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Opening....................Objective.......................Reflective...................Interpretive....................Decisional Show list view

1 a1 Reviewing the year Your organization, department or team has just reached its year end. your staff are ready to refine plans for the next year based on this years performance. you want to reflect on the journey of the whole year with its ups and downs. rational objective to harvest the learnings of the past year and apply them to the year ahead experiential aim to appreciate and affirm the years journey and the groups learnings hints add or take out questions for information that is specific to your group. For example: a Board of directors may focus on its own performance and roles; a team may include more on how the group worked together. other applications Board, team, department, organization, or personal reflections on a given time period. Before we plan for the coming year, it would be good to reflect on the last year. (Review any objective data you have on the year, such as information on finances, statistics on sales or services, data on customers or staffing.) What have been some of the key events for you in the past year? (Go around the room.) What major projects have we have worked on? Minor projects? What other events do you remember Describe the dynamics of this year What did we learn from the things that went well? What did we learn from the times where we struggled? As you reflect on all of this, how would you talk about what we have accomplished this year? How will our experience of this year and our learnings affect what we do in the coming year? What are we saying we want to do differently? Closing This has been a fine reflection on the year. Ive gained some new insights into our experience, as I am sure we all have. Ill get these learnings (and the other parts of the conversation) typed up and circulated to everyone.

2 a2 Reviewing a Workshop The group has just been through a workshop. the facilitator wants the group to reflect briefly on their experience of the workshop. rational objective to clarify the impact of the workshop on the group experiential aim to celebrate the work done and experience its importance hints this reflection needs to be short: about 10-12 minutes. if a more extended reflection is needed after an event, the group should take a break and come back for it. other applications you can use similar questions to reflect on any group event. Lets look back at our experience of this workshop. What are some of the things we did in this workshop? What words or phrases did you hear in the team reports? What were high points of the workshop for you? What were low points? Where did we struggle most? What was the turning point in the workshop? What new vantage point has this workshop given us? Whats the next step in implementing what we saw in this work- shop? Closing This workshop has been a significant step in our journey.

3 A3 Reviewing a Consultants Presentation The group has just heard a presentation from a consultant, and the team leader wants to hold a discussion on it. he knows that, in presentations, especially, so much data is covered that it is important to talk about it at some depth. everyone remembers certain parts, and misses others. only by sharing observations with the whole group will a fuller picture and a more balanced response emerge. rational objective to put everyone in the same universe of shared experience of the presentation experiential aim to find how the presentation has motivated the group, or changed its sense of what is possible hints this kind of reflection goes best when it is done as soon as possible after the presentation. other applications you can also use this conversation to reflect on a chapter in a book. Lets take a few minutes to reflect on the presentation we just heard. What do you remember from the conversation? What specific words, phrases and images still linger in your mind? What topics were covered? What information stood out for you? Where were you intrigued or excited by what you heard? Where did you turn off? Where did you feel most challenged? Where was the presenter most alive? At what point was he most sobering? How did you feel at the end of the presentation? Where did the presentation touch off daydreams or associations for you? What was the presentation about? What were some of the key points made? How did it challenge or affirm the way we work? If you were to give the presentation a new title, what would it be? Whose work would be most affected by the content of this presen- tation? What could we do to bring some of the consultants proposals into our department? What would be involved? What would be the first steps? Who will work on them? Closing Well, this has been a great conversation. Youll notice how quickly we moved from the theory to the practice. It will be interesting to see how we can implement some of the ideas we have heard.

4 a4 Reviewing a Planning even You have just finished a long planning session. the leader invites the team to spare a few moments to reflect on the event. rational objective to claim the impact of the event on their lives experiential aim to draw out learnings for the future from the event hints reflective conversations after a group event need to move fast. you may need only one question in each of the four levels. other applications reflections like this one are key for any learning orga- nization, and can be done after just about any common activity. since the group may be weary, they need to be led with a light touch. Any group event, such as the great planning session we just experienced, has a time for preparation, a time for the actual event, and a time for reflection on the event. Sometimes, it is the very act of reflecting that creates a really memorable event. Often people want to get away the moment the event is over, but if they stay and think about it for an extra ten or fifteen minutes, they can get a lot more out of it. What do you remember from the planning? What happened in this event? If your were a reporter how would you report in a sentence what happened? Where did you get excited? Where were you frustrated? What was the biggest surprise? What struggle did we have with it? What were key elements in this process? What different situation has the planning put us in? How are we personally different after this planning? What name would we put on this time together? What next steps would we suggest? Closing Reflections like this one can make the events of our lives very special. Thank you for the moments of extra time that made this reflection possible.

5 a5 Reviewing the day When a team has been working together all day on a special project, it is possible to take a few minutes to reflect on what has happened that day. this conversation can be done in two minutes or twenty- five, depending on the mood of the group and the time available. rational objective to develop a shared understanding of what happened during the day experiential aim to celebrate the accomplishments of the day hints this conversation needs to move fast. you will need to get the groups permission to have the conversation. stand up and say something like, Well, now that weve finished, lets take a few minutes to reflect on our work today. What do we remember from this day What image captures for you the emotional tone of the day? What was the high point of the day? What was the low point? What did we learn today? What is a key insight from the day? What name would we call this day? (Try for a poetic title that cap- tures your responses.) What unfinished business do we need to pick up on tomorrow? Closing Well, this conversation was a great way to celebrate the day and to bring our time together to a close. Thank you for contributing those extra minutes.

6 A6 Reviewing an Organizations Pas Before a Board, a team of corporate executives, or the staff of a department begin long-range planning, it may be helpful to reflect on the past of the organization. this conversation offers a way to bring the learnings of the past into the present, as the group contemplates ways to move into the future. rational objective to dialogue with the past so as to use the learnings from the past as a launching pad into the future experiential aim For the staff to experience themselves as part of a larger picture, and to heal the wounds of the past hints When asking the questions about events, accomplish- ments and highlights, it may be helpful to suggest that senior staff focus more on the early days of the organization, so that there is a spread of data from across the years. other applications With adaptations, this conversation could be used by a nation (electronically), a community, a family, or a couple celebrating an anniversary. Before we start our planning, lets spend a few minutes reflecting on the past of this organization. Some of us have been related to it for many years, others for fewer. We all have memories of key events in the life of the organization. What are some events and accomplishments in this organization for the last twenty years? (Note: The facilitator can list these on a timeline, under the year when each event occurred.) What for you have been high points in the life of this organization? What do you associate with those high points? What have been low points? What do you remember about the low points? If you were going to divide the last 20 years up into three parts, where would you put the divisions? What title would you put on these three periods? What have we learned from this 20-year journey? What does this tell us about who we are now and where we need to go in the future? Closing Our past accomplishments tell us we can have a great future.

7 a7 Evaluating a seminar A staff team has just taken a two-day seminar together and are taking some time to evaluate it. rational objective to assist the group to objectify the benefits they have received from the course experiential aim to affirm the struggles of the course and decide to apply the learnings hints sometimes, if the group is slow to respond to a particular question, it is helpful to go around the room on that question. if your question meets with a blank, you might want to rephrase it. if there is still no response, you might want to call on a few people, although you dont want to make this a standard practice. it is vital to be clear which question is the critical one to get answered. other applications you could also use this conversation to evaluate a textbook or technical manual. We have spent two days together at this seminar. Now we are going to take some time to reflect on our experience of the course. We want to discuss what we learned and how we see we can apply it. Then we want to decide if others of our staff should take this course. Why did you attend the course? What were the key elements of the course for you? Which parts came through very clearly for you? Which parts were unclear? What did you like or not like about the course? What was a high point of the course for you? A low point? Where did you struggle most? Where did you have a breakthrough? How has the course been beneficial to you? To others? How has it met your expectations? How will you apply what you have learned in the course? What follow up would help you apply more effectively what you have learned? Who else should take this course? Closing It seems from your comments that this was a real learning experi- ence. Im going to recommend that the people in the organization you mentioned take this course also, on the strength of your com- ments. Thank you.

8 a8 Evaluating a Curriculum The curriculum writing team has come up with the first draft of a new course on custom- er relations, and they need feedback from the staff. a staff meeting has been called for this purpose. you are facilitat- ing the conversation. rational objective to clarify the strengths and weaknesses to provide a basis for improvement experiential aim to make the writing team feel valued, and the rest of the staff feel involved hints Watch out for long-winded answers. if anyone wishes to give a speech, suggest that they write out their con- tribution and give it to the curriculum team. keep the conversation moving briskly. Be clear that it is the answers to the that the team will need most. other applications this conversation can also be used to reflect on a model or plan. The curriculum team has taken the basic outline of a customer rela- tions course to devise this first draft of the curriculum. Lets take a few minutes to look carefully at what they have come up with, and well talk together. What words or phrases or titles jump out at you from the text? Which parts of the curriculum do you remember most? What else is in the curriculum? What parts of the curriculum appeal to you most? What are the key values being emphasized in this curriculum? Which parts are you concerned about? Through this curriculum, what could participants learn? What would you like participants to experience or discover that is not included? How might they be different after they experienced this curricu- lum? What challenges would you face in teaching this curriculum? What suggestions would you like to make to the writing team ? What other values would you include in the curriculum? What other information would you add? What other changes would you suggest? What resources would you add to the bibliography? Which of these suggestions are highest priority? As you reflect on what we have said, what seem to be the next steps? Closing This is great work. This really clarifies the next steps for refining the curriculum.

9 a9 Evaluating the Progress of a Projec The first item on the monthly meeting agenda is to evaluate progress on the project they have been working on for some weeks. each unit has circulated a report on their work to date. each person has had time to read the reports and compare them to the orig- inal workplan. rational objective to reflect on how the team is doing and decide any modi- fications that are required to ensure the teams success experiential aim to experience both account- ability for past work and permission to move into the future hints allow enough time for responses to the ensure the focus stays on clarity of the objec- tive data. avoid investiga- tion-like quizzing about why something was or was not done. assure the group that drawing conclusions or revis- ing priorities will come later in the discussion, after the actual situation is clarified. other applications you can also use the conver- sation for mid-term correction for one-year or six-month action plans. We are at a critical point in our workplan to get all the departments trained in the use of the new software. We need to reflect on our progress to date. I expect that each of you have inspected the overall plan and the reports from each of the subgroups. We want to reflect on what we have accomplished this month and decide if we need to adapt the plan to keep the project on track and on schedule. As you read these reports, what statements or points caught your attention? Where were the reports clear? Where not clear? As you think of our work as a team, what other information do we need to share? As you compare these reports to our work plan, where do we appear to be ahead of schedule? Where do we seem to be behind schedule? What surprises did you find in the reports? Where has the work gone easily? Where has it been more difficult than expected? Where have we run into unexpected snafus or logjams? What appear to be the key issues or key problem areas?? Where will we need extra help? What kind of help will we need? What questions do we need to work through as a whole group? What will it take to keep this project on track or get it back on track? What changes are we recommending to the workplan? What changes are we making to the way we need to operate? What are the next steps? Who needs to do them? Closing This has been very helpful to us all in getting the big picture and seeing where we need to move next.

10 a10 Analysing a Product that Failed to sell A team has spent six months developing a new cookie, testing it and holding tastings for prospective clients. embarrassingly, the product has failed to sell. the team is in real despair. the manager has sent them back to the planning stage. the team leader decides to lead them in a conversation to see if they find the source of the problem. (For Welcome back to the project. This is the first time we have got back together since the market testing of our cookie. Its inspiring to me that management has enough faith in this team and in this product to have us try again. Why dont we start this appraisal pro- cess with a conversation that might give us a place to start on the problem. What have people said about this cookie? What did they say about the colour? About how the cookie tasted? About the packaging? What comments did they make on the ingredients of the cookie? What other comments have we heard? What have been your personal impressions? What other data or statistics do we have available from the market test? What do people like about it? What dont they like about it? What have been your own reactions or intuitions about the market- ing campaign? What seems to be the main issue with the cookie? What are the key issues with the marketing campaign? What conclusions can we draw from our answers? What new directions for either the recipe or the marketing do we need to explore? What are the next steps? Closing I sense we crossed a bridge in this conversation. I think I sense in all of us a fresh determination to get to the bottom of this, and in the end produce a stellar product.

11 a11 Evaluating a Marketing Package It is time to evaluate a firms marketing package that has been in use for some time to see what changes might be needed. rational objective To push the groups initial impressions and reactions to the marketing package into a depth appraisal of the package and recommendation for changes experiential aim to create a sense of excite- ment about new marketing images hints Be careful to keep focused on the future. it may be easy for someone to get quite defen- sive about certain aspects of the old marketing package. other applications this type of conversation is useful in all types of evalua- tions, for example, of a prod- uct under development. We have a copy of the whole marketing package in front of us: brochures, fliers, ad campaigns, logos, catalogues, customer appraisals. Take a few minutes to leaf through each piece and note your impressions. What are the separate pieces in this marketing packet? Which piece is the oldest? The most recent? What images from the packet are still printed on your brain? What words or phrases caught your attention? What colours stood out? What sounds did you hear in your head? What gimmicks stood out? When have any of us used the packet recently as a whole or as individual pieces?? What were the results? What part of the package did you have something to do with creating? What is still intriguing about this package? Where did you get pulled in? What is not intriguing? What fails to pull you in? What associations or memories crossed your mind as you looked through the materials? What is still the most exciting part of this pack? What is the dullest part? Do any parts seem dated? What does the package do? What doesnt it do? What aspects of the package need a change? What kinds of changes are needed? As you listened to the earlier part of this conversation, what parts of the packet should we keep? What must go? Lets try to get images of what the new packet will be like. What will there be more of? What will there be less of? What colours do you see? What messages do we want to get out? What media do we want to use to get them out? What styles of print? What graphics? What are the next steps in the process? Who do we need to assign to pull together these initial impres- sions? When shall we meet next on this? Closing This has been a great conversation, and most helpful. With this input, we can set aside a small task force to come up with some impressionistic sketches and outlines of what is possible that we can all look at, before we hand it over to the designers. Points For the Conversation leader to reMeMBer The good facilitator is aware that the conversation method works best when the wisdom of each individual is affirmed and the collective data of the whole group is honoured. This is not just an abstract principle. In practice it entails the ability and readiness to listen carefully to participants words, to accept silence with understanding, to maintain accepting eye contact with the speaker, and to focus on what the person is saying, rather than on what you as facilitator will say next. The other side of honouring a participant is the readiness to push occasional answers for clarity, so that the participants real insight comes through. Similarly, the facilitator sets aside personal opinions about the data from the group, being careful not to react negatively to peoples insights, and maintains detachment from the group-generated data. This same neutral universe contains the capacity to buffer criticism, anger and frustration from the group with a non-defensive stance whenever the group energy overheats.

12 a12 Reviewing a Major report You have just received a major report which may have significant impact on your work. you have given each team member a copy, and assigned one section of the report to each person, asking for feedback on these questions at the meeting: You have each had an opportunity to review part of the report in depth. Lets start by having each person report on the assigned section, answering the list of questions I gave you. Lets start with Mary on section one. What parts of this report really caught your attention? Where did you find yourself thinking of various parts of our ongo- ing work? What situations were you reminded of? What part of the report excited you? What part of the report left you skeptical or frustrated? What relationships do you see between various parts of the report? What are the main points the report is making? What questions do these points raise for you? How would we answer those questions? What are the implications (if any) for how we do our work? What work needs to be done before we make a final decision about the changes we are recommending? What are our next steps in using this report? How will we implement the changes we have suggested? Closing This has been a very helpful discussion. We have thought through the impact of this report. Thank you for your preparation and your reflection. I will write up a summary of implications and get it out to you by Tuesday.

13 a13 evaluating a staff service Program the situation complaints have been received about the quality of an in-house staff service. (the service might be daycare for staff children, a cafeteria, or a bicycle parking space and shower rooms for cyclists.) management is holding a series of conversations to discover how to make the service more effective. rational objective to understand the problem experiential aim to take steps toward remedying the situation hints it may be helpful to expand this into a full scale workshop that brainstorms issues and solutions. the leader of the conversa- tion needs to know the scope of what is possible before holding this kind of conversa- tion. if management intends to discontinue the service because of the problems, this conversation would only raise false hopes. other applications this type of conversation can elicit input on anything that is not working up to expectations. other applications you can also apply this type of conversation to reviewing a new government legislation related to your departments work. the Conversation opening We want to review the effectiveness of this particular service. Some questions have been raised about it. We are seeking your input on the issues and what needs to happen. We are not out to blame anyone. We are concerned with structural problems and their solutions. First, a little bit of history on this. When was this service intro- duced? Does anyone remember? Why was it introduced? Lets hear from those who were here then. Who actually makes use of the service and how often? Who has used it recently? What happened? What stories or comments have you heard about how it is working? In what ways are people happy with this service? What are they unhappy about? How would you talk about the annoyance factor? From what you have heard, what does the problem appear to be? How crippling is it? What are any related issues? How would someone sum up the trouble spots to be dealt with? What needs to be done to improve this service? What are the first steps we need to take? Closing This has been a very helpful conversation. With your input, I have no doubt that we will be able to make the service more effective.

14 a14 evaluating a trade show the situation members from both the marketing and sales teams have just finished a trade show. now they are gathered in the conference room at their office to reflect on what happened, and evaluate the shows usefulness. rational objective to get a common picture of what happened during the show, to appraise its value to the company, and decide whether they should participate in the same show next year experiential aim to experience their work being taken seriously, and feel the value of their contribution hints sometimes people start answering questions before you ask them. it is important that you keep up with where the group is. often it is better to just skip a question to get to where they are answering, rather than trying to make them answer a question they have gone beyond. the discussion leader has to decide whether to follow the interest of the group, or insist they deal with a particular question before moving on. other applications this conversation can be used to evaluate a presentation, a booth at a festival, or any other effort at an event. the Conversation opening I thought it would be helpful to reflect on the Future Homes and Gardens Trade Show. We have just spent a lot of time, money and energy on this show. We want to look at what we learned, see how well our company did, and determine whether it is worth participating again next year. Some of you have very specific data to share with us, but all of us have things worth sharing. What scenes do you remember from the trade show? What made it memorable? What did we display? What did people buy and take away with them? What did they express interest in? What products or services provoked most questions? What was ignored? How many contacts did we make? How many advance orders were placed? What was their value? What income did we take in? What was the event of this show for you as a person? What surprised you about peoples responses to our wares? What was the low point? Where did you feel challenged at any point in the show? What did this show do for our organization? What new opportunities did we find? What did the show not do for our organization? If we participated again, what would we do differently? Weighing up the plusses and the minuses of our participation in this show, how would you appraise the value of our participation? What are our recommendations about participating next year? Closing This has been an enlightening conversation. It is always good to hear what you really think. This will help us in appraising our tradeshow strategy for next year. Thank you.

15 a15 evaluating a new Business Form the situation you have just started using a new business form in your department. you want to evaluate its design and effectiveness . rational objective To objectify employees initial responses to the business form experiential aim to see how their input has been used, and feel that their comments matter hints it will be essential for everyone in the group to have a copy of the form in front of them. you need to be firm about getting enough objective data out before moving to reflective. Be ready to draw out the quieter ones: the Conversation opening Theres been a lot of talk, in fact, some strong reactions, pro and con, to this business form. I thought it might be useful to hold a conversation where we could share our opinions about the advan- tages or disadvantages of this new form. OK? What is the first thing you notice on this form? What are some of the key items it includes? What do you like or dislike about it? How does it compare to the previous form? What are its strengths and weaknesses? How will it make a difference in the way we do business? What can we do to make sure this form is used properly? Closing Well, lets continue to reflect on this. I would be interested to hear of any additional reflections you have on the form as we continue to use it.

