alternate agenda, dropping some items if necessary. Before ending the meeting, summarize the key decisions that were made and what else happened.
Be sure also to summarize the follow-up actions that were agreed to and need to take place. Remind folks how much good work was done and how effective the meeting hopefully was.
Refer back to the objectives or outcomes to show how much you accomplished. Take a minute to thank people who prepared things for the meeting, set up the room, brought refreshments, or did any work towards making the meeting happen. Thank all of the participants for their input and energy and for making the meeting a success.
I found out that I'm pregnant. Allow your parents to absorb what you said. Be prepared to deal with the reaction. What happens next? Will your parents be angry, stressed, or emotional? Will they lecture you? Use harsh words? Ask a ton of questions? It's good to think ahead about what you might do and how you may feel. For instance, if a parent yells, you'll want to be prepared so you can keep the conversation productive and resist any urge to yell back.
Of course, not every parent yells. Many don't. Even if parents have a strong reaction at first, most want to help their children. Lots of teens are surprised at how supportive their parents turn out to be. It can help to tell your parents that you understand their feelings and point of view. Saying things like, "I know you're really mad," "I know this isn't what you wanted for me," or, "I know this isn't what you expected" can help your parents be more understanding.
The key is to be honest and speak from the heart. If you say what you think parents want to hear or make statements just to calm them, it might sound fake. Give your parents time to speak without jumping in.
Listen to what they say. Let them vent if they have to. Tell them how you feel. Part of your conversation might involve telling parents how you feel. For example, if you know you've disappointed them and you feel sorry about it, say that.
Let them know if you feel disappointed in yourself, too. You might say, "Mom and Dad, I know I've disappointed you. I know you're upset. I'm really sorry for putting you through this. I'm disappointed in myself, too. Share your fears and worries, such as, "I'm scared about how I'm going to handle this, what my friends will think, and what it means about school.
Putting your feelings into words takes plenty of maturity and it's not easy to do. Don't worry if the words don't come out perfectly or if you cry or get emotional as you're saying them. It can help to think about your feelings ahead of time. If you can't imagine expressing your feelings out loud, consider writing them down in a letter. If you need to, get help breaking the news. A visit to your doctor's office or a health clinic is a must — not just for your health, but to get more information and discuss the realities of your situation.
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