16 B1 Focusing a Group before a Workshop the situation Before beginning a problem- solving workshop, the leader wants to focus the group on the problem and its history. rational objective To get everyones mind in the same arena by discussing the origin and roots of the problem experiential aim To get the groups mind focused on the context of the conversation hints it is best to guide the conver- sation to the point of using the workshop focus question as the last question. in this way, the transition from the con- versation to the workshop will appear seamless. take only two or three answers to the since the whole workshop will be on the question of the Conversation opening Well, at long last, weve decided to take the time together to look at this problem and decide what it will take to make a break- through. Our workshop focus question will be What are some of the events that led up to this problem? What else do we know about the background of this problem? What has been the most frustrating part of this? How has it affected you personally? How has it affected all of our work? If this issue remains unsolved, what are the possible effects on our organization and client? What are other implications? What are some of the roots of this issue? What are some things we can do to solve the problem? Closing Well, this has been a good start. With this as our context, lets take that last question again and use it as the focus question for our workshop.

17 B2 introducing a new training topic the situation participants in an intensive training program are ready to move onto a new topic. a conversation helps introduce the next session. rational objective to link the new topic to their past experience experiential aim to enable the group to relate affirmatively to the challenge and possibility inherent in the topic hints if the group is likely to be thrown by the about the colour or the animal, a little permis- sion-giving context may help. the Conversation opening Well, today were going to launch into a new topic (Name the topic.) Lets talk about this a bit. We all have some experience of this area. When was your first experience of this topic? As you think about this, what images jump into your mind? What are some things we already know about this? What feelings do you associate with this topic? What are some of your past experiences related to the topic? What colour do you associate with this? What animal does it remind you of? What aspects of it do you enjoy? What dont you like about it? What is the most challenging thing about it? Why is this topic so important? How will it affect you? Your work? Other aspects of your life? What are your major questions in this area? How can we help each other learn about this topic? Closing As we share our insights like this, we have already taken the first step in grasping this topic.

18 B3 Preparing a short Presentation the situation you are preparing a short talk with slides about your companys products. Your customers have allowed you fifteen minutes to make the presentation. you are sitting alone in your hotel room, figuring out how to handle this customer, and you have this conversation with yourself. rational objective to convey information and passion about your products experiential aim to convince the customers to buy your products by visualizing the advantages hints this format is only for the short presentations, when you dont have a lot of time to write it out and rehearse it. other applications this type of conversation can also help you write a report, an editorial, or a quick proposal. the Conversation opening To prepare this presentation, I am going to ask myself a few ques- tions. I will use the answers in a presentation that will motivate the audience. What objective details do I need to share about the product: data, charts and history; its specifications, uses and benefits? Why am I so interested in this product, and why do I find it so exciting? What can I say that will clearly underline the benefits for this cus- tomer? How does this product help meet their needs? What range of options is open to them for responding to my pre- sentation? Which of all these options are best for this event? What order should they flow in? Closing I picture myself walking thorough the presentation, step by step, to a successful conclusion.

19 B4 Getting input for a Book review the situation a workplace study group has studied a red-hot book. they want others to know about it, so they have arranged a book review in the in-house newsletter. now they are gathering input for the review. rational objective to clarify what the book is about and what it says experiential aim to express how the book could make a difference to the reader and the organization hints discourage any critique of the book until the last interpretive question. if someone starts in on what they didnt like about the book, say, the Conversation opening I propose we have an initial conversation to reflect on the book, and see what we want to emphasize in the review. I noticed in the course of our study that a lot of you took notes, and some of you made great mind maps. Lets take ten minutes to review them. If you dont have any kind of notes, just look over the first and last paragraph of as many chapters as you can. Well be recording the conversation on tape for future reference, and Jack will take hard-copy notes for us. What words or phrases stand out in what you have been reading? What are the major points the author makes? What chapter or chapters would you say hold the heart of what the author is saying? How were you personally affected by this book? Where did you get most offended by what the author said? Why was that? What was the most exciting part for you? What kind of larger context do we need to set the book in? What aspects of the workplace is the author calling into question? What is he recommending? What do you sense is missing in this book? So what do we need to emphasize in our review? Assume this review has five paragraphs. Someone be bold and suggest what the subject of each paragraph is. Someone else try. What would be the five paragraphs? Someone else again. Which two of us will form a writing team and draw up a first draft of the review that we could look at in our next meeting? What last words of advice do we want to give them? Closing With this conversation, we should be able to come up with a review that will make an impact on readers and our organization.

20 B5 Preparing a Group to Write a report the situation a small team is preparing its quarter-end report to the managers and investors. the team is discussing what to put in it, and what to emphasize. rational objective to clarify the context of the report, the primary topics, and the basic story line experiential aim to experience the satisfaction of knowing that the report is on target hints notice that the complex objec- tive level has all four levels of questions, dealing directly with the subject of the report. there are many to get out the the Conversation opening Lets start by thinking out loud a while about what we want in this report, and what we want to emphasize. Ive arranged that Jim and Annette act as note-takers and also participate in the conversation. What are we reporting on? Who will be reading this report? How will it be used? What are some key things we have done that should be reported? What are the unique aspects of the subject of this report? What are important learnings? What people do we need to interview before writing the report? What do our readers need to know about the project we are report- ing on? What parts of this will be easy to write? Which parts will be difficult to write? What will the real challenge be in writing this report? What are the main points we need to cover in the report? How would we sequence them? Someone risk themselves, and, on behalf of us all, suggest a story line, linking those five arenas together in a long sentence. Someone else try it a different way. Someone else again. From what you have just heard, what appears to be the strategic intent of this report? What style do we want to use for presentation? What image do we want for art work, photos, quotes, graphs, etc. What do you see on the cover? When do we think we could have this ready? What are the next steps or tasks? Closing This has been a long conversation, but it has really set us up. I sense were ready to go to work on the report right now.

21 B6 Preparing a symbol and slogan the situation a small service organization is about to embark on a five- month funding campaign and needs a motivating symbol and slogan. rational objective to develop symbol and slogan options that really mean something to the organization and its supporters experiential aim to have fun and release creativity for the task hints have lots of fun at the reflec- tive level. tell jokes, put on paper hats, or whatever is necessary to loosen people up so that they can suspend judgment and let the ideas and images flow. other applications this conversation can help people work together to create symbols and slogans for departments, public relations work, or safety awareness month. the Conversation opening Even though none of us are artists or writers we can probably figure out some good ideas for slogans and symbols. Symbols and slogans can be extremely motivating. If we can come up with something that really speaks to people, we may be able to start with the battle half-won. What are some highly memorable slogans you have come across? What pictures accompanied those slogans? What tasks will we be doing during this campaign? What is our ultimate goal? What part of this campaign are you really looking forward to? What part will be fun? Challenging? What will it feel like at the beginning of the campaign? At the peak? Just before the end? What will be the most gratifying results of a successful campaign? How would that look in a photograph? Now, in relation to these images, what TV or billboard slogans or pictures are you reminded of? What will you need to tell yourself to keep motivated? What picture might you put into your mind at the beginning of each day to help you move ahead? Take a minute, sketch a symbol on a piece of paper, and hold it up. Which of these ideas could we convert into a good slogan or symbol? How could we make it even more powerful or punchy? What is our next step towards a final production of the symbol and the slogan? Closing Perhaps one of you can put pen to paper and draw a symbol that cap- tures the feel of what we are about to get into. We will likely remem- ber this many years from now, long after the campaign is over.

22 B7 Planning a Workplace study Group the situation people working in organiza- tions often need to create their own professional on-site study groups to keep up with the changes and to create a form of support. interested staff members are holding their first meeting to agree on a study plan. rational objective to focus the intent and content for a worksite study group experiential aim to stimulate excitement about learning together and commit- ment to organize the group hints this conversation aims to get a consensus from the group to form the study group. so it is more impressionistic than practical. the next meeting will be much more practical. it will involve deciding the study syllabus and schedule plus assignments. this could also become a workshop. other applications this approach can also help form the agenda of any interest group, such as a womens or mens group. the Conversation opening For some time, several of us have talked on and off about the need to help each other keep up to date in our profession, with its changing philosophy, values, technologies and skills. Today we want to take the first step toward getting a study group underway by having a conversation to focus the intent and content of our study. A couple of us have talked to management, and they were sort of tickled by the idea. So lets talk about what we want to have happen. What recent events or situations have told you that you need to keep up with things more, or that you need to study? What tells you that it would be useful to study these things in a group of your colleagues? What images do you have of this study group in operation? What are we out to have happen? What are the advantages of having such a group? What might be the disadvantages? Who here has experience in setting up such a group? What do we sense our most urgent study needs are? What topics do we want to cover? What kind of media do we want to use? What methods would we want to use? How soon do we want to start? Where could we meet? When do we want to meet? Before work, lunch time, after work, at one of our homes? Who will pull all this together and come up with a model and con- tent suggestions we could look at? When will we meet again to look at the curriculum and make final decisions and book and study leader assignments? Closing Well, this has been a great conversation: it has really helped us get this project underway. Im looking forward to our next meeting.

23 B8 Preparing the agenda for a Meeting the situation you are leading a small team to prepare the agenda for a monthly staff meeting. rational objective to create an agenda that will enable the group to deal with its upcoming issues and other items experiential aim to release anxiety and create anticipation about the meeting hints this format can be used to plan a staff meeting. the initial objective question may require a survey of participants or conversations with several people in order to generate a list. the length of the meeting is an important factor. a short meeting may consist of several brief items or a single item with a few important announcements. a longer meeting requires more careful orchestration. it is helpful to list the items on a flip chart as they are said, so that the group is dealing with one list. other applications this format can be used for many other kinds of meetings, such as service club dinners or church committee meetings. the Conversation opening We need to develop an agenda for the upcoming staff meeting, a list of items we need to deal with. What agenda items are carried forward from the last meeting? What other items have we heard of? Which items strike you as easy to deal with? Which strike you as difficult to deal with? Which of these items are most critical to deal with at this meeting? Which can be addressed in another way or in a different setting? Which need to be addressed first in order to deal with others? Approximately how much time will be needed to deal with each item? How can we best organize this agenda listing to make sure we get the necessary tasks done? Who will lead this meeting? Closing Well, weve covered a lot of ground and made some good decisions. Looks like its time for lunch.

24 B9 organizing an in-house service Group the situation people working in organiza- tions often find the need to create a formal or informal voluntary organization, such as a union, a lunch-time forum, an on-site day care, an advisory group, or a task force to look at specific staff needs. in this case, staff of the mno corporation are meeting to start an in-house day care. rational objective to take the first steps in setting up this special group experiential aim to generate excitement and commitment for initiating the group hints this conversation is designed specifically for the preliminary meeting. it would not be appro- priate at the next meeting which needs to be more of an information gathering meeting and planning session the Conversation opening We want to have a conversation on setting up an on-site day care. The management is open to the idea, and is willing to consider budget adjustments or other changes we recommend. So lets get the conversation going. Lets just review for a minute how we got to this point. What are some of the staff issues that indicate a need for this? What are we out to have happen? Whose idea was this in the first place? Who else have we heard is interested in this project? What images do you have of the outcome of our effort? What are the advantages of having such a group? What might be the disadvantages? Who here has experience with this? What other kinds of responses can we expect from others? What will it mean for us? What will be different? Why are you interested in this group? What is the purpose of this group? (The question may only need one or two responses.) How can we get more support for this from other people? What are the next steps towards getting this off the ground? Who will need to implement these actions? When should we meet? And where? And who should be present at the next meeting? Closing Well, this has been a great conversation and a good beginning for this venture. Thank you all for coming. And please feel free to come to the next meeting, and bring your colleagues.

25 B10 Planning a staff Party the situation a team has been assigned by management to plan the staff christmas party. rational objective to create some initial images for the party experiential aim to anticipate the fun hints if you have plenty of time to prepare the party, then this conversation can be impres- sionistic, the first of several. in that case, the conversa- tion would end after the first decisional question. then people would be asked to think further about the content of the celebration and bring suggestions back to the next meeting. if, on the other hand, you have a really short time- line, then by the end of this conversation, you could have your basic images set, and assignments made. other applications this conversation can be used to plan school dances, seasonal festivals, new year parties and other celebrations. the Conversation opening Lets talk a bit about the kind of staff party we want to have to end the year. Who is this party for? What is the time frame? What do we know about the budget for this? What resources do we already have for this party? Where might we hold it? What kind of feel do we want the party to have? What kind of colours, food, decor would help create that mood? What do we want to have happen to the participants at this party ? What kind of journey do we want people at the party to move through? Beginning? Middle? End? What activities would do that? What roles are needed? Create a scenario of the party: someone think for a minute and then say how you see this party moving from beginning to end. What are the parts? What is happening in each part? Someone else: What would you add? Someone else? I hear us saying that the party has three main parts: 12 , and 3Is that right? OK. How do we start the party? How does it end? What are the basic preparations we need to do before we meet again? What do we need to check with management? How will we divide up responsibilities? When do we meet again? Closing Well, we have already covered a lot of ground. What creativity we have! This should be a lot of fun.

26 B11 Working on a Brochure the situation Four people are discussing the creation of a simple low- budget brochure for their business. rational objective to generate enough dialogue to stimulate the creation of a draft brochure for future discussion experiential aim to experience a clearer sense of common purpose hints Graphic designers will tell you that coming to some agreement on the main point of the brochure, and the feel you are after, is key to a well designed brochure. other applications this could work in creating other advertising pieces, such as a billboard, a jingle, or a one-minute commercial. the Conversation opening Lets take some time and see what we want this brochure to be like. Who is going to read this brochure? What do we want in this brochure? What are some specific points you would want included? How would it be distributed? What other brochures have you seen that you liked? Why did you like them? What is your immediate reaction to some of these other brochures or our ideas? What are we trying to communicate with this brochure? What is the one main point we are trying to make? What style do we want this brochure to have? What points have we already mentioned that need to stand out? What layout, or actual order of points, will support this message? What are our next steps? Closing I think we have enough here to be able to hand this over to Jim for further work.

27 B12 assembling a Budge tthe situation you are building the budget for the coming year. each of your teams or departments has been asked to: 1. prepare its section of the budget 2. relate the budget to its work plans and objectives for the year 3. list the assumptions it has made in creating the budget 4. provide comparisons to previous years income and expenses rational objective to consense on the budget overview and the criteria for the recommended changes experiential aim to build confidence in the budget and satisfaction in the staff that their concerns have been heard hints there may be a need for further questions to ensure agreement on the criteria or on other aspects of interpre- tive level questions. other applications you may want to use a scenario-building approach to gain consensus the Conversation opening You have each been asked to prepare a budget for the coming year in light of your teams objectives and work plans. I have put this information into a worksheet by department, as you see in front of you. Our focus today is to understand what each budget is based on, the issues we need to deal with to bring the budget work to conclusion, and the values or criteria we will use in reconciling the budgets. We are currently over/under our budget target on the expense side and over/under budget on the income side. Have each team walk through its budget, show how it relates to its objectives for the year, and present its assumptions. Ask for ques- tions of clarity after each team report. What projections or assumptions surprised you as you listened to these initial budgets? What was cause for concern? What questions occurred to you as you look at the budgets? (Questions only What recommendations are we making? What are the next steps? Closing I will make the changes we have recommended. If further changes are needed, I will build a model using the criteria we have agreed on. Well meet on this again in two weeks.

28 B13 redesigning office space the situation your team has just been assigned to a different part of the building, and has been given permission to create the space the way it wants. Before moving, the team needs a plan for the space that everyone can feel good about. rational objective To clarify the teams values for setting up the space experiential aim to stimulate enthusiasm about office space and work hints the conversation leader needs to take good notes, or ask someone to act as a note taker. even though the objective level questions are asked of what the participants are seeing with the minds eye, they are still objective questions. other applications this conversation can be applied to other design tasks, the layout of an annual report or a booth for a convention. the Conversation opening We have a brand new space and its up to us to design it the way we want it. Now, lets think about the space we would like to be in. Lets stand up and go outside the door, and visit our new area. (On arriving in the space) Imagine we have moved into this space, and set it up as you want it. As people walk in, what do they see? Whats the lighting like? What decor do they see? What signs do they see? What mood does this new space evoke? As you consider the whole space, what stands out for you? What are the different uses of the space, for example, public space, training space, semi-private areas? For each kind of area, ask: What is the feel of this space? What is going on here? What is the layout of this space? What now do you see as our most important values in designing the space? Who would like to be in a small task force to come up with specif- ic decor suggestions for each room? Closing Im always surprised at the creativity in this group. I will talk through the results of this meeting with the architect when we meet next week.

29 B14 envisioning new decor the situation there is a general consensus that the office environment feels tired and needs a facelift. a small task force has been assigned to talk with each team or department in the office to get their input. rational objective to get a sense of what the new decor might look like experiential aim To break open the groups imagination and begin forming a consensus on the new decor hints even though the are asked about the imagination, they are still this conversation attempts to combine right-brain and left- brain responses. it needs to be led with a light hand on the reins. a heavy-handed conversation will put a damper on peoples more intuitive responses. the leader needs to affirm all responses. other applications planning the setup for a convention, seminar or celebration. the Conversation opening We are the team assigned to hold conversations with each depart- ment about the new office decor. Im sure you have lots of ideas on what we could do to this space. Now close your eyes, and try to imagine the space you would like to work in. Keep your eyes closed, and tell me what you see in your minds eye. What are you seeing? What colours? What shapes? What sounds? What images? What scenes are on the wall? What is the colour or colours of the paint? What else do you see or experience? Now open your eyes. What is the feel of the space as we have been describing it? How is it different from the present feel? What makes it feel different? What frustrations with the present decor are no longer there? How is the new decor stoking your imagination? How is it easier to work? What makes it so? What have you heard the group saying about the new decor scheme? What do we want to change? What do we want to keep the same? What serious recommendations do we have on the new decor scheme? What is the one thing the new decor must not have? What is the one thing it must have? Closing What a great conversation! We will combine your input with that of the other teams, and present it to management. Thank you for your input and your time.

30 B15 selecting a topic for an upcoming Conference the situation you are leading a group charged with planning the organizations annual conference. rational objective to discern the most helpful topic for the conference experiential aim to build a sense of excitement, motivation and teamhood hints any instructions or directions that have been provided need to be considered in designing this conversation. the group needs to begin with a clear mandate. at the decisional level, the facilitator needs to carefully keep the discussion moving toward a real selection. this may mean finding ways to combine ideas as well as making choices. it is a little messy but productive. creating a title is the the Conversation opening We have been assigned responsibility for planning the annual con- ference. In this conversation we will focus our attention on select- ing the most appropriate topic for this years conference. What plans are already in place? Who do we want (or expect) to participate in this conference? What topics are people discussing? What are their current concerns in these areas? In past conferences, what subjects have successfully engaged peo- ple? What topics have people avoided? What have people gained from past conferences? What is What do they want, expect or need to gain from this conference? As you have listened to our conversation so far, what topics appear to be most appropriate? I am looking for a Based on this discussion, what do we suggest as the focus of the conference? What do we recommend as the conference title? What next steps, assignments and meeting schedules do we need to move forward? Closing Thank you for your insights. We will do more work in the next week on events related to the topic, and check our initial plan with you.

31 B16 designing a Customer service Manual the situation Because of a large increase in customer telephone, fax and internet traffic, the customer service department is stretched beyond capacity. complaints have been received about unanswered messages. a new set of procedures is needed as a customer service manual for ready reference. the supervisor calls a meeting of the department and holds an initial conversation to get input. rational objective to get feedback from the staff that will illuminate the new situation, the responses needed and, therefore, what should be in the manual experiential aim to makes customer service less stressful, and make the best use of staff experience hints make sure to assign a note- taker. other applications this conversation can also help when writing other procedure manuals. the Conversation opening I have called you together during this extended lunch break to get your input on communication issues in this department, and what needs to go into the new customer service manual. Thank you for making this time available for this purpose. What recent experience in customer services tells you that we need a new manual? What new situations are we encountering in customer service? What aspects of the situation are making it more difficult to respond rapidly to customer requests? What have you found surprising in dealing with our customer ser- vice traffic? Where have you struggled most about this? What have you found fascinating about the new challenges facing us? What new processes are needed? What is not covered in the old manual? What new chapters or headings are needed in the new manual? Who in this group has experience in writing procedures for any of these processes, or should we hire a technical writer to do the job? Who else needs to be on this team? When can this team meet? Closing Thank you again for making the time available to have this conver- sation. I think it will improve our response to our customers. We are going to hire some temps to take the place of the manual writ- ing taskforce for as long as is needed.

32 B17 initiating Marketing Planning the situation the marketing team is holding a marketing retreat to create its plan for the next three years. the team is having an initial conversation to reflect on the last three years of marketing programs. rational objective to see how past marketing successes and failures can be a launching pad into the future experiential aim to affirm the work of the last three years, and celebrate their learnings hints Questions on learnings, as in the interpretive section, can easily get rather vague answers. push vague answers for concreteness. if a participant answers, the Conversation opening We have been given a mandate to be at point Z after three years. We will spend our weekend planning how to get there, but first we want to reflect on the past three years to see what we did right, what mis- takes we can learn from, and to celebrate our work together as a team. What were some of the events you remember from our work over the past three years? Who are some of the people or clients we worked with? What was our most daring move? What key marketing successes have we had over the past three years? What succeeded that we thought would fail? What was most fun? When were we most alive? Where did we struggle with our work? Over what issue? What seemed to fascinate us most? What worked well? Why did it work well? What didnt work so well? Why didnt it? What did we learn about the marketing process over these three years? What have we learned about marketing trends? What have we learned about being a team? On the basis of this conversation, what issues will we have to wrestle with in our planning? In what areas of marketing will our creativity be most called on? What new challenges will we face? What are the one or two big nuts or puzzles we have to crack open in the course of this planning? Closing This was a challenging conversation. I think it has put us in the right mood to go into our planning.

33 B18 Preparing a strategic Presentation on a new Produc tthe situation a team has spent a long time preparing a pilot product. they have come up with what they believe is an excellent prod- uct, and they want to see their efforts rewarded by the orga- nization. they will present the product to the management committee in a meeting next week. the team is now plan- ning how to answer objections and questions. rational objective to spot the possible objections and anticipate the probing questions that the manage- ment committee will probably ask experiential aim to give the whole team the insight, confidence and intentionality it needs to make a superb presentation as a result of having . the in this case, are really just a device to warm up the group. make sure there are two note takers for the conversation. if the note takers wrote each objection on a 5 the Conversation opening Next Monday we are going to present our product to the manage- ment committee. Naturally, after all our effort in the past year, we all want to see it go to market. If we are going to make a superb presentation, we will want to think through ahead of time what the possible questions, objections and criticisms the committee might come up with about the product. Then, we can ask the questions ourselves and answer them, or come up with the objections and respond to them. After we have thought through how to deal with possible objections, we can go to work in small units to prepare the report. Last we will discuss how to orchestrate the whole thing, so it will knock their socks off. First, lets review for ourselves the features of our product. What ideas and innovations have gone into the design? What does the product do? What does it not do? What materials have gone into it? What kinks have we worked out of it? How does it differ from competing products? What data do we have on its market? What profit margins do we anticipate? Put yourself in the minds of the management committee. What will they be thinking to themselves as they see this product unveiled? As we talk, lets have two of us take notes. What associations will they be making? (Is this like that lemon we turned out in 1985?) What specific questions will they want to ask? What specific objections can you hear them raising? What obstacles will they want to put in the path of developing the product? Now go a level deeper: What more subtle questions, objections and obstacles might they think up? Think back over the objections you just heard. Which ones made the hair on your neck rise, or pointed to a vulnerability? Which of the questions, objections or obstacles that you have heard so far is going to require the most careful response? Which will be easy to answer? What is it going to take to organize and respond to all these in the next few days? What suggestions do you have for how we might go about it? Closing Well, we got a bit more than we bargained for, but that means we can be better prepared. This will put us in a real position of advan- tage. We need to take a break now, and then meet back to develop a plan so that all these questions can be answered in our presentation. Points For the Conversation leader to reMeMBer respect for participants Respect for the participants is one of the keys to genuine dialogue. A facilitator believes in the inherent capacity of people to understand and respond creatively to their own situation, and assumes that everyone is a source of ideas, skills and wisdom. This belief enables the facilitator to receive all input as genuine contributions to the process. remember to actively listen Active listening to each person communicates respect. When the facilitator repeats a comment as it was stated, he honours that specific contribution to the process and the person who contributed it. Listening is an active giving of attention by looking at people as they speak, or taking notes, or noticing that some participants have not spoken for a while. Notes capture the ideas for later dis- cussion. Nothing discourages participation more than a facilitator who disregards people or chang- es their thoughts when noting them down. Similarly the facilitator who tries to

34 C1 Coaching a Colleague the situation all of us occasionally need a helping hand in our work, but either we do not know we need it, or we feel reluctant to ask for help. this indirect conversation is to be held with a colleague who has gone to work with another team on a joint project and is experienc- ing difficulties. the joint proj- ect is not going well. rational objective to ask helpful questions that will reveal the state of affairs and what you can do to help experiential aim to let your colleague feel he can be open, and ask for help if he needs it hints For some colleagues, the mere chance to talk about their situation clarifies it enough for them to be able to move ahead. this is very indirect coaching. if the col- league has no problem with getting help and talking about his problems, you can be much more direct and go very quickly to the interpretive and decisional levels. always start the conversation from the perspective that your colleague needs no coaching from you, and wait for him or her to talk about frustrations or difficulties. other applications this type of coaching conversation is somewhat similar to troubleshooting in any circumstance. the Conversation opening I remember you told me the other day that you were going to work with the communications team joint project. I am very interested in how it went. Do you mind talking about it? What is the problem you are dealing with? What is your own role? Who else is there? What are they doing? What use is being made of your skills and time? Whats the mood in the project? Excitement? Frustration? Why might that be? Where is a breakthrough needed? What will enable the project to move forward? How might you help them? What other things might they try? What resources do you think youll need? What are you going to do next? How can I help? Closing This is a very interesting problem you are dealing with. If there is any way I can help out, please let me know. I wonder if you might find it fruitful to talk to (name).

35 C2 talking through a job description the situation the supervisor of the accounting department finds that several staff are putting in long overtime hours, doing work which is not directly related to their specific jobs. the supervisor decides to talk to each of them to get to the bottom of the situation. hopefully the conversations will lead to a more rational distribution of work and responsibility. rational objective through a one-on-one conversation with the employee, to clarify the tasks that person does, and work toward a better distribution of all the responsibilities experiential aim to make the employee feel appreciated and supported by the team hints some people may be very defensive about these ques- tions. others may be very willing to talk about what they do. therefore it is critical to explain up front why you are asking the question. in clarify- ing someones role, are sometimes omitted, because there may be no decision required. other applications With a shift in some questions, a similar conversation could be held for evaluations of first- year employees every three months to see how they are doing and what they might need. the Conversation opening I realize that you do many extra important tasks and that you have been burdened with a lot of overtime lately. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions so I can begin to understand the full role you play? What are all the tasks you do? Which ones take the most time? What jobs do you do that other people depend on? What are some tasks you do that no one really knows about? What do you really enjoy doing? Which part of your work seems like a heavy burden? What do you feel that you are not acknowledged for? What do you sense is needed in this connection? How do you talk about the importance of your job? How would you describe the role you play in the department? What is your self-talk about the significance of your role? Which of your tasks do you feel are inappropriate for you, or for this department? What would you say is your real job description? How could we support you in that role? Closing This conversation has helped me understand and appreciate what you do and how to support you. Thank you very much. I am going to discuss some of these work load issues with colleagues. We will either revise how some tasks are handled, or re-evaluate your job description.

36 C3 Giving Feedback to instructors the situation the manager of a training firm has received negative evaluation forms from a course facilitated by two of his staff. the comments were serious enough to require some action. the manager needs the instructors to realize that there have been serious complaints, but at the same time she wants to handle this in such a way that they learn from the situation and can be contracted again as instructors in the future. rational objective to share the complaints with the instructors, get their reaction, and discuss how the situation could have been handled differently experiential aim For the trainees to experience accountability and affirmation, and view the criticism as an opportunity for learning and growth hints the give the two instructors the opportunity to acknowledge that all was not well with the course, and to say how they experienced the problem. if an acknowledgment of the problem is not forthcoming, a few more may be necessary. no learning can take place until problems are acknowledged. other applications this type of conversation can also be used by managers for giving feedback to staff on sensitive issues. the Conversation opening Hi. Im glad you were both available to come to this meeting. We have received some negative comments about the last course that you two taught. Id like us to look at the evaluation forms, discuss what happened, and see how it might have been handled different- ly. I have photocopied the participants remarks. You have them in front of you. As you look at the sheet, what are their criticisms of the course and your teaching? What is your first reaction to these comments? What specific events or situations in the course might have sparked the comments? How did you each of you feel after that course? What are your reflections on what happened? Which of these criticisms are clear and on target? Which of them are unfair? Say a word more? What did the participants really get out of the course? What insights for the future are we getting from all this? What learnings do we need to pull out of this situation? What might you do differently the next time you teach this course? Closing This conversation has helped me appreciate all the things you do and how to support you in doing them. Everyone makes mistakes and misjudgments. The worst problem is failing to learn from them. I think your participation in this conversation has made this course a real learning experience. Thank you for sharing with hon- esty. I look forward to our continued association.

37 C4 holding accountability with an employee the situation It has come to a supervisors attention that a staff person is not doing his work effectively and constantly misses deadlines. his supervisor has designed this conversation. rational objective to bring home the seriousness of the situation to the employ- ee, to hear his perspective on the situation, and develop clear actions to be taken experiential aim to have the employee commit to change and take responsi- bility for his own actions hints this conversation may need to be in two parts. First might come a fact-finding conver- sation, where the supervisor finds out what the issues are. in a second conversation, the supervisor could explain a set of guidelines to the employee and then discuss them to elicit the employees agreement to meet the standards for his job. other applications another alternative is to end this conversation at the last of the at which point the manager hands a set of guidelines specially drawn up for this employee. he asks him to read the guidelines carefully. In a weeks time, the manager could hold another conver- sation to get the employees feedback on the guidelines. (see conversation c5.) the Conversation opening It worries me that deadlines have not been met, and I have received some complaints about the quality of your work. I want to under- stand what is happening so we can deal with it. What can you tell me about whats been happening with your work? What deadlines have you missed? What successes have you had recently? What happened from your point of view? How do you feel about the work you do? What has been most difficult for you? Where have you experienced pressure or frustration? What would you say are the underlying issues behind these diffi- culties? How have you noticed that other people deal with these difficulties? What practical means could we take to enable you to complete your work on time? What can you and I do to make sure your job is done effectively? What is the first action we need to take? Closing I believe these actions will work. Thanks. If you start running into difficulty again, please come and see me, and well see what we can do.

38 C5 discussing a set of employee Guidelines the situation an employee is doing sub- standard work and constantly missing deadlines. after a serious conversation with this employee, the supervisor, draws up a set of guidelines to clarify the quality of work required. the employee has had a few days to study the guidelines. the supervisor is holding this conversation as a way of getting the employees feedback on, and assent to, the guidelines. rational objective to answer any questions about the guidelines, and clarify how the employee must change to improve his performance experiential aim the employee will establish ownership of the guidelines and commit himself to be held accountable for meeting them hints You want the employees active participation in thinking through these guidelines. if the employee suggests changes in the guidelines, these can be considered later. But the proposed guidelines should be treated as an experiment, to see if both the employee and supervisor can live with them or not. other applications this conversation may form the second part of the Conversation opening In our last conversation, it came out that much of the problem, as we talked through it, was unclarity about what was expected of you. So I drew up the guidelines which I gave you last week. At that time we both thought it might be helpful to take the opportuni- ty to talk them through together. Here is another copy of the guide- lines for our discussion. What words or phrases do you notice most? Which of the guidelines stand out for you? Which are clear? Which are not so clear? Which guidelines do you find most helpful? Which ones do you have trouble with? What guidelines seem most difficult? Why is that? Which guidelines seem like What message are you getting from these guidelines? What changes do you need to make to meet these standards? What values do you see in the guidelines? Are there any of these guidelines you feel you cant live with? Why not? What changes (if any) must we make to these guidelines so that they will work? What kind of support structure might be helpful to you? When might we meet again to see how we are doing? Closing Well, I feel we have come a long way as a result of this conver- sation. Thank you. Please come and see me whenever you have questions.

39 C6 Meditating on a difficult situation the situation two staff people have come separately to you, their manager, about a dispute they are having. they have asked you to intervene. you are taking some time to think through your response. so this is really a conversation that you, the supervisor, are holding in your own mind. rational objective to observe, judge and weigh up the situation so that you can decide how to respond experiential aim to find the courage to intervene in a constructive, non-defensive way hints a conversation in your own head can easily get side- tracked and become circular. taking notes on your answers to each question may help keep you focused. you can always burn them afterwards. other applications this type of reflective conversation with oneself can be useful in making complex decisions. the Conversation opening I need to stop going in circles, and think this through a step at a time. What are the facts I know about this situation? What history is relevant here? What did each person say? What is my gut response to this? What is scary about this? Why? What are my options? What are the pros and cons of each option? What are the key values to hold? What shall I do? What do I need to verify? How do I tell them? Whats my first step? Closing However painful this is, we will deal with it fairly.

40 C7 Mentoring a staff Person on a Family Crisis affecting Work: #1 the situation you are meeting with an employee who has a family member requiring ongoing but intermittent care at often unex- pected and irregular times. rational objective to consider alternative work- ing modes so the employee can continue working while being able to respond to fam- ily emergencies, and to make sure the employee is aware of the helping services available both through work and outside experiential aim to help the employee feel supported in his efforts to cope with both his job and family needs hints this is very much a dialogue with both people providing information. By relieving the immediate stress, the employee may be able to take on more than expected or get back to work more quickly. you can add questions which get out other information or alternatives. the employee may be able to handle some work issues from home or home issues from work. Dont make a presupposition either way before you get into the conversation. you also have to be clear on your organizations policies for handling situations like this. other applications this type of conversation could easily be used for a discussion with employees on short-term disability. the Conversation opening I want to talk about the situation with your mother. I understand that she will require care at various times which cant always be planned for. I want us to consider alternative ways in which you can get your job done and be able to respond effectively to her needs as they arise. I want you to know up front that we want to help you in any way we can. (At this point you need to clarify the company policy or approach to these types of situations.) So lets talk this through, see what the situation is, and what solutions we can find. What is the real situation? (Get out the details on the illness and the type of situations you will have to be able to handle or respond to.) What support do you currently have from other family members or friends? What other supports have you begun to put in place Have you ever had to handle a situation like this before? Do you know of others who have been in similar situations? How are you coping? What is the hardest part for you to handle? What parts are easier for you? Where are the biggest tensions or points of stress in this for you at the moment? What are the longer term issues that worry you? As you adjust to this new reality in the short term, how do you think it will affect your work? What changes could we make to accommodate those needs? How do you think it will affect your work in the long term? What alternatives do we need to consider for dealing with the lon- ger term questions? What community support services are you aware of that could help you with those long term issues? What steps should we take for the next week or two? How do we put this in place? When should we talk again? Closing Lets summarize. We have agreed to

41 C8 Mentoring a staff Person on a Family Crisis affecting Work: #2 the situation this conversation will vary depending on whether it is a short term crisis (death in the family or major short term health issue) or a long term crisis (an elderly parent with Alzheimers who keeps on wandering; a terminally ill family member).this example is for a short term issue. you are meeting with an employee whose spouse has suddenly been put into hospital for a heart attack with the probability of major heart surgery required. rational objective to determine what changes in the work situation could help resolve the family crisis, or lessen stress temporarily and to apprise the employee of the services available to this effect through work and outside work experiential aim to allow the employee to see that someone cares and that the crisis will not jeopardize his job hints often, when a staff person is confronted with a sudden emergency, they immediately assume the worst-case scenario The Conversation - opening I wanted to talk about the situation with your spouse. I understand that he is quite ill and you need to spend extra time with your fam- ily. I want to check out how we can best support you during this time. I want you to know up front that we hope to help you in any way we can, so you are able to provide the necessary family care. (This is where you clarify the company policy or approach to these types of situations.) Lets talk about your situation. What is the illness your spouse has? What is the likely time frame for a return to health? What support do you currently have from other family members? Have you ever had to handle a situation like this before? What is the most difficult part for you to handle? What are the biggest tensions or points of stress in this for you at the moment? What longer term issues worry you? As you adjust to this new reality in the short term, how do you think it will affect your work? What could be taken on by someone else, in the short term, that would relieve some of the stress? What alternatives are you considering for dealing with the longer term questions? What community support services are you aware of that could help you with those long term issues? What steps should we take for the next week or two? How do we put this in place? When should we talk again? through the conversation the coach and the employee have launched a process and formed a kind of partnership through which the emergency can be dealt with. it will probably take several meetings. the coach needs to be prepared to stay on top of the situation and keep moving the process forward. Band-aid solutions do no honour to the situation or the employee. other applications this type of conversation can be adapted for an employee who has had a major accident or illness. Closing Lets summarize what we have agreed to. Lets list the actions youve decided to take and note down who will do them. (Make a list.) We have also agreed to talk again on. . . (name date). If the situation changes, let me know and we will figure out how to respond to the new situation. Points For the Conversation leader to reMeMBer Facilitators Responsibility There is a difference between following a plan for the conversation, and taking total responsibili- ty for how it unfolds. A leader who simply reads off a list of prepared questions does the group a grave disservice. No one likes to be treated like a robot. The leader has to do more than build a plan and go on automatic pilot. The key to effective dialogue is a give and take between questions and answers. In the midst of your conversation, you may find that the questions you wrote initially dont quite fit the situation. There might be too few questions of a certain level to enable adequate reflection. The tone of the questions may be too formal for the mood of the group. In these instances, a little thinking on your feet helps you invent new questions, skip questions, or re-phrase them. This usually means working very hard to interpret responses as they are made, and creating new questions on the spot that keep the group digging deeper for meaning.

42 C9 Monitoring a new employee the situation When a new employee has been on the job for some time, often at the midpoint or end of a probationary period, it is helpful for a supervisor to hold a guided conversation to get the employees perspective on the job and what might help her effectiveness. rational objective to see how the new employee is doing on the job experiential aim to affirm her initial experience and struggles, and help her deal with any difficulties hints as this conversation develops, you will probably need to pick only the most applicable questions in each level. otherwise, the poor employee may experience this talk as a barrage of questions. other applications a similar conversation with slightly different questions could be held with first-year employees every three months as a kind of check signals to see how they are doing, and what they might need. With adaptation, this could also be used in a teachers conversation with a student. the Conversation opening Part of my job description as a supervisor is to spend a bit of time with each new employee to find out how you are doing and make sure you have the support you need. So just say whatever you think, and we may all learn something. What work have you been involved in since you started with us? Who have you worked with and what did you do with them? What did you enjoy doing the most? What else? Why? What did you least enjoy doing? Why was that? Where were you really proud of something you did? What were your expectations about this work? What do you like about being here? What do you find difficult? When did you feel that you were not acknowledged enough? What have you learned about the job itself? Where are you having a hard time making sense of something? What have you learned about yourself in the course of doing your work? What are your on-the-job goals for the next several months? What specific support would you find helpful in achieving these goals? Who do you feel you can go to when you need help or advice? Would you like having this kind of conversation more often/ less often? Closing Thank you for your time and insights. This has been a helpful con- versation. Dont hesitate to give me a call whenever you want to talk about anything.

43 C10 resolving a long-term Misunderstanding the situation over a year ago, the company conducted an exercise that was supposed to be anti- racism training. however, the session led to a serious misunderstanding between some people of two ethnic groups in the office. since that time, they have felt confused and hurt, and at a loss for how to deal with the situation helpfully. rational objective to come to a mutual understanding of the problem experiential aim to heal the wounds and to create some next steps hints this type of conversation requires considerable flexibility. it is very difficult to follow exactly the pattern you have planned ahead of time. prepare a lot of questions to try to anticipate various streams of responses. other applications this type of conversation could help in dealing with tensions between teams or departments or other situations of unspoken conflict. the Conversation opening I called this discussion because I have been confused about how to heal the misunderstandings we have had in the office. I have been afraid that my efforts to help would be taken the wrong way. We are focusing on a very difficult topic here. We need to set ground rules first. We are going to use a process, a natural progression of questions. Now, this is important What was the first occasion you noticed things starting to go wrong? What was going on? What were the words said? Lets get this data from as many angles as possible. We may have heard different things. Which part of this situation made you the most upset? Which part bothered you the least? What past experiences were triggered for you? What is your reaction now? What surprises you about peoples reactions? Why? What do you think is behind this? What did you really mean? What do you think someone else really meant? Why? What are you learning from this? What shall we do to bring this to resolution? What are our next steps? Each person? Closing Its normal to have misunderstandings. Sorting them out to the stage of taking responsibility for the resolution is a very important thing to do.

44 C11 responding to a Personal Complain tthe situation someone in the office has written a letter to the boss enumerating the things they hate about you. the boss has given you a copy of the letter. you decide to have a conversation with the person who wrote it. rational objective to clarify why this has happened experiential aim to heal the wounds hints it is really very difficult to hold this conversation and remain objective. it might help to picture yourself as an outside facilitator and put the answers on a flip chart or a paper. But you need to get agreement up front to use this method for objectivity. other applications this conversation could be applied to other one-on-one conflicts such as making up after a serious quarrel. the Conversation opening The boss has just shown me this letter you wrote about me. Can we talk about this together? Im really hurt by this and I want to understand what is wrong. Here is a copy of the letter. Did you really write this? What prompted this? What state of mind were you in when you wrote this? How do you think it made me feel? What did you want to accomplish? What is the problem behind all this that we both need to get out of the way? What should we do differently from now on? Closing Lets write out the decisions we have made and both of us sign it.

45 C12 Calming an upset Customer the situation a customer is furious about your companys service and is downloading his complaint on you. rational objective to calm the customer, find out what the problem is, and solve it to his satisfaction experiential aim to let the customer feel that his complaint was heard and resolved hints the first step is to try and calm the customer by acknowledg- ing that he is angry, that you want to hear his story, and work with him towards a solution. once the customer understands that, you can move to the first objective question, which also, often, has a calming effect. other applications this type of conversation can be used within an orga- nization, as well, such as to dealing with upset employee complaints. the Conversation opening I can see that you are very angry. I want to understand the problem, and get it dealt with to your satisfaction. So tell me, please, what happened? What difficulties has this caused for you? At this point, what would you like from us to deal with the prob- lem? OK, I understand you want A. B. is that correct? Which steps would you like us to take first? Second? Is this moving in the right direction? Is there anything else we need to do? Closing Im most grateful to you for bringing this matter to our attention. We will do everything we can to deal with this problem in a way that is satisfactory to you.

46 d1 interpreting a story the situation many people think that stories are only for children. this team leader knows differently. her group has lost a major contract and is in a the Conversation The Story: What words or phrases stood out for you? What were lines of dialogue? Who are the two main characters? What happens in the story? What happens first? and then? and then? (continue until all the main parts of the story have been rehearsed) What associations did you make with the story? Where did you get surprised? How did you feel at the end of the story? What for you is the meaning of the story? Where is this story going on in your life? If you were an onlooker to the final scene in the story, what would you have said? How does this story beckon to us? What is it beckoning us to do? to be? to know? Closing Stories can be fun, but they can also help us learn about our own lives in surprising and delightful ways.

47 d2 sharing an essay the situation a team member finds a really neat article in the newspaper which speaks to the project the team is engaged in. he cuts it out, makes copies and wants the team to discuss it. after checking with the team leader, he guides the following conversation. rational objective to let the team hear the point of the article experiential aim to apply it to their situation hints For best effect, each one in the group needs a copy to refer to. it is always a toss-up decision whether to get the whole group to participate in reading the piece or for the leader (who has had time to prepare it) to read it. if the reading is dra- matic or poetic, its best for the leader to read it. other applications this conversational approach can be used after inviting team members to write one- page papers on long-term issues, then reading them aloud and discussing them. the Conversation opening I came across this piece in my reading recently, and thought you all might be interested. Lets hear what it says and then we can talk about it. (Pass out copies.) What words, lines or phrases do you remember? Which words were the most striking for you? What pictures came into your mind as the reading unfolded? Where did you really begin paying attention? What feelings did you have when you listened? Where did you identify most with the reading? Where did the reading go beyond your comfort zone? What is going on in this article? What is the message of the passage? What is the significance for our work? Who do you feel needs to hear this? Why? What does it suggest we need to change? What title would you put on the pages? Closing Great conversation. I appreciate the opportunity to share our insights on this.

48 d3 discussing a training video the situation the group has just watched a training video. the leader wants them to reflect on what they experienced and learned from the video. she has cre- ated this conversation ahead of time and has told the group there will be a conversation after the video. rational objective to understand the content of the video experiential aim to take the group on a journey from first impressions to a real dialogue on implications of the video for their work hints if the video presents complex material, you might want to spend more time on the inter- pretive and decisional levels. this will mean creating two or three more questions. it is always important that the conversation not go too much over the time scheduled. if the group is really caught up in discussion and more time is needed, make sure you get the permission of the group to continue into overtime. other applications this type of conversation can be used for any multimedia presentation, such as a pro- motional video or a marketing packet. the Conversation What images from the video are still with you? What words or phrases caught your attention? What colours did you see in the video? What sounds? What scenes were real grabbers? Who were the characters depicted? Where did the video intrigue you most? Where did you get pulled in? What was a slow part? What other events or experiences did you associate with any part of this video? What were some of the key points made? What images did this video change for you? What came through to you as very important? What did you learn that you didnt know before? How, specifically, did you find the video helpful? Where would you like to have seen more detail? What title would you put on this video? Closing Well, its helpful to share impressions and ideas after these training sessions. Lets take a break and meet back at eleven.

49 d4 holding a Movie Conversation the situation For an office social event a team goes out to see a movie, and plans to talk about it over drinks afterwards. rational objective To pool individuals experi- ence of the film experiential aim to have fun probing the meaning of the movie hints you might context the the Conversation opening You and I know what the standard movie conversations go like: What scenes in the movie do we remember? Outdoor scenes? Indoor scenes? What objects do you remember? What noises do you remember in the movie? Who were the main characters? What were some of the lines of dialogue? What things in the movie did you see as symbols? Who did you like? Who did you hate? Where did you see emotion on the screen? Where did you experience emotion in yourself? What was your mood at the end of the movie? Who did you identify with? Who did you really identify with that you didnt want to identify with? What was the main characters struggle? How did he deal with his struggle? What was the movie about really? What would be your title for this movie? Where do you see this movie going on in your life? Closing Well that was some movie. Isnt it interesting how a movie can get us talking about our lives?

50 d5 assessing social trends the situation a management team has decided to start the new year (or the working year) with a conversation on trends in the market and society. rational objective to share insights about the trends emerging in our times, their impact on peoples lives and on the workplace experiential aim to see ways we might respond to the trends creatively hints For the first question, you will need to have two or three events up your sleeve to use as examples. the more spe- cific and concrete they are the better, since participants will most likely key off your examples when they come to answer the question them- selves. other applications you could hold similar con- versations on trends in the workplace, marketing trends, trends in customer service, trends in manufacturing, soft- ware trends, etc. the Conversation opening Some researchers maintain that trends come from the bottom up, and that they originate in California, British Columbia or other key trend centres, then move eastward. But I think youll find that they come from the bottom up, the top down, and the middle out, and that they can originate in South Porcupine or anywhere else. To spot trends, we dont just look at demographic surveys; we also look at economic, social and political events. If a trend is a What have been some key events we have learned of through the daily news in the last year or so? What events are going on in your neighbourhood? What are people talking about during coffee breaks or over dinner? What are people worried or concerned about these days? What is going on in society that is putting people into crisis: kids, working people, elders, etc.? What is giving them hope? Where do you hear a direction emerging in what has been said? What name would we put on that direction? Someone else: where do you hear another direction in what has been said? What name would we put on that trend? Anyone hear one more direction? What would you name it? Pick one of these trends and say how it is changing the economy, or the political situation, or the culture of this continent. Someone else. Someone else again. So here we have three (or so) directions society is going, or three trends. What would it mean to jump on board one of these trends, and let it carry you into the future? How would you use the opportunities in these trends, and respond to them in a helpful way? Closing One of the marks of the educated person is knowing the signs of the times and responding to them. This is the kind of conversation we need to continue informally, if we are going to keep attuned to the times we live in. Points For the Conversation leader to reMeMBer Celebrate the Groups Work We thrive on acknowledgment and affirmation. Affirming peoples contribution is a sure way to encourage involvement. Use every opportunity possible to affirm positive participation. Receive and acknowledge individual ideas are as they are given. When a small group makes a report, it is quite appropriate to encourage applause. Find appropriate ways for groups to celebrate achieve- ments. At the end of a session, enable the group to reflect on its progress and celebrate its work.

51 d6 holding a news Conversation the situation a team or board of directors decides to starts its meeting with a conversation on what news is happening in the world. rational objective to establish a context for the organizations work or planning experiential aim to symbolize the organiza- tions responsiveness to the times in which it lives hints Be ready to go around the table on the first question, if need be. it will be important to take notes on that first question, so that you can read back to the group the events they gave you. it will be important to select a news event that is complex enough to spend a whole conversation on. (Beware of tabloid-style headlines.) other applications see also the Conversation opening Why dont we talk about whats happening in the world for a few minutes as a context for our work together. Lets talk about the news. Now, by So, what are some news events that have shaken up your mind in the last few weeks? (Take notes) OK, Im going to read back to you the list of news events we just shared, and would invite you to pick out one that we would all agree is a whopper. (Read back the list.) Which one of these events was dramatic enough to have an impact on all of us? (Get two or three answers. Pick one that is new and complex enough to have a good conversation on it.) OK, so who can tell us a little more about this event? How do you find this news event affecting you? What is the message of this event for our times? What old images is this event calling into question? What is the new image that is demanded by this event? How is this event and its message demanding that we get a new perspective or act differently? Closing The events of history are always shaking up our images of the world and working to change our images of the way life is.

52 d7 Pondering organizational Change the situation organizations and corpora- tions are social worlds where change is constant. Being on top of what is changing and happening is important if an organization is to keep its edge. dozens of magazines, publications and tV programs are committed to bringing this news to a wider public. a conversation about what is happening in the world of organizations can be a valu- able preparation for planning or management meetings. rational objective to clarify the changes going on in organizations and the world of business experiential aim to determine which of these changes are relevant to the work of this organization in light of our mission, philoso- phy and values hints the leader will need to note down the answers to the first question so that she can refer to them when deciding which one to deal with. other applications other similar conversations can be held about shifts going on in management style or in the culture of organizations. the Conversation opening To introduce our planning, it might be useful to talk together about what is going on in organizations and corporations today. Since this directly and indirectly affects us and our work, keeping on top of organizational change and deciding intentionally how these changes affect our organization is something that needs to happen often in What headlines have you read related to organizations lately? What articles or essays in this arena have caught your attention? What events were they describing? What changes did you read about? What else caught your attention in this arena? Which of these made you feel aghast or shocked? Which sounded like good news? Which ones made you say, What, in these reports, sounded really new and significant? (Take notes and read back to the group.) What effect will these changes have on society at large? How might they affect our organization? Which of the changes or new things we reported fit with our mis- sion and philosophy? Which do not? What developments in this arena do we need to keep watching? What new kind of response in organizations do these changes call for? What do we need to do to enable our organization to absorb or reject these shifts going on? Closing Whats happening in the world of organizations is part of the con- text we need to stay on top of as a learning organization, so we can stay in tune with what is happening in the world.

53 d8 appraising a sales offer the situation a firm has sent you a video about one of their hot new products. you get together a group of colleagues to watch the video. afterwards, you ask them to stay a few minutes to discuss it. rational objective to canvass opinions on the product experiential aim to decide whether to recom- mend buying the product hints Before the conversation, the team leader should gather any other information available to help deal with questions not covered by the video. other applications similar conversations can help when reviewing competing bids and presentations from prospective sub-contractors. the Conversation opening A representative of the OPQ Corporation has left this video with us. It presents their line of office equipment, so we can decide if it is what we need. I want to give him an answer next Tuesday. So lets watch the video and then well talk about it. What scenes do you remember from the video? What were some of the words or phrases you remember? Whats the name of this product we just saw? What did you notice about it? What does it do? How does it do it? What does it not do? What information did we get on purchase and operating costs? What other objective data did the video give us on the product ? What surprised you about the product? What did you like about the presentation? What didnt you like about it? Where did you feel uneasy? What would be the advantages of purchasing this product? How could we use it? What would it do for us? What would be the disadvantages? What would be the disadvantages? Are there any questions we would want answered before we could recommend it? What do you recommend we do about this product? Closing Ill be taking this recommendation to the management committee. I really appreciate the time you took to view this video and give your input. Thank you.

54 D9 Tailoring Your Services to a Customers Needs the situation someone has called you on the phone about your con- sulting services. you engage the caller in a conversation in order to understand the cli- ents needs. rational objective to grasp in detail why this prospect is considering your consulting service, including any hidden agenda experiential aim to make this prospect feel confident that you are taking her seriously, and that you can help her hints one key is to get people to talk about how they have dealt with similar situations in the past. then you can stress new things, and not simply recreate a wheel that they already know exists. applications this type of conversation is useful in a variety of situations involving troubleshooting, sales, or diagnosing systems. the Conversation opening Thank you very much for calling. How may I help? Well, that sounds interesting. Could I ask you a few more questions before I make a suggestion? Could you tell me a bit more data about the issue you are dealing with? Who is most affected by this problem? What past experiences have you had that are similar to this one? How have you dealt with this type of situation in the past? How did people feel about the outcome? What did you think about it? What are you most concerned about at this time? What type of approach would you like to take this time? What result are you looking for? What implications would that result have for the future? Who else will be affected by this decision? Who will be involved in making the decision? If you had to summarize what you need, what would you say? Closing I definitely have some ideas on the subject. We can talk about them right now, or we can set up another time to talk, whichever you prefer.

55 d10 interpreting a systems audi tthe situation after the annual systems audit, a series of quality con- trol recommendations are sent to all departments. your staff need to understand the recommendations and the changes they require. rational objective to understand these recom- mendations and the changes they involve experiential aim to enable the group to come to terms with the recommen- dations, seeing both the limits and the possibilities inherent in them, and get on with their work without feeling victimized hints if you find that in the reflec- tive set of questions that the relational job has been done after the first three questions, feel free to skip all or most of the rest, and go to the next level. Questions are tools to get the group to go deeper, not beads on a string that you are required to use one after the other. other applications the same conversation would be helpful for reflecting on any documents that affect a group, such as bills pending before the legislature, reports, or newspaper articles. the Conversation opening Going over audit recommendations can be a very unsettling experience. The way we deal with the recommendations is very important. Lets start with the objective facts, by noting what the recommendations are. As you look at the paper, what concrete recommendations are made? What are others? Are there any we have ignored? Where would you like to have more information? If you were going to colour these points, which ones would you want to underline in red Try to put yourself inside the mind of the auditors who framed these points. Why, would you say, did they make these recommen- dations? Which ones will have most impact? Least impact? What overall difference will they make to the organization? To the people in this room? What do we need to do about these recommendations? What will be our first step? What name would we put on this set of recommendations? Closing I think we have all helped each other get a sense of what is in this document, and what it means for us. I think we are starting to use our imagination on how to work with these new standards.

56 d11 analysing Budget Performance the situation you, the manager, are sit- ting down for a chat with the accountant, to review the quarter income in relationship to budget in preparation for a finance committee meeting. in the dialogue each of you are sharing in the answering of each question. you are both interviewer and interviewee. rational objective to evaluate the present finan- cial situation in the light of the budget for the year, to assess variables in the income/ expense statement, and to share insights about the past quarter experiential aim to gain a feel for realistic bud- get expectations hints in addition to the budget fig- ures, a list of critical success factors or budget assumptions would assist this conversation. other applications this conversation could also be used with a team of people focusing on the income-bud- get statements for their depart- ment or with a management team or finance committee. the Conversation opening Lets look at the numbers we have here and compare them with the budget we projected. As we look at the overall income statement, what figures stand out for you? What are the biggest variables in the income Where are we pleased with the figures? Which ones concern us? Where are we surprised? As we experienced this quarter, where did we find ourselves wor- ried? Where did we sense breakthroughs happening in our financial pic- ture? Now lets look at the income figures that are high. What factors led to them being high? Now lets look at the income figures that are low. What factors led to them being low? Now the expenses. What might have caused them to be high? What about this one that is low? In relationship to the total quarter, how do we think we have done? What does this tell us about the health of the total operation? What are the implications of this information? What shifts need to take place next quarter? What actions might make a big difference if we began implement- ing them now? Closing We will use these notes in our report to the finance committee.

57 d12 reflecting on a Chaotic Meeting the situation the shift manager has just held a staff meeting on the total quality campaign. some employees were evasive in answering questions, others broke out in guffaws, but declined to say what was funny. the manager has decided to call a few staff back the next day to discuss what was going on. rational objective to dig to the bottom of what was really going on experiential aim to honour what happened in the previous meeting, and determine what issues need to be dealt with hints the leader needs to mirror the perplexity of the group. he needs to indicate that he is curious, rather than upset; he wants to satisfy his own curi- osity, and assumes the group feels the same way. other applications a conversation similar to this one is useful when a planning session goes completely off the rails, or a series of rumours poison the office atmosphere. the Conversation opening I decided to call you together this morning to talk about the meeting yesterday afternoon. When I went to bed last night I couldnt sleep for the life of me, because I was trying to figure out what happened at that meeting. The only way I could get to sleep was to decide that some of us had to meet again this morning and talk it through. Lets start at the objective level. Imagine you were replaying the video or audio tape of yesterdays meeting. What topics did we discuss in yesterdays meeting? What were some of the things that were said? What else did you see or hear happening in the meeting: gestures, side conversations, laughs, giggles etc. What surprised you about peoples responses? At what point in the meeting did you get irritated or perturbed? Over what? What did the meeting accomplish? What did it not accomplish? What was really going on in that meeting? I want to hear at least three different interpretations. So think for a minute. Lets hear it: What was really going on? Someone else: What was going on? Someone else again. Someone who hasnt spoken on this one yet: What are you hearing from these three? Someone sum up what you heard. What do we need to do about this situation? What would be our first three steps? Closing Well, we may not have got completely to the bottom of it, but we got a fair way. I really appreciate the time you have made available. Ill get the notes of this meeting typed up and put in your mailboxes.

58 d13 Considering the impact of new Government regulations on a Produc tthe situation the government has just issued a new set of regula- tions on the tolerances per- mitted in a product. a team of managers, designers and producers is sitting down to consider the impact of the new rules on their product. rational objective to objectify what the new reg- ulations say, determine how they will affect the companys product, and discern the first steps towards operating within the standards experiential aim to work through first reactions of fear, dismay or anger to reach a state of acceptance and action hints do not expect this conversa- tion to yield a complete plan of action. What the discussion can do is to begin the process of aligning the product with the regulations, by getting the input of stakeholders. the next part of the process will need some reporting, proba- bly much of it technical. other applications this conversation could also be applied to determine the impact of market trends on a product. the Conversation opening Thank you for coming on such short notice. I thought wed better jump into this as soon as possible to see if it affects our product, and decide how to handle any changes required. You have a copy of the regulations in front of you. Please take the next 20 minutes to get on top of these regulations. Dont hesitate to mark the papers up with notes for your reference. (After sufficient time is elapsed) OK, lets pull back together as a group. What regulations stood out for you that might have refer- ence to our product? What other regulations did you mark? Where did you experience your face falling? Why? Where did you see new opportunities in these regulations? Say a word more. What is the major concern of these regulations? What are the specific points of impact on our product? What will we need to do differently? What research or testing may we need to do? What does this mean for the next few weeks/months? What are the first steps we need to take to deal with all this? When does this group need to meet next? What do we need to have by then? What homework do we need to do? Who needs to take responsibility for the specific points of prepara- tion for the next meeting? Closing Well, this has been helpful. We will need to get some technical reports from the engineers, but it looks as if this is something we can handle without a huge problem. Thank you for your time. Ill see you all again on the

59 d14 reflecting on a Proposal for departmental reorganization the situation a department in your organi- zation requires restructuring to provide new services. a small group has drawn up a proposal. it is time for the rest of the department to see the proposal and give their input. For this discussion, the department is broken up into groups of seven or eight. each group holds the follow- ing conversation. rational objective to discern the points of con- sensus, and the issues that need to be worked through experiential aim experience being heard in depth on a proposal that affects us hints it may be especially difficult to stay focused on the objec- tive-level questions. you need to keep people focused on what the proposal actually says. When the proposal affects peoples jobs, the reflective level is key. make sure to ask people for both their positive and negative reactions. this will help get past superficial complaints. at the decisional level, there is a danger that people will make recommendations that only protect their old roles. you may need more questions to encourage responsibility for the whole picture. other applications a similar conversation could be used to help cope with cor- porate takeovers and merg- ers, or deal with downsized budgets. the Conversation opening Weve all heard about this proposal and wondered how we might be affected by it. Now we have an opportunity for input as to the best way to handle our new tasks. Take a few minutes to read through the proposal, and then we can talk. As you look at the proposal, what words or phrases leap out of the page at you? What are the main headings? What are some of the main ideas in the proposal? What other things are proposed? Where are you excited by this proposal? What makes you anxious or uneasy? Where do you have the most difficulty with it? What new roles might be required in the department described here? What advantages do you see here? What opportunities would this proposal provide for the depart- ment? For the employees? What values do you see held in this proposal? Which values are not held? What are the main areas you want to see more work done on? What do you recommend? What part of this are you willing to help with? Closing This has been a lively conversation. We have some very creative ideas. The notes from the conversation will be given to the propos- al group who will bring back a new draft to us when it is ready. If you have further recommendations, please write them out and give them to me.

60 e1 helping a Workmate think through a decision the situation a colleague at work has told you about a difficult choice he is facing. He doesnt know what to do, is very distressed, and seems to wish someone else would make the decision for him. he would like you to help him. rational objective to help him think through the problem step by step experiential aim to let your friend feel his own power to weigh up options and reach his own decision hints this is not as simple as it looks. actually, coming to a bold decision may be extraor- dinarily difficult. the conver- sation is likely to be more of a data- or perspective-gathering exercise for the colleague. it is unlikely that a real decision will emerge. the colleague will likely be looking for empa- thy, understanding, and clarity on consequences. you may have to decide when your role is finished. you will probably want to ask questions less formally and more conver- sationally in a one-to-one conversation. For example, at the objective level, the Conversation opening Lets talk about this, George. I have some time now. Why dont we go to the coffee shop and see if we can talk this thing through. What are some of the background facts about the decision you are facing? How would you describe the problem and the situation? What are the different aspects of the problem? What are the demands and pressures you face on this? What makes it so hard to decide? What is it like being in this situation? What are your options in responding to this situation? What values do you want to hold in making this decision? Take the first option. What are its advantages? What is its down- side? Take the second option. What would be the advantage of this? What would be the disadvantage? Which option would you want to explore further? Lets look at this option. Would it deal authentically with the situ- ation? What would be the prospects of success? Would it deal success- fully with the situation? What would be the impact of this decision on your life? What consequences will you need to be prepared for? What will be the first steps in carrying it out? Closing This has been a very difficult choice to make. Probably, you wont be sure whether you have made

61 e2 Making assignments within a team the situation your team has outlined the tasks and roles needed for a new project. you are now ready to make assignments to carry out the jobs. everyone is already carrying a significant work load, and the past pro- cess of making assignments has not worked well. rational objective to make a good set of work assignments experiential aim to ensure that the assign- ments get the job done without imposing unfair overtime or additional stress on the staff hints having everyone develop a model for the whole project is the most powerful part of this process. it allows each person to wrestle with the whole problem, not just the pieces related to their own job description. other applications this conversation can be used for developing any model or scenario. opening We have now laid out the work to be done on this new project. We need to look at how to organize ourselves so we get it done. In the past, we have tried a number of ways of doing this OK, Looking at our task chart, what are the various parts of this project before us? Which tasks require the most time? What other ongoing tasks do we have to work on at the same time? How have we made assignments to these projects in the past? What has worked well? Where have you been frustrated by the process? What have we learned about organizing ourselves to get a project done? What criteria could we use for making the assignments to this proj- ect? Do we need any other information? Divide the group into three sub-teams that cross disciplines. Assign each team to quickly design a model of how the project work would get done and who could do it. After a half-hour of work, the discussion leader calls the teams back. OK, lets have each team report on its model. Team A? Are there any questions of clarity on Team As model? Lets hear from Team B, etc. Lets pull together the winning elements into a common solution. (Work out the components on a flip chart.) What other adjustments do we need to make to ensure we win? What are the next steps? Closing This has been a good experience of building a model together. It has allowed us to see how being a team gives us flexibility in mak- ing assignments so we can get the job done with a fair distribution of responsibility. Points For the Conversation leader to reMeMBer rehearse the Conversation in your head After you have created your conversation format, go over the conversation again, asking yourself each question. Experience how the question strikes you, and ask yourself how you would answer it. This gives you a participants eye view of the questions. After answering, you will probably find yourself saying,

62 e3 deciding Work Priorities the situation your team has just received a major contract to do a project which is really several proj- ects in one. the project has a three-month deadline, which is close to the limit of possibility. you are sitting down with your team to determine priorities. rational objective to have a plan for the team to complete the contract suc- cessfully on time experiential aim to give your doubtful team the confidence that they can do it hints a similar conversation can be held on the actions and assignments required for each part of the project. you may want to create an overall timeline of each project with actions and assignments and display it for the team to see. other applications this type of conversation can help clarify thinking toward creating work priorities for a quarter. the conversation could be adapted for a one- to-one conversation on task priorities for a particular day or week. this approach is very close to a top method used in action planning, which might better serve this situation, if the project leader knows of it. (action planning is one of the workshops in the Facilitated planning method of ica. (see laura spencer: Winning Through Participation, p.133.) the Conversation opening We have quite a challenge before us in the next few weeks. But I think its going to be a real adventure, and we can do it if we lay out our priorities. Lets look at what it will take to successfully accomplish our assignment. Lets review the contract. What are the main parts of the contract? What are the deliverables we need to produce? What is relatively easy for us to deliver? What will be difficult? What similar experiences have we had with these types of deliver- ables? What are the main tasks involved in fulfilling this contract? What skills and gifts do we bring to this contract? What skills or resources are we missing? What skills or resources will we need to bring in from other teams or organizations? What issues will need to be resolved ? OK, lets take our list of main tasks. Which ones are top priority? How would we link these up as one leads to the next? If we have three months to finish this contract, what are the main tasks of the first month? The second and the third? Who will work on each task? Now, as you look across the whole priorities chart, is there any- thing major we are missing? Now lets go round the table, and each of you say something about the priorities for your part in the contract, and what you need to do to make your part of the plan succeed. Closing Im always impressed with what happens when we really put our heads together on a task. Ill get the notes from this meeting out to you, and have our priorities posted on the big board.

63 e4 discussing a staff response to a strategy documen tthe situation an outside consultant has cre- ated a new marketing strategy which is being presented to staff. rational objective to elicit staff recommenda- tions for refining the consul- tants marketing strategy experiential aim to enable the staff to experi- ence participation in creating the strategy and making it their own hints you can expect a deal of defensiveness from the staff relative to the document. your opening context will be very important in enabling a more proactive response. other applications this conversation can be used for any strategy or rec- ommendation being made to a group. the Conversation opening I am handing out copies of the new draft marketing strategy which has been prepared by the consultant. Although the plan has been carefully put together in close consultation with our management, it needs to be evaluated and refined by those who are going to use it and who are most on top of the situation: yourselves. Take ten minutes to skim the paper. Underline words, phrases, images that get your attention. What words or phrases did you underline? What questions of clarity do you have for the author? What was interesting to you? What did you find worrying? What is familiar? What is different from what we do now? How will this marketing strategy be helpful to us? What limitations or gaps do you notice? What implications does it have for our operations? What changes do you want to recommend? What do we need to do implement this refined strategy? Closing We appreciate the work that our external consultant has done for us in preparing this paper. This conversation has helped us tailor this plan to our own situation. We need to iron out a few bugs, but we can now begin to work with it.

64 e5 Breaking up a decisional logjam in a Group the situation When a group is at logger- heads over a decision, it is generally a matter of clashing values. helping the group decide the values it will use to make the decision most often unblocks the logjam. rational objective to enable a group to establish a set of common values to facilitate coming to a group decision experiential aim to allow the group to experi- ence relief and victory in mak- ing a decisional breakthrough hints in this conversation, it is help- ful for participants to respond with brief phrases. allow the group to ask questions of clarity which enable them to understand the idea, but not to attack other statements. it is important to accept each contribution and place them side by side to see what pic- ture they make as a whole. other applications this kind of discussion can be expanded into a full-scale workshop if it is necessary to examine values in more detail. it can also be shortened for use within a larger process. the Conversation opening Ive been called here as a neutral party to help you work through the issues you talked about. All I have are a few questions that may help us find a way through this impasse and reach a group decision. Lets list aspects of the issue we are dealing with. What have you tried so far? What kind of outcome are we after? What have been your feelings in dealing with this? Where did you get mad? Where did you get frustrated? What intrigued you about any of the previous efforts? What is the emotional tone of the group at this moment? What are the values we want to use in making this decision? (List on flipchart) Are there other things we should keep in mind in making this deci- sion? (Add to the list.) Which of these values are the most important for this decision? (Check on the flip chart.) What light do these prioritized values throw on the decision? What, then, are we saying is the decision of this group? Is that our consensus? (If the answer is no) Then would someone else state the consensus that honours these values? What do we need to do to move on the basis of this decision? What are the next steps? Closing This has been an illuminating and very helpful discussion. I think you have all found some common ground and a way to move forward.

65 e6 deciding on a trade show strategy the situation the marketing and sales teams are surveying the sea- sons trade shows to decide which to exhibit in. the chair decides to hold a conversation to get out the data and the groups response. rational objective To survey one years trade shows, create a value screen to prioritize them, and make a preliminary selection of shows experiential aim to generate creativity and strategic thinking in trade- show marketing hints some may wonder why the data from this conversation has to go to another group, and why this group cannot do the whole job. the reason is that a general group conver- sation can only bring decisions to a certain point. For more complex or technical details, further planning must be dele- gated to a small task force. in this case the task force needs to do a cost analysis for partic- ipation in each conference, get estimates from last year from the finance office, get a pic- ture from the marketing group about display units and costs, etc. all this is nitty-gritty work and involves a combination of short meetings, reporting, and a lot of running around the Conversation opening Weve brought together the marketing and sales teams this morning to look at the years trade shows and decide which ones meet our purposes and budget. We have gathered packets of materials about the seasons shows, which are at your places. Lets take about fifteen minutes to look through them before we talk. Between the lot of us we should have covered most of the packets, and you all have the listings of trade shows in front of you. Which trade show stands out for you? Which ones are close to us? What are the costs of participating in any of these? Which ones seem the most attractive and relevant to our custom- ers? Which ones should we stay away from? Which ones are in sync with our products or services? Are there any other values we have not yet considered? What is a key value we need to hold in making the selection? What other values do we need to hold? Which trade shows seem to fit those values? We are after a short list of ten that we can work with. Consider the values and costs carefully. Which trade shows most fit the values we have identified? Which ones fit least? Which ten shows are we recommending that a team consider more carefully? Closing This has been a lot of fun, and very illuminating. What well do is to take the shows you have recommended and assign a team to do a cost/benefit analysis of each. On that basis, and considering other values you mentioned, we will come up with a definitive schedule that will enable each team to do its planning.

66 E7 Reframing a Teams Mission the situation in pursuing several different contracts, the staff feel divided over their goals and priorities. the managers are arguing over what business they are in. they decide to devote some effort to redefining their mission. rational objective to recall their original mission, to recapitulate how their tasks have changed, and, in the light of this, to re-name the unique service they offer experiential aim to gain a big picture of where the team is going hints changing the mission state- ment is difficult unless a large cross-section of the organiza- tion is involved. make sure the focus in this conversation is on the teams mission the Conversation opening For some time I have felt very divided between tasks and goals. Sometimes, I feel we are several different teams with several mis- sions. Today, Id like to hear your thoughts as we work through a new mission statement that clarifies our vision and task. To start this discussion, what was the original mission of this team? What were some of the individual assignments? What was the last report made on any aspect of this mission? How far did the team get on completing this mission? What were some of the victories or successes? What happened then to change our role? How have you experienced being on this team recently? Where have you struggled most with your priorities? Where have you felt like giving up? What has changed in our teams situation, since the start of our new projects? What common goals or services have we brought to all our proj- ects? How would you describe what business we are in, and what differ- ence we are out to make? How would you pull this together into a statement of our mission? OK, if this is our statement, at least for now, how does it affect our priorities? What difference will it make on our current contracts? What difference will it make to how we work together? How should we use this mission statement? Closing Well, in some ways, this has been a difficult conversation, but a very helpful one. Lets live with this statement for the time being, and well talk about it again during our planning for next quarter.

67 e8 implementing a new Board Policy the situation the board has passed a poli- cy that we need to decide how to implement effectively. rational objective to understand a newly passed board policy experiential aim to create consensus on what the policy means and how we as a staff will implement it hints Before the group goes to questions of implementation, people need to have wrestled enough with the policy to have said a basic yes to it. Dont force implementation. if it is very controversial, it may take several sessions to come up with an implementation model. if there is resistance or hesita- tion about the policy, you might want to add these questions to the interpretive section: opening As you may have heard, the board passed a new policy last Friday. Heres a copy of it for each of you. Please look it over for a few minutes and then we will talk about it. As you read the new policy, what words or phrases catch your attention? What does the paper say are the components of this policy? What questions of clarity do we have of this policy? What intrigues you about this policy? What worries you? What questions do you have of this policy? What questions does this policy raise for us? What would you say is the intent of this policy? What implications does this policy have for our department? What changes may be required of us? What do we need to do to implement this policy? What do we need clarified? Closing I think we have come up with some creative and responsible ways to deal with this policy. Ill report your ideas to management.

68 e9 determining Program Priorities the situation your organization operates a number of programs. in order to determine how much time, energy and funds to invest in each program, you need to develop a scheme of priorities. rational objective to enable the management team to form a consensus about three levels of program priorities experiential aim to experience confidence that the organizations resources are being strategically used hints in preparation, gather the relevant information for a large chart, showing current information on expenditures of staff, time and funds. in the opening context, be sure to clarify the boundaries of this conversation. if some things should not be considered, be sure to indicate this before the conversation begins. recording answers to the may be useful. keep them simple and clear. Coloured dots or lists of the Conversation opening At this point in the services review, we need a rough picture of where our resources are going now, and how that compares to the priorities we want. On the flip chart we have some basic data on the actual allocations of staff, expenditure, overtime hours and profits for each of our programs. Lets talk briefly about what the chart shows. What figures do you notice? Where do we see the largest expenditures of staff time? Of funds? What do you notice about the income? Lets take a moment to talk about our experience with our programs. What is going well? What difficulties are we experiencing? OK, now, lets get an impressionistic evaluation of our programs. Which are easiest for us to do? Which ones require the least expenditure of energy? Of time? Of money? Which ones do our clientele respond to and value the most? Which ones get the most immediate, visible results? Which ones will get the most long lasting results or provide the most significant long-term benefits? What are other considerations? Let us now use these impressions to come up with three levels of priority: high, medium and low. Which programs are clearly, with- out question, high priority? (Mark them.) Which ones are low priority? (Mark them differently.) Now that we have a sense of the extreme ends of the priority spec- trum, let us sort the rest into high, medium and low priority levels. Having done that, what are the implications for our work? What immediate next steps do we need to take? Closing This is valuable work that will help us a lot in the next stages of our business review.

69 e10 developing the terms of reference for a Major Project evaluation the situation several people have come together to create the terms of reference for an upcoming project evaluation. the project has some problems, perhaps more than staff are aware of. they all know that the eval- uation is important but have never really discussed the criteria or the means of eval- uating the project. they need to outline their terms of refer- ence for an outside consultant who will do the work. rational objective to create terms of reference which will focus the evaluation experiential aim to provide a forum where the staff can have their say in how their work should be evaluated hints advise the participants about the topic of the meeting well in advance. request them to make their own list of ques- tions, and proposals for how they can be resolved. other applications this same type of conversa- tion can be used for designing surveys and launching major studies. the Conversation opening I know that we are all interested in evaluating the X project. This is our chance to put our minds together on the criteria which will form the consultants terms of reference. The independent evalua- tor will actually do the work, but we can influence how they do it. What has been your involvement with Project X? What did you actually do? What for you have been some of the most interesting and creative aspects of this project? What topics should be covered in this evaluation? What has been pleasing or exciting about this program? What is it about Project X causes you some worry or stress? Where are the conundrums in and around Project X that really puzzle you? What are the questions that keep recurring about Project X? What are the components of the project that need to be evaluated? What is the set of questions that are most important for this evalua- tion project to answer? What are some of the ways of approaching these questions? What do we really need to find out from this evaluation? Where will we have to go to get the necessary information? How would we get it? Closing This gives us a good start at writing up our terms of reference for the evaluation.

70 e11 Building the annual Budget the situation you are building the budget for the coming year. each of your teams or departments have been asked to: 1) prepare their section of the budget 2) relate the budget to their work plans and objectives for the year 3) list the assumptions they have made in creating the budget 4) provide comparisons to previous years income and expenses. rational objective to consense on the budget overview and the criteria for the changes experiential aim to enable each team to see their interdependence and appreciate themselves as part of the whole hints there may be a need for fur- ther questions to ensure there is an agreement on the criteria or on other aspects of inter- pretive-level questions. other applications a similar conversation could be used to assess next years equipment and supplies needs for the organization. the Conversation opening You have each been asked to prepare a budget for the coming year in light of your teams objectives and work plans. I have put this information into a worksheet by department, so you have it in front of you. Our focus today is threefold: Have each team walk through the budget uninterrupted, and relate it to their work plan or objectives for the year. After each report, ask the reporting group: What were our assumptions in making this budget? Ask the whole group: What questions of clarity do we have on that report? What surprises us about these budget reports? What disturbs us about them? What questions get raised as we look at the budgets? Where do our assumptions need some modification? Where do you see changes that could be made in our assumptions which would improve our overall position What recommendations are we agreed on? What are the next steps? Closing I will take this work and make the changes we have recommended. If it becomes obvious that other changes are needed, I will build a model using the criteria we have agreed on. Well meet on this again in two weeks. Points For the Conversation leader to reMeMBer nothing to teach Remember the leader has nothing to teach, and there are no wrong answers. remember that everyone has a piece of the puzzle Everyone has a piece of the puzzle, but the whole picture comes together through hearing and understanding all the perspectives remember to trust the wisdom of the group A good conversation leader trusts the wisdom of the group. Unless proven otherwise, he assumes the group knows more than any one of its members, including himself. When all the perspectives are heard, a more holistic picture appears, like a diamond with many facets. The object of the con- versation is to draw out that many-faceted diamond. remember the open-ended question Remember to use only open-ended questions: those that cannot be answered with a simple

71 e12 dealing with Work environment issues the situation a new situation requires staff to share the same space. Formerly, they had private offices. as the staff begin to use the new space, issues emerge. people need ways to share the space effectively and equitably, so that every- ones needs are met. The first step is to come to a consen- sus on criteria and values. rational objective By talking together, to come to consensus on criteria for space use experiential aim to generate enough amica- bility so that people can work comfortably together in the same space hints For the question, the Conversation opening We all agreed that we need a meeting to talk through our space needs so that we can all work effectively in the area assigned to us. We need to remember that what some need to be effective is quite different from what others need. We do not have to be moralistic about this. In this meeting, we want to create criteria and values for space use. For the time being, we definitely have only the area assigned, until the new wing is built next year. We probably wont come up with the perfect set of criteria. But it is important we name values and needs that we can build a model with. Lets begin by asking, What are your space needs? (Get a response from every person involved.) As you listened to the answers, what kind of needs did you hear? What were you reminded of, as you heard people give their answers? Which of these needs surprised you? Which ones delighted you? What frustrates you about current space use? Based on what you heard everyone say, what do you like about current space use? What are the key issues? Where do you see possible solutions to the issues or needs? What values do we need to hold in creating these solutions? Let me read these values back to you

72 e13 reworking office Protocol the situation it has become clear that pre- vious understandings of office protocol have either been forgotten or are no longer rel- evant. a task force has been assigned to create protocol guidelines to fit the current situation. rational objective to come up with a set of guidelines that will enable the group to work together amica- bly and effectively in the same space experiential aim to experience taking respon- sibility for the group environ- ment hints different words are used in this conversation for the same thing: the Conversation opening It has become clear to many of us that the old office protocol guidelines have been forgotten or have become irrelevant due to changed working conditions. We dont want to weigh ourselves down with a new raft of regulations. We do need to look again at our operating patterns and assumptions in the office, which we refer to as What are some operating patterns or assumptions we still observe? Which ones do we seem to have forgotten, or choose to ignore? What assumptions do you see members of this group operating out of currently that seem on target? What assumptions have you seen members operating out of that surprised you? Which ones made you very anxious or uneasy? What do our previous answers reveal about what operational guidelines we need? Lets make a list. Are there any other guidelines we need? Which of these can be stated more clearly? Will these do the job? What changes will these protocol items demand of us? What are the next steps in formalizing these protocol guidelines? Closing I really appreciate your participation in this. This is the only way to deal with these issues

73 F1 Canvassing employees the situation a manager has decided that once a month she will have a conversation with every employee in her department. rational objective to find out what is going on; what blocks the staff are run- ning into; and what they are learning about the job experiential aim to encourage reflection, inno- vation and sharing among team members hints it is important to avoid any sense of interrogating the employee, or of treating him in a condescending way. listen carefully, and even take notes. any defensive reactions to the responses will probably end the chance for honest feedback. other applications this conversation is similar to the two the Conversation opening Good morning. Im doing my regular rounds to check with people on how their work is going. Do you mind if I take five or ten min- utes of your time? Fine. The focus of your work, as I understand it is Whats going really well? What complaints or issues do you have? What has stopped you from doing the job the way you think it ought to be done? Where have you seen ways we can improve? What could I do to help? From your observations, what would enable the work of this department? What recommendations would you make? Anything else youd like to say while Im here? Closing I really appreciate this opportunity to chat with you, and thank you for what you have said. Im going to make sure that other people know about your suggestions. Ill see you around.

74 F2 reviewing Work descriptions the situation in preparation for planning a more effective distribution of work, the staff have written their own job descriptions. they are now sharing these in small work groups. rational objective to objectify the job descrip- tions of each person and to allow overlaps or outdated assumptions to emerge experiential aim to enable the participants to feel recognized for their roles, and consulted on bigger man- agement decisions hints parts of this conversation may be best held with individ- uals, depending on the trust level and struggles within the group. listening non-judg- mentally to one another is very important in this conver- sation. other applications a similar conversation could be held with a team of people struggling to bring synergy into their work. in another situation, the board and staff may be working to describe the role each will play in the organization. the Conversation opening Today we want to authentically honour the role each of us plays. We also want to better coordinate our roles so that we can perform at our best. As we look at these job descriptions, what are the main activities we see? What role does each person presently play, as indicated in the descriptions? Where were you surprised by any job description? Where did you say, As you think about the tasks before us in the next few months, what questions do you have about these job descriptions? Where might there be gaps in our team work? Where could there be overlaps? What new challenges are we facing which may change our work? What changes would you personally like to make in your own job description? What changes could we make to deal with the gaps in our team work? How could we deal with the overlap? Based on this conversation, what personal decisions do you need to wrestle with ? Closing Thank you for sharing in this conversation. I know that it can be a difficult conversation to have, but it is very helpful to get every- ones point of view.

75 F3 interviewing a job applican tthe situation you are interviewing your short list of candidates for a job. you have thought through the criteria on which you are going to base your decision: experience, contribution to the team, supervision experience, and fit with the values of the company. rational objective to gain a deeper understand- ing of how this candidate would fit within the team and the organization experiential aim to let the interviewee size up how he or she would fit in this position hints the interpretive level ques- tions will vary according to the criteria you have chosen in your job selection. other applications you can use this as well for selecting team members for a new project. the Conversation opening Thank you for coming in. We are interviewing four other candi- dates for this position. In this interview we hope to understand the unique contribution you could make to this organization and this particular position. What is your understanding of what this job consists of? (Provide a description of the job responsibilities.) Do you have any questions about the focus and content of the posi- tions that are described here? Where have you been involved in similar positions? What were the most difficult parts of doing those jobs? What were the most exciting parts? What skills do you have which will make you successful in this position? What training might you need to make you more effective in this work? What have you learned about working effectively with a team? Describe your supervision style. How do you handle difficult staff issues What questions do you have of me/us? Given what you know now, how would you summarize the strengths you would bring to this company? Closing Thank you for your time. We will be making our decision in the next five days and will let you know one way or the other.

76 F4 Musing on a Frustrating Meeting the situation you and a few colleagues are sitting down the day after a very frustrating staff meeting. rational objective to figure out what happened in the meeting and extract the learnings from the situation experiential aim to heal the wounds of the participants and the meeting leader, so the experience does not consume their ener- gy or mushroom into some- thing larger hints this kind of reflection is hard to do alone, or with only one other person. it is very easy to escape clear thinking, and start blaming someone else for the problems, which does not lead to learning or to healing. more perspectives are helpful. also writing down the questions ahead of time will help you keep disciplined in really going through the process. other applications With very small adaptations, this can be used to reflect on any frustrating experience to gain insight from it. the Conversation opening I think we need to debrief yesterdays meeting, so we can learn from it. What were the agenda items of yesterdays meeting? What was the original intent of the meeting? This is hard to remember, since it happened so fast, but we need the data first. Lets reconstruct what actually happened. What did we do first? Then? Where did you first start getting frustrated? Where did you notice other peoples frustration? What images come to your mind as you remember the meeting? What parts of the meeting seemed to work the best? What patterns can you see here? What are some of the reasons this may have happened? (If the response is Lets put our learnings into a statement or two, such as

77 F5 Conducting a Performance appraisal the situation in corporation X, everyone gets a personal performance appraisal once a year. the appraisal is a participatory process which elicits from the staff their hopes and dreams, and seeks to learn how the organization can help achieve those dreams. rational objective to check the progress of the staff person, and see how to enable him or her experiential aim to enable the staff person to experience being valued and trusted, and highly motivated to succeed hints this kind of performance appraisal assumes a special kind of organizational culture. if the culture is still somewhat hierarchical, it will take a great deal of courage and trust on both sides to conduct and par- ticipate in this conversation. You cant do this kind of con- versation one quarter, and go back to the old style the next. other applications see the Conversation opening I thought you were about due for a performance appraisal, since we havent talked together for quite a while. I want to find out how you are doing, and how we can enable your hopes in working here. How has your work gone since we last talked? How has your job description changed over that time? What accomplishments are you most proud of? What are your biggest single frustrations? What would you say is your most important or significant contri- bution? What are your goals for the years to come as you continue to work with this organization? What are your hopes and dreams? What do you want to accomplish with us this coming year? Where do you encounter blocks or difficulties in moving toward these goals? In terms of moving towards those goals, what do you find most helpful in the organization? What kind of specific help do you need from me or from the orga- nization to realize your hopes and dreams? What might be some signs that tell me all is not well with you, and that I should come and talk with you? What are your own

78 F6 assessing staff Workplace needs the situation the management team is discussing staff dissatisfaction and what needs to be done about it. rational objective to find out what is going on with the staff and determine what is needed experiential aim to inspire the staff to move through defensiveness and dismissal of complaints to tak- ing responsibility for solving issues hints conversation with staff on their grievances will clarify the real issues versus your own perception of the issues. it is important for the leader to keep an open mind on the cause of the dissatisfaction until all the data is in. if the language of your questions or your tone of voice, seems to favour one explanation rather than another, some in the group may assume their views are not wanted, and avoid sharing what they know. this would be quite unhelpful. keep the interpretive level exploratory long enough that the group can dig under its first assumptions. then bring the discussion to the decision- al level. other applications a similar conversation could assess the needs of students in school, or patients in an institution. the Conversation opening Most of us are clear that the staff are very dissatisfied. Is it because its winter? Do they have grievances? Are some of us being too hard on them? Lets talk for a while and see if we can get to the bottom of whats going on, and then determine what we need to do about it, if anything. What have we actually heard the staff say about their situation? What examples can you give which show staff are having diffi- culty? What behaviours do they exhibit which indicate their needs are not being met? How have you found yourself reacting to this situation? What aspects of this situation do you find surprising? What aspects irritate you? What aspects of it do you empathize with? Why is that? How do you interpret what is going on? How might we as management be contributing to the problem? What do you see as the staffs felt needs? What in your estimation are their real needs? What conclusions do you see arising out of all this? What do we need to do? What are the first steps? Who will take responsibility for those steps? Closing This has been helpful. It is always amazing how a meeting of minds can help avoid jumping to conclusions. I think we have the wisdom around the table now to help the staff move through this.

79 F7 troubleshooting a stalled Projec tthe situation two units within an organi- zation have merged into one unit. the people from each old unit have very different perspectives on how a special project should be handled. the situation has come to a head because the new unit failed to deliver on a product delivery deadline. they ask you, as a neutral third party, to come and help them to get back on track. rational objective to reflect on the experience, sort out the problems, under- stand who owns what part, find out where they are on implementation, and make some decisions about next steps experiential aim to enable the units to project themselves into a new cre- ative, hope-filled situation hints there are several aspects in this discussion the Conversation opening Well, this is quite an adventure that we have all been thrust into with this organization. Ive been asked to lead you in a conversa- tion where the various teams on this project can talk to each other and sort out this puzzle together. The thing we share is responsibil- ity for this special project. So lets start with that. Lets go round the room on the first question. Lets start with you, Peter. What is your responsibility for the project? (Invite each one in turn to answer this question.) How do we talk about all the parts (or the scope) of this project? What have we done on this project so far? What remains undone? OK, lets let the different teams on this unit speak What surprises did you experience about the other partys perspec- tive on the situation? What do you find most irritating about this situation? What do we find most challenging about it? How has our mood shifted since we began the conversation? What light has been thrown so far on the problems we are having? What insights are beginning to emerge on the causes of the prob- lem? What learning is just waiting around the corner to emerge on all this? What needs to happen? What can we do to leverage ourselves and the project into a new creative situation? What new values will we need to enable that? What are the next steps we need to take to move ourselves and the project forward? Closing Thank you for your openness in this conversation. I have learned a lot. I wish you well as you go about implementing your next steps. Points For Conversation PartiCiPants to reMeMBer Assume that each member of the group you are part of has wisdom and experience on the matter in question and will want to share it. By giving your response in a phrase or short sentence, you acknowledge that others are waiting to participate. Hogging the conversation is bad manners. Some people are good at expressing themselves well in conversations. They come up with ideas at the drop of a hat. Others, quieter and differently gifted, take more time to process the question. The facilitator will need to coax them to answer. Certain participants will need to curb the natural impatience that makes them want to break in, complete other peoples thoughts without permission, or add to what has been said. It is important to wait for others to come to their own full stop. Receive the statements of others as wisdom, even though it may be partial wisdom. Make your own comments, not in rebuttal of what the previous person has said, but as adding to what has been said, even though you may be giving an opposite perspective. Picture that your answer is contributing one more facet to the diamond of truth in the whole conversation. Have no illusions about this. It is very difficult to do. We are all conditioned to argue and contradict, assuming that we know the whole truth. This is an arrogant assumption, and is a major block to learning through dialogue.

80 F8 interpreting a shop Floor Grievance the situation you are the supervisor or manager of a section of the firm. six people from the shop floor have burst into your office with a human relations grievance. they are all talking loudly and interrupting each other. you ask them to sit down, offer them coffee, and tell them youd like to get to the bottom of the matter. you lead the conversation. rational objective to indicate your willingness to listen, but also your determi- nation to get to the bottom of the problem experiential aim to help the group make the transition from anger to responsibility by coming up with a solution hints it will be very important to insist that one person speak at a time. the participants need to sense your determi- nation to hear them out and to solve the problem as collabor- ators. other applications the type of conversation can also help when a group or team complains of being treat- ed unfairly. the Conversation Lets take turns explaining what happened. Lucy, why dont you go first? Now, one at a time, what happened? When did it happen? Who are the people in question? Lets reconstruct what actually happened. This is hard to remem- ber, since it happened so fast, but we need the data first. What hap- pened first? Then? Where did you first start getting frustrated? Where did you notice other peoples frustration? At what point did things boil over? What other emotions do you remember? So how would you explain what is going on here? Why did this happen? What problem do we have to solve? What are the aspects of this problem? What can be done to deal with the problem? What can we do to move ourselves into a better situation? What new values will we need to enable that? What are the next steps we need to take to move ourselves and the project forward? Closing Thank you for your openness in this conversation. Its important to remember that we need to work in partnership on these issues. Management can do some things, but the people on the spot have to be the first in coming up with creative responses when things get out of hand.

81 F9 naming Market influences the situation a marketing team is talking through the behaviour of the market and the ways it is affecting their business before engaging in planning. rational objective to allow insights from the con- versation to better focus their work on marketing strategies experiential aim to experience a wider context for visioning and planning hints this, like many other conver- sations in this book, assumes considerable wisdom lies in the group. this may be offen- sive to organizations used to seeking the services of consultants for information out of the ordinary. consultants know a lot, but so does the group. if the group is not used to this kind of conversation, it would be helpful to give a short context on the method of the conversation. it would also be helpful to go around the room (ask everyone to answer) on the first question. other applications this data-gathering kind of conversation can also be applied to the news conver- sation and the trends conver- sation (see conversations d5 and d6). the Conversation opening Lets look at a bigger picture of whats going on in our market, like larger trends affecting the business climate in the late 90s. What are some events that have happened recently in the business world that might affect it? What shifts have you noticed in peoples preferences lately, in terms of what they buy? In terms of what they like and dont like? How are people responding differently to things? What difference are things like globalization, electronic marketing, and other large trends making to the market? Some of you must have read writers like Faith Popcorn? What are they saying about whats hot in the market in the 90s? What new trends are happening in business itself? What new forms of merchandising are making an impact? Who are the front runners and exemplars involved in these events and trends? What has surprised us about these market influences? How have these influences affected us lately? Which of these influences do you find particularly fascinating? Which ones make you uneasy? Why might that be? How might this new activity affect our market segment? In this situation what are our advantages as a company? What are our vulnerabilities ? What new initiatives on our part might be necessary? What are our options in responding to this market situation? What of this conversation do we need to report on as part of the planning? Who is willing to prepare a report that sums up this conversation? Closing Well, I think this conversation has put us in a different place for working on our marketing strategy.

82 F10 analysing sales statistics the situation the sales team has just pulled together statistics and graphs for commodity sales for the last year compared with previ- ous years. the sales manager is leading the team in a reflec- tive analysis of the charts. rational objective to reflect on the sales perfor- mance of the previous year in comparison with other years, and to extract implications for sales strategies in the coming year experiential aim to experience clarity on direction for the next year, and excitement over possible solutions hints one way to do this conversa- tion is to break the group up into three or four sub-teams. each sub-team then does the objective, reflective and inter- pretive parts of the conversa- tion, after which they all meet back to report on their discus- sions. then they can answer the decisional question as one group. in this case, each sub-team needs to assign a reporter before beginning the conversation. the reporter needs to take good notes, as well as participate in the con- versation. other applications the conversation could be adapted to analysing an ad campaign. the Conversation opening We want to take some time to reflect on the sales stats from the last year for each of our products. So, take a few minutes to look at the figures and graphs, make some marks on them, exclamation marks, question marks, and begin to form your conclusions. Where did you put exclamation marks? Which graph caught your eye? What was it about that graph that caught your attention? What for you was an important piece of data on this report? (Go round the room.) What is it about these stats that makes you feel good? Which ones leave you agreeably surprised? Which ones worry you? Which products or services seemed to do well? Why might that be? Which not so well? Why? As you look at the product sales graphs, which products or services did better this year than last year? Which did worse than last year? Where are your questions of clarity? Where are you unclear about what is there? What patterns do you see emerging in our sales for the last year? What new trends are emerging that need encouragement? How would we account for the new trends or patterns we see emerging? What do we need to do to encourage certain trends? How does this conversation begin to inform our sales strategy for this coming year? What actions do we need to take? Closing This has been an illuminating conversation. Thank you, all. As we go into our strategy session, the insights from this conversation will be helpful.

83 F11 dealing with delegation issues the situation a group of managers have talked individually to the ceo about the increasing stress and overwork they are experi- encing and its impact on their family life. the ceo has told them they need to talk togeth- er and come up with solutions. he suggests the problem may lie in their unwillingness to delegate. they promise to look together at this as a pos- sible solution. rational objective to share ideas about the sit- uation and find ways to deal with it experiential aim to experience they have a common problem and a need to experiment with solutions hints the Conversation opening Lets talk together, share our experience about our stress and over- work, and the CEOs suggestion about delegation. Hopefully, we can come up with a solution. I am going to inject Lets take a minute just to objectify our situation to each other. How would you describe in a phrase the situation we are in? (Go round the room.) How many hours a week is each of us working? When is each of us arriving at and leaving the office? What work does each of us take home take at night? At the end of the day what is your reaction to this? At the beginning of the day? What is the most discouraging aspect of the situation? What is dangerous about this situation? On what occasion do you presently delegate work to others? How did we get into this situation? Why do we have so much to do? Where is all this extra work com- ing from? What aspects of a solution do you see for this situation? If we saw delegation as part of the solution what kind of tasks could we delegate? What kind of tasks would be improper to delegate? What are the vulnerabilities in delegation? What would it mean for our staff? What are the advantages? What would we have to do differently each day to ensure that we did delegate tasks? Who could we talk to about their experience of delegation? What might be other solutions to our managerial problems

84 F12 Collaborating on a supply Program the situation this is a conversation about a major sales order, in which the purchasing party sits down with the supplying party and clarifies how the two compa- nies can best work together. Both teams know how rela- tionships between supplier and purchaser can get very confusing. if the purchaser is using a Jit (Just in time) philosophy of purchasing, and the suppliers philosophy is always to serve old customers first, great misunderstandings can ensue. For this discus- sion, the XyZ corporation has sent its sales rep, production and sales managers. the aBc corporation is represented by its purchasing manager and delivery department head. a sales rep of the XyZ company leads the discussion. rational objective to make it easier for two systems to intermesh and do business effectively experiential aim to bring hidden assumptions to the surface, so misunder- standings can be prevented before they happen hints it would be helpful to write down the answers concerning needs and expectations on a flip chart. this information needs to be held before the group as they talk. other applications this conversation could be used to troubleshoot a ser- vice maintenance contract between two companies. the Conversation opening I am the sales rep for the supplier XYZ. We have the possibility of doing some major business together. So first we want to clarify our different ways of operating and see how we can work together to solve any problems, hopefully, before they arise. The matter at hand is the supply of filing cabinets to all our stores. I think we all need to assume that each party is prepared to be flexible in order to make a good deal, and we dont want any mutual recriminations. Someone from ABC say what your needs and expectations are in relation to this purchase. Someone else from ABC, what would you add to what has been said? Someone from XYZ, what are your needs and expectations in rela- tion to this sale? Someone else from XYZ what would you add? Anyone from either company, how have you dealt with this kind of situation before? What are the real roadblocks we are dealing with? What will it take to overcome these roadblocks? What else will be required? Someone from ABC say what decisions you have heard so far. And someone from XYZ do the same. What else do we need to talk through? Closing I think we have the main understandings clear. As I meet with the purchasing rep from ABC, I think we can iron out the rest of the practical details on the basis of these agreements. Thank you for your time, ladies and gentlemen. This has been most productive.

85 F13 reflecting on a transition the situation an organization is going through a major transition, involving changes in leader- ship, changes to the mission, and a reshuffling of the staff. the change is a fait accompli. the question is not how to organize against it, but how to deal with it creatively and compassionately. rational objective to develop a common mind on how to creatively handle the transition experiential aim to pool concerns, fears and anxieties, and to support one another in the interim hints the key in this conversation is to make the turn out of despair, frustration and confu- sion to seeing possibility in the situation. other applications this type of conversation can help people deal creatively with any crisis in the work- place. the Conversation opening Some of us thought it would be a good idea to talk for a while, and share our concerns about the transition, and see how we can help each other through it. Why doesnt each one of you say something about how this change has affected your life? Jeanne, why dont you start? What is the transition from? What is the transition to? How are different people interpreting it? In the course of the transition, where have you been surprised? Where have you noticed people enjoying the transition? Where have you seen them frustrated? What responses have you heard that worried you most? What is hitting people hardest about all this news of change? How has your feeling about all this changed over the course of this discussion? What is the likely impact of the transition on the people in this department? What advantages or opportunities do you see in this transition? What disadvantages or dangers do you see in it? What advice would we give one another to help us weather this transition? How can we support each other during this period? What will it take? What will be the first steps in getting our response and our support system together? Who will work on it? Closing I think we have seen the power of the group mind in this conversa- tion. I think this conversation will be the first step in helping all of us pull through this transition.

86 F14 highlighting the Comparative Profile of the Firm the situation a competing firm has moved into your area, offering ser- vices similar to your own. in your organization there is a lot of talk of shrinking market share, loss of competitive advantage, layoffs, and the sky falling in. you decide to call your managers together to talk over how your orga- nization is different from its competitors, and the market power of that difference. rational objective to objectify the marketing advantages and the public image of the company experiential aim to re-establish confidence in the future hints if you have the time, you may want to take each part of the the Conversation opening Well, everyone has been talking about JKLs arrival in our mar- ket niche. I thought it would be useful to bring these discussions together, and get a realistic feel for where we stand with the com- petition. Yesterday, I passed out to all of you the prospectus, annual report, and mission and philosophy statement of JKL, and asked you to skim over them. Lets see what we found out. What do we know of JKL? What do they sell? What services do they provide? How long have they been at it? Where are they located? What do we know about their assets? How do they state their mission? What have we heard about their style of operation? How was your reaction when you heard the JKL news? What has been the response of the staff in general? Why do you think they have responded this way? In what ways is that response justified? What advantages does this organization have over JKL in general? What do we have that they dont? Specifically, what advantages do we have relative to product, ser- vices, sales, market, customer service, philosophy and values? Where are we at a disadvantage compared to JKL? What dangers do you see in the JKL move? What opportunities do you see in it? What do we need to do to capitalize on our advantages over JKL? How do we deal with our vulnerabilities? What is the new story we need to tell around our organization rela- tive to all this? What specific steps can we take to restore morale through our company? What further steps do we as managers need to take over the next few days? Closing Well, this has helped deal with a lot of my worries. Through talking with each other here, we have the elements of a new story about how we can move and where we can win. Im going to make copies of this conversation for each of you, so that you can talk with your departments and supervisors. Points For Conversation PartiCiPants to reMeMBer Five Presuppositions of the Focused Conversation 1. Everyone has wisdom. 2. We need everyones wisdom for the wisest result. 3. There are no wrong answers. (There is wisdom in every response.) 4. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. 5. Everyone will hear others and be heard.

87 F15 Building a Phased timeline for a restructuring Projec tthe situation a group of executives are designing a workplan for restructuring their entire com- pany. the group is meeting to create a workplan for the next several months. they all know a lot about what is need- ed, but have many different perspectives on the practical issues. they know the staff are waiting anxiously for these issues to be resolved. rational objective to pull together the available information and move the planning into the implementa- tion phase experiential aim to end anxious speculation with a series of real decisions hints keep flipchart notes of objec- tive and reflective answers. at the interpretive level, you can begin putting things on a time- line on the front wall. putting chunks of work on cards allows them to be moved back and forth on the timeline with relative ease. other applications this conversation can be used in any major undertaking where phasing of the work- load and staff anxiety about the future is an issue. it has applications in restructuring, re-organizing and re-engi- neering. the Conversation opening We have a short time to put together a workplan that will pull together our volumes of information and move us into an imple- mentation phase. Walter has agreed to take notes on this conversa- tion, so everyone can be kept informed. Lets just remind ourselves of the big picture first. What are the bottom line goals we need to achieve with this reorganization? What have we accomplished so far in the first phase of this restruc- turing? What are the main bottom lines that we have a mandate to deal with? Who are the people who have been involved so far in the first phase of this restructuring? What resources, studies and documents have been prepared on our various options? What are some of your anxieties in working on this project? How would you describe the mood of the organization at this time? What are those important human factors we need to take into account? What are the various chunks of work that will have to be done? What are the important decisions we have to make? How will the resources and human factors affect the timing of those decisions? Lets put the decisions on a timeline. What are the natural three or four phases of this next segment of our work? What analogies from sports, nature, recreation could help you describe the journey we are about to embark upon? To whom should all this be communicated? Closing This conversation has certainly helped us order the chaos of the next few months and given us a framework within which to do our work.

88 F16 New Managers Reflection on their Leadership Roles the situation the organization has just promoted a number of staff to the managerial level. a senior manager has gathered them together to reflect, and share their own experiences of effective leadership. rational objective to have the managerial recruits reflect on their own experience of being super- vised as a way of learning the dos and donts of effective supervision experiential aim to enable the new managers to grasp their job as a learning situation in which they can share wisdom and experience the support of their colleagues hints the leader might want to tell a story himself after he asks the first question to get the juices flowing. these stories should be short and to the point. the leader can model the length and type of example she is after. the conversation can also be done one on one. other applications With the substitution of a few words, this conversation could be used on a new board of directors. the Conversation opening Welcome to your new roles and congratulations to you all. I thought it would be good to gather you all together several times over the next few months for a series of discussions, where you would learn not from me, but from each other. Today, I want us to reflect on our experiences of supervision. Some of us have been supervisors longer than others, but all of us have long experience of being supervised, and from that experience Im sure you each have specific wisdom on what works and what doesnt. Id like to get us to share that wisdom this morning. All I will be doing will be asking questions. Other than that I have little to say. So please feel free to speak up. I want to start with some My colleague, James, will be sitting at the back and will take notes on all you say. Then he will type them up for your information. Remember, in this conversation, there are no wrong answers. I want each of you to think of the times you were supervised in a very helpful way. Lets go round the room and have each of you give your example of that. Ill repeat the question How do you feel after an experience of effective supervision? How do ineffective supervisors make you feel? What makes the difference between effective and ineffective super- vision? What are the elements of effective supervision? What are the elements in ineffective supervision? What is the intent of supervision? What are the traps? What kind of demands does effective supervision make on the manager? What kind of changes might managers have to make in themselves to be effective supervisors What do you see as next steps for you in becoming a better super- visor? What kind of help or support do you sense you will need over the coming months? What suggestions do you have on how this might be provided? What would be the next steps in setting it all up? Closing This has been a particularly stimulating conversation. Your contri- butions have been most insightful. James will make sure you get a copy of everything said here this morning. I suggest you keep it handy as you explore what it means to be a manager in the months to come. Points For Conversation PartiCiPants to reMeMBer

89 F17 assessing impact of a training experience the situation management has sent a large number of staff through a training seminar. the var- ious managers concerned are gathered to assess the training and how well the staff are applying their learnings to their tasks. this will be the test of how good the training program was, and will tell us whether to schedule it for other staff. rational objective to get an overall picture of the effect of the training on participants experiential aim to determine the relative success of the training from the perspective of behavioural changes and task effective- ness hints the conversation above will take at least an hour, assum- ing strong participation by the group. But, you may not need all these questions. if you have 20 minutes to half an hour, pick out the five to seven key questions, but make sure you have all four stages repre- sented: some objective, some reflective, some interpretive, and some decisional. other applications the evaluation of a conference attended by several staff is another use for this conver- sation. the Conversation opening We are here this morning in connection with the training program that many of your staff took a month ago. We want to find out how well the program First, lets recall the seminar itself What excites you about the changes you have noticed? What results surprised or puzzled you? What shifts in behaviour have you noticed? What are the trainees doing differently as a result of the training? Where do you see increased effectiveness in tasks? Could you give an example? Where have you not seen it? In what ways has customer service been improved? Could you give an example? Where have you noticed increases in initiative? Could you give examples? What issues seem to have been addressed by the program? What issues remain to be addressed? What has been happening to help or hinder participants applica- tion of what they learned? On the basis of what we have heard here, how would you sum up the effect of the training program these staff have taken? What does it do well? What are its weaknesses? What is our sense about staging this program again for other staff? What would be the next steps in this? Closing Your insights on the participants and the training programs effects have been insightful and very helpful. Ill get a transcript of our conversation to you as soon as possible. At our next management meeting, one of the agenda items will be the implementation of the next steps that you have suggested. Points For Conversation PartiCiPants to reMeMBer Another point to watch for is negating anothers input or presence. It is easy to create all kinds of stories that put down others participation.

90 F18 Creating Participation Guidelines the situation a new work group is just beginning. there are people in it from different departments and cultures. they want to create guidelines for participa- tion, because they have had really bad past experiences with special teams. rational objective To create out of the groups experience guidelines for their own participation experiential aim to produce confidence that their time together can be productive and reasonably non-stressful hints limit the time spent on the objective level. this may become too involved, too fast. at the decisional level, if you end with more than twelve guidelines, you may need to group and name them. or you might take the list of suggested guidelines and ask the group to prioritize them in order of importance. other applications this conversation can also be employed for creating guide- lines for any kind of common endeavour. the Conversation opening We are going to create guidelines for participation so that our work together will be productive and non-stressful. I want you to think back to a real live participatory situation youve been in. It may have been successful or unsuccessful. If I were in the situation you are thinking of, what would I see going on? What words would I hear? What expressions would I see on peoples faces? Who were participating and who were not? What was the best part of the meeting? What was the worst part? What was peoples mood at the end of the meeting? What kind of behaviour made the participation work? Why was this? What kind made it not work? Why so? What have we learned about what helps people participate? What have we learned hinders participation? From what you have heard, what is one clear guideline for partici- pation? What is another obvious guideline? (Make sure your answers are coming from your experience.) What is a less obvious guideline? What are other guidelines we have not mentioned. Closing Thank you for your suggestions. I will summarize this on the post- er board, and we will see if these guidelines are adequate as we go along.

91 G1 reflecting on the day the situation you are taking a few minutes to run your mind over the day and write responses to a set of questions you keep in your dayplanner. rational objective to reflect on the happenings of the day, and extract their meaning experiential aim to gain insight from your struggles and victories hints you could have these and other questions you might add done up in a format that fits in the back of your daytimer or journal. doing the process at the same time every day, whether sitting at your desk after work, or on the train or bus, or as soon as you get home, is important for building the habit of daily reflection, which is a key to being a lifelong learner. these reflec- tions, when recorded daily in a journal, make a valuable record of your journey through life. other applications the questions in this conver- sation could be used, with a few changes, to reflect on an event you have attended. the Conversation introduction I take out the questions, and prepare to write my answers. What do I remember from this day by way of scenes, events, vignettes, conversations? What are the things I did today? What words did people say to me? What was the emotional tone of the day? Was my day more like a charging rhinoceros, or a gently flowing stream? What did I learn from this day? What insights from today do I need to remember? In what kind of future situations could I use these learnings? What name would I put on this day? (Try for a poetic title that cap- tures your responses.) Whats the unfinished business from today that I need to pick up on again tomorrow? Closing I run my eyes over my answers. Is there anything else I want to make a note of?

92 G2 learning from a life even tthe situation you have just been through an incident at work (or at home) that has really shaken you up. you know you need to take some time to think about it. rational objective to drain the incident of its meaning and learn from it experiential aim to let the experience change you hints Write out the answers to the questions in your journal, or personal notebook, so that you can refer back to your reflection. if time is limited, choose one question to answer from each level of the conversation. other applications have the conversation with one of your children or friends after big events in their lives. the end of each week is also an appropriate time to use this reflection with yourself the Conversation opening (to yourself) My life is full of events. Some are delightful; some painful, some tragic or intriguing. All of them are meaningful and have some- thing to teach. I can figure this event out, too. I know that this event today really collided with my life. What happened? What were the basic elements involved? How did the event begin? How did it progress? How did it end? What was the core of the event? What was my part? What roles did other people play? How did I feel as it was happening? After it happened? What other events of my life would I associate with this one? What was it about this that reached out and grabbed me and said, What is the meaning of the event for my life? How am I different after this event? What is the so what? of this event for my life? What is it demanding of me? What decision do I need to make? What name would I put on this event?

93 G3 Planning for Personal Growth the situation this conversation is an approach to self-development constructed on the grid of the discussion method. the ques- tions have been designed by your mentor to be answered in your journal. the process goes over several days. rational objective to determine what new steps are required for my own per- sonal growth experiential aim to take myself through a pro- cess of self-examination and reflection hints the in this one are extremely per- sonal. some discipline will be required to answer them as data. the answers to these questions may take you to all four levels. you might try to imagine standing outside yourself and looking in as an the Conversation opening I welcome this opportunity for personal growth and reflection and resolve to answer each question as honestly as I can. How have other people assessed my talents and potential at various times? What feedback have I received from my manager, my mentor or colleagues? What is the dominant image I have of myself? What other images do I have of myself from time to time? How would I talk about my normal emotional tone? What do I react strongly to? What inspires me? What demotivates me? What makes me sad or anxious? Does any of the data from this section contradict my personal images? What trends or relationships do I see in this data so far? What do I know about my personality type? How do I assess the gifts I have to offer? What are the strengths of my style? What are its weaknesses? What are the challenges emerging in my life beckoning me to develop other aspects of myself? What old values do I need to throw out to make room? What new values do I need to take on? What would be a new image of myself that would hold these val- ues? What new visible aspects of my style would hold the new image and values? What symbol do I need to create now to remind myself of the new image, values and style I am going to operate out of? What regular messages or input do I need in order for the new image and values to

94 G4 Facilitators Internal Reflection while Leading a Group the situation halfway through a facilitated planning session with a group, the facilitator realizes that there is a crisis. the ques- tions have hit a minefield, and people are exploding at each other. the facilitator starts doing some quick thinking on her feet. rational objective to figure out the issue and deal with it experiential aim to deal with the situation responsibly hints this conversation (internal rumination) has to happen fast if the group is to recover the mode of a constructive dialogue. other applications this conversation may be used in any situation requiring an observe-judge-weigh-up- and-decide process. it can also be used between meet- ings with a leadership team dealing with a longer process. the Conversation (internal) opening This is a crisis. I need to do something. What is actually going on? What words or phrases have been spoken? What background data do I know? What reactions do I notice in myself? In the group? Why are we reacting in these ways? What are possible reasons for this situation? What values do I need to hold as we continue? What can I do to hold these values? What is my next step? Closing (Do the next step.)

95 G5 appraising an additional assignmen tthe situation an employee, asked by her manager to consider taking on an additional assignment, promises she will consider it seriously. the employee then designs the following set of questions to help her decide whether she should take the assignment. she proceeds to answer the questions in writing. rational objective to observe the total situation and the prospects of doing the assignment to judge the motivations and fears that are at work, weigh up the circumstances, the relevant principles, the advantages and disadvantages of taking the assignment, and make the decision experiential aim to experience making a free, responsible decision with full acceptance of consequences hints it might be helpful to note answers to these questions in the form of a mindmap. talking to someone else before making the decision is not a form of procrastination, but an act of responsibility and courtesy. after that discussion, you may have to go over parts of this conversation again. other applications this type of conversation is useful any time one is faced with a difficult decision. (make language changes to the questions as needed.) the Conversation opening There is nothing predetermined in this situation. I can take the assignment, or not take it. I want to consider all the factors, and then freely decide, yes or no. What is this other assignment I am asked to take on? What tasks are involved in this assignment? What skills are needed? What will it involve in terms of time and energy? Who else will be involved in it with me? How long might it take to complete, or how many hours a day would I need to spend on it? What other people will this assignment affect? What is my gut feeling about this assignment? What would be the advantages of taking the assignment? What disadvantages do I see? What fresh opportunities would come with this assignment? What risks could accompany it? Might these risks be worth taking? How would taking it on affect my current assignment? What insights are beginning to emerge on this decision? What are my answers saying about this assignment so far? If I say So what are all my answers pointing to? Whats my decision? If I am not prepared to decide as of this moment, what deadline do I put on my decision? Is there anyone else I need to consult or talk to? Closing Im glad that I have been able to deal with this decision in this way. This is what Ill tell my boss; or, I need to talk to person X, after which I will review this conversation, make the decision, and then tell my boss.

96 G6 Celebrating a Great victory the situation a team has finished a contract in fine form, and promptly been awarded an even bigger contract. the department wants to celebrate. the department head has ordered champagne, glasses and snacks, and has had the room decored for celebration. the group has gathered, and the manager proposes a toast. then he invites the team to share in a conversation about the victory. rational objective to learn from the victory experiential aim to honour and thank the team for their spirited work hints some may want to serve the champagne and do the toasting after the reflective conversation. other applications a similar conversation could be used to reflect on what the team or department has accomplished in the past quarter. the Conversation opening We are a learning organization, and as such, we attempt to draw learnings from all our successes, mistakes and failures. I would invite us all to listen to the teams reflections on this victory. OK, some of you who worked on the contract from the first, just what was it you did that all this clinking of glasses is about? One of you tell us the story in a few words of how it happened? Others of you, what did he leave out? What would you add? How did you feel at the moment of victory? What disappointments did you have to go through to get there? What was the biggest challenge you faced? What have you learned from the victory itself? What did you learn along the way in the process that led to the victory? What name would you put on this victory: a poetic title, maybe? What advice would you want to give to the people in this department? Closing Well, this has been marvellous. Im really glad to be part of this team and this event. Once again we congratulate all of you, and claim the promise of you that this will be one of many big wins you will pull off. Lets give this team three cheers.

97 G7 Celebrating a Colleagues Retirement: a Conversation with the individua l the situation a staff person is retiring from the organization after many or some years. at the retirement party in his honour, the mc taps his spoon on a glass, calls the party to attention, and holds the following con- versation with the retiree with the group listening. rational objective To acknowledge the persons departure experiential aim to enable the person to name the significance of the years he has spent with the organi- zation and to ponder upon his future outside it hints there are at least two possi- ble conversations that could be held here. this one is a conversation with the retiree in the presence of the group about his life and times in the organization and what his plans are for the future. the other one is conversation with the group about the retiree. it is important not to get the two mixed up. see conversation G8. other applications this conversation may be used with slight variations for other major life passages. a. the retiree sPeaks the Conversation opening Its a real pleasure to be gathered here in honour of Bill Murphys imminent retirement. I thought it would be appropriate to pause for a few moments and hear what Bill has to say about his years with the firm and his future plans. Now, Bill, we need you out in front of the group here, so everyone can see you. Bill, how long have you been with us? What positions have you held? What do you remember from your early days with the organiza- tion? What has been the most satisfying thing about the time you have spent here? What was the most challenging assignment you ever took on here? What was one of the funniest things that happened to you? When was a time you felt like quitting, but didnt? What has this organization meant to you? What has it meant to you to work here all these years? What will it mean to leave? What are you looking forward to in your retirement years? What plans do you have that you can share with us? What do you want to accomplish in your next stage of life? Closing Bill, on behalf of all present, I want you to know how much your years with us have meant to all here and to the organization. We wish you well in your retirement, and, as a token of our appreciation, we would like you to have this gift. (Present gift) We want you to know that any time you feel like coming back for a few hours and giving some words of wisdom to our younger ones as a mentor, youll be very welcome. Just let us know, and we can set it up.

98 G8 Celebrating a Colleagues Retirement: Group reflection the situation a staff person, Bill murphy, is retiring from the organi- zation after many or some years. several people feel that the Conversation opening Its a real pleasure to be gathered here in honour of Bill Murphys imminent retirement. We want to have a conversation in which we express our appreciation of Bill and what he has meant to us? Im asking these questions to all here present. Anyone can answer. Please feel free to just join in. No need to put your hand up or any- thing like that. When did any of us first run into Bill on the job? How long has Bill been around here? Who has a quick story of an encounter with Bill? What has always surprised you about Bill? When you think of Bill, what do you associate with him? What funny things do you remember about him? What tasks do you remember him involved in? What is something that Bill has said to you that you remember? What has Bills presence in the organization meant to us all? How would we talk about Bills contribution to the organization? What will be missing when he is not here anymore? What do we wish for Bill as he leaves us and goes into retirement? What are our hopes and wishes for his future life? Closing Well, I think we have said from our hearts what Bill meant to us, and how valuable he was to this organization. Bill, we wish you all the best for your future.

99 G9 Celebrating a staff Birthday the situation team members have gath- ered to celebrate a birthday of one of their members. rational objective to create an occasion to honour the uniqueness and contribution to the team of an individual staff member experiential aim to give people the opportunity to verbally thank a colleague for her gifts and contributions hints Before planning a personal celebration, get permission from the person the Conversation opening Surprise, surprise. Sing OK, now we need to all talk with Robin. Robin, what have been the key events of your last year What funny things do we remember related to Robin? What tasks do we remember her involved in? Robin, what are you looking forward to in this coming year? What do we wish for Robin in this next year of her life? Closing Robin, Happy Birthday and all the best for this next year.

100 Reflecting on a Field Trip to the Zoo Elementary Situation A class of first grade students has returned from a field trip to the zoo. They sit in a circle on the rug for a quick conver- sation. Rational Aim To remember the many kinds of animals they saw. Experiential Aim To experience appreciation of themselves and the world. Opening What animals did you see? What was your favorite animal? Why? What are some similarities between children and animals? Differences? Why was this a good trip? What animals would you like to see again? What animal would you like to learn more about? Closing Draw your favorite animal and we will hang the pictures on a zoo mural outside the classroom.

101 Learning from a Puppet Show students Elementary Situation A class of second grade students has gone on a field trip to a puppet show of Rumplestiltskin at the theater. Afterward they sit in a circle to talk about the play. Rational Aim To have the students remem- ber the story of Rumplestiltskin and to learn about honesty. Experiential Aim To experience the fun of watching puppets tell a story. To be reflective about their own lives. Opening Let Who were the characters? What costumes did they wear? What scenes do you remember? What were some of the lines you heard? Where were you excited? When did you want to cheer? Where did you become afraid? What did you learn about honesty? What did you learn about making promises you can What can you do to remind yourself about being honest?

102 Reflecting on a Story about Self-image students Elementary Situation Third grade students are studying a story in reading class called The Golden Eagle. The teacher wants the students to understand their reading, but also to use the message in the literature to change their own lives. Rational Aim To understand that you are what you believe you are. Experiential Aim To no longer be stuck in an old image of one Opening Let's read the story of The Golden Eagle out loud. What words or phrases do you remember? What characters were in the story? What were some pictures that came to mind as you heard the story? What were some of the differences between the chicken and the eagle that the story pointed out? What emotions did you experience, for example, scared, happy, sad, or safe? What character seemed a lot like you? What did this story remind you of How did the eagle feel about himself? Why? How did the chicken feel? Why? How did what they believed affect who they were? What was the message of the story? What would you want to change in your life after hearing the story? Closing Whenever you find you are getting stuck, close your eyes for a moment, and imagine yourself as a golden eagle. See what difference it makes.

103 Reflecting on a Story students Elementary Situation Students in a grade two class are listening to an alternative version of a fairy tale, and the teacher would like them to discuss the messages in the story. Rational Aim To understand the story and learn about alternative points of view on a story. Experiential Aim To be able to question points of view when given other stories. Hints You could follow this conver- sation with a writing assign- ment where students rewrite another fairy tale or a familiar story from one or more alter- native viewpoints. Opening Class, today we are going to listen to a story Who were the characters in this story? What happened at the beginning of the story? The middle? The end? Which character did you like the best? What part of the story did you laugh at? Have you ever had a situation where no one listened to your version of what happened? Give an example. How did you feel? Why did you like the character you liked? What was the story about? How was this story different from the usual version of the fairy tale? Why do you think the wolf wrote this story? What have you learned from this version of the story? What will you think about the next time you read a story? Closing A story sometimes has two or even more sides.

104 Reflecting on a Story about Something That is Not What it Seems students Elementary Situation A sixth grade class has just read a short story where the sound of a monster in the fog turned out to be something ordinary and familiar. Rational Aim To introduce students to a short story and have them dis- cuss the merits of the story. Experiential Aim To experience that the unknown is not always some- thing to fear. Opening Let Where does the story take place? Who are the main characters? What happens first? Then? After that? What images came to your mind as I read the story? What part was scary? What did you find funny? Who did you identify with? Where have you experienced something like this? How would you talk about what a monster is? What do you think the author was trying to get across to the readers? What makes those important messages? How has this story changed you, or your thinking? Closing Your homework assignment is to write a short story about something or someone who is not what they seem at first.

105 Responding to a Play students Elementary Situation A group of children with a wide range of ages has gone to see a live presentation of Peter Pan. Some think it Opening Let What How did you feel when Peter Pan flew through the air? What was a scary part of the play? What part did you laugh at? How did Peter and Wendy feel about each other? How did they feel about the other children? What act would you interpret as an act of love? What act would you interpret as hate? Why did Captain Hook act like he did? Why did Peter do what he did? If you were in this story, who would you be? Why? What was this story all about? If you had to write another ending to this story, what would you write? What would you name this story, in your own words? Closing Peter Pan is a play for all age levels. We can all learn something from it.

106 Extending a Math Exercise in Elementary School students Elementary Situation The teacher has just involved the children in an exercise manipulating toothpicks to show first 2 plus 2 and the total number, then groups of 2 and the total number; then 3 plus 3 and the total number, and two groups of 3 and the total number. Students leave the groupings on their desks in front of them. Rational Aim To understand that multiplica- tion is a shortcut for addition that times means groups of. Experiential Aim To realize Aha! I can do this Opening We Describe what you see on your desk. What surprises you? How would you describe the pattern you see? What have you discovered? How is multiplying similar to adding? How is it different? Why do you think the total of 3 plus 3 is the same as the total of 2 groups of 3? This is how we can write this: 3 plus 3 equals 6, or 3 times 2 equals 6 How would you summarize what you see on your desk? Answer by drawing it and write the math sentences beneath your pictures. Try again with 4 + 4 + 4 and 3 groups of 4, first with the toothpicks, then drawing them. Write this in two ways. Try it first alone, then we

107 Integrating the Experience of the Day students Elementary Situation In an elementary classroom, a teacher reflects with her class daily at the end of the day. Rational Aim To create a deeper under- standing of the implications of the day. To be conscious of learning from experiences. Experiential Aim To experience the day as complete. To be affirmed in the day Opening Just before the bell rings, let What is something that happened today in class or on the playground? What is something you saw? What is something someone said? What are some sounds you heard? What was something funny, or something sad that you experienced today? What made you excited or frustrated? What were some of the feelings you saw others having today? Where did you experience something that went really well today? What did not go so well for you? What was really appropriate behavior? What was really inappropriate behavior? What was something that didn What would you have changed about today if you could? What would you have kept the same? If you could take away everything from this day except one event or experience, which event or experience would that be? If you had to explain to somebody from

108 Using a Televised Sportscast to Teach Teamwork students Elementary Situation A middle-school boys Opening Lets discuss the teamwork in last night What plays do you remember from last night What did you like best about the game? What did you like the least? How did each player in the game contribute to winning the game? How did players who sat on the bench through the whole game contribute? What kinds of teamwork did you see going on? What would you have done differently to make the teamwork stronger? What does it take to win? What does this tell you about preparing to be a team in our upcoming Olympics?

109 Preparing for Writing an Exam Essay Question students Elementary Situation A grade eight student has been given an essay assign- ment on an exam and needs to think through quickly what she knows about the topic before starting to write. Rational Aim To have a focused list of key points to write about on the exam. Experiential Aim To have the confidence need- ed to write well. Opening OK, I can do this! What facts do I remember about this topic? What have the teachers or the books said? What is most interesting about this? What part am I most confident about? What questions do I have? What do I think is important about this topic? Or Why is this important? What do I think it means? What key points shall I make? What comes first? Or How do I organize these ideas? Closing OK, here goes.

110 Finding Meaning in a Popular Film students High School Situation A grade nine English class is watching a popular film as part of a unit on media litera- cy. The teacher introduces the concept of media literacy, and introduces the film. Rational Aim To understand the deeper meaning of a popular film Experiential Aim Experience the aha of delv- ing beneath the surface of a film. Opening Now that we ve seen the film, we re going to use a focused conversation to probe the meaning beneath the surface of the film. We will take about half an hour. What characters and faces do you recall? What is one scene you remember? What lines of dialogue, words and phrases do you recall? What sounds did you notice? What emotions did you see in the film? What emotions did you experience while watching the film? Where were you surprised or uneasy? Where were you reminded of something in your own life? What or who did you identify with in the film? Why? What ideas caught your attention? What do you think the director was trying to say? From your experience, where was this film right on target? Where would you say, this is really off the mark? What messages is the film trying to communicate? What can we learn from this film? What might you do differently as a result of seeing this film? Who would you like to show this film to? Closing It has been said that the best films give us a window into our own real lives. I think we have seen how this might be the case.

111 Exploring the Meaning of a Work of Ar students High School Situation A high school art teacher has students studying paintings by the great masters. In one of the paintings there are visual clues to the culture of the time that can lead to some insights on racism. Rational Aim To understand the cultural context of the painter, and to see how it affects his work. Experiential Aim To experience the impact of the work on students own lives. Hints Questions will need to be thought through very carefully in relation to the specific work of art. A conversation of a Pieter Breughel painting with lots of people and action is vastly different than a conver- sation on a Tom Thompson landscape, etc. Opening Let s focus on this painting for a while. There may just be some interesting messages hidden in this picture. What objects do you see in this picture? What people or characters do you see? What are the different characters wearing? What are they doing? What are they surrounded by? What do you notice about the size of the characters as they are painted? What directions are they facing in the painting? Which character do you find your eyes returning to the most? Which character do you like the most? Which people do you dislike or not notice much? What does the way this scene is painted remind you of? Why do you think the painter painted the characters in this way? What message was he trying to get across? Why? If this were a picture of today s world, how would it look? What would be the same? What would be different? If you were in this picture, who would you be and what would you be doing? How would you summarize the meaning of this painting for today s world? What is its meaning for you? What will you do differently as a result of what you have learned today? Closing The meaning of art is in the interpretation by the viewer. When we take seriously the work of an artist, it can give us insight into both the artist and our own lives.

112 Thinking through Issues in a Documentary Video students High School Situation A grade twelve World Issues class is viewing a documenta- video on homelessness. Rational Aim To know some of the basic issues related to our unit of study. Experiential Aim To experience a desire to act on the concerns of this video. Opening We want to see a video today, and then reflect together on what we saw and heard. Here is the video I would like you to watch Now, we want to share our responses to the film. What visual pictures stood out? What words or phrases caught your attention? What colors? Sounds? What characters do you recall? Now let s rehearse together the basic story of the video. What happened first? After that? Where did you get caught up in this story? Where did you get intrigued or fascinated? Where were you irritated or angry? What other feelings did you experience? What other associations, events, or experiences came to mind? What memories did it trigger? What are the main points of the video? What are some of the root issues portrayed? Which of these issues concern you the most? What practical steps could you take to meet this issue? As a class, what practical actions could we take? What might we do in the next couple of weeks to begin to implement these actions? What is your personal commitment to action? Closing Well, let s stop here, although we could continue this conversation for a long time. This is great. We have begun to think both concretely and personally about a serious issue.

113 Understanding the Movie Schindler s Lis students High School Situation About 100 high school juniors and seniors from an urban public high school have watched the movie Schindler s List, directed by Steven Spielberg. The students represent ethnically diverse backgrounds but no specific subject area of studies (i.e., this isn t a history class). Students are familiar with the Focused Conversation method. Rational Aim To immerse students in World War II history and the chal- lenges of that time. To ground the difference one life can make, using Hitler and Schindler as examples. To influence students to decide not to allow events like these to be repeated. To have students understand that: Opening This is a debriefing conversation. We will be using the Focused Conversation method. Answer each question briefly, and answer only the questions asked. Everyone is expected to participate, so listen to each other s responses. No speeches will be allowed! Let s begin by briefly reconstructing the essential facts. The year was 1939. In what country did this take place? What other historical facts were given? What were the names of the characters? Who have we left out? What scenes do you recall? What lines of dialogue do you recall? What sounds did you hear? What objects did you see? What statistical facts were shared? Did you laugh at all during the movie? When? When did you feel like crying? When were you afraid? Experience terror? When did you experience relief? When did you want to jump up and help? If you could edit out one scene, which one would it be? What would you like to add? When did you first realize the situation was out of control? When did the Jews first realize it? (When did they realize that this was beyond hassling them and annihilation was intended?) Let s talk about the man, Schindler just a bit. What else do we know about Schindler? What kind of man was Schindler? What values did he hold? What values did other characters Understanding the Movie Schindler s List Hints This conversation will take about an hour, with 15 to 20 minutes for the objective and interpretive levels, and 10 minutes each for the reflective and decisional levels. At the objective level, push the group for a significant number of responses to each question. In the middle of the reflective questions, with the shift to focusing on Schindler, the conversation does a contextual -wind in which specific objective and reflective level comments are repeated and reexamined in order to dig deeper. Restate quickly any objective level comments about Schindler, particularly the scenes already shared in which he was the key player. Encourage a diversity of different answers at the reflec- tive and interpretive levels, and class discussion of those answers. Which side was he on, exactly? Do you like him? Why or why not? When did you notice changes in his attitude? What is a specific scene or line of dialogue where you saw this? What choices did he have? What did he eventually give up? What did he get back? What did he accomplish in the end? What kept the Nazis from getting him? How could all this have happened? Where in the world today is harassment of specific ethnic or religious groups going on? What makes these examples serious concerns for us and our society? What have you learned from this film? What do you suppose Schindler told his grandchildren never to forget? What do you suppose those on Schindler s List told their grandchildren never to forget? How can we avoid repeating the negative aspects of our history? How are you a different person because you saw Schindler s List? Closing Well, as you see, history is our shared experience, and we are learning as we go along. Thank you for your wisdom and insight. The assignment is to write a 300-word essay on a specific way to overcome racial and ethnic hatred.

114 Understanding a High School Math Concep students High School Situation The math teacher has just demonstrated a complicated equation and its solution on the board. The class looks mostly blank. Rational Aim To understand the complex concepts and steps of the math topic. Experiential Aim To feel involved and respected for participating To take increased responsibili- ty for their own learning. Hints As a teaching conversation, this is one of the most diffi- cult to refrain from having all the answers as the teacher. Remind yourself that what stu- dents discover themselves will be learned more thoroughly than what they merely hear from someone else. Help with answers only when no one can answer, or when you can see that your words will clar- ify thinking the students are struggling to articulate. Opening Let s discuss this problem to make sure we all understand it. First let s recap the steps. What did we do? I ll write them as you say them. What was given? What steps did I go through? First? Second? Next? What part was most confusing? Simplest? Hardest? How is this similar to the equation we did in our last class? How is it different? How can this equation be used At home? In carpentry? In business? In engineering? Etc. What do you need to do to master this process? Closing Your assignment for next class is

115 Reflecting on a Team Experiential Learning Exercise students High School Situation A group of high school stu- dents is preparing for a coop- erative learning assignment. The group breaks up into small teams of four to six peo- ple to do an experiential learn- ing exercise. Each team forms a circle and gets five minutes to tear an animal from a news- paper, working as a team. The newspaper is passed around, and each team member can make one straight tear. A team member can make sounds or expressions of the animal, but during the first two rounds of tearing, no one may talk. Rational Aim To learn how to get to a good result through teamwork. Experiential Aim To experience that teamwork is dynamical, and that energy, determination, and communi- cation are needed to get to a good result. Hints This conversation can be adapted easily to any team building exercise. Opening You have just performed a teamwork exercise. Let's take a few minutes to talk about what happened. What animal(s) did you make? What sounds did you hear? What scenes do you remember while we were working? What words or phrases did you hear people say? What emotions did you observe in the group? Where did you feel excited during the exercise? What was frustrating? What situations or events does this exercise remind you of? Which things did your team do that helped reach the end result? What did you miss in the team process? How could you improve the teamwork? What did you learn from this exercise? How can we use these ideas in our teamwork assignments? What's something new or different you'll do in your work or life after doing this exercise? Closing It's interesting to see how this exercise is always different, with new perspectives and teamwork. Thanks for your cooperation and input.

116 Evaluating of a Video on Violence in Society students High School Situation A high school teacher wants input from students on wheth- er or not a video on violence in society will be useful to use in a lower grade classroom. Rational Aim To get feedback from students on a video on violence in society. Experiential Aim To experience that all ideas are heard and respected. Opening The principal asked me to evaluate this video for use with first year students. I want your input for that evaluation, to know how you think it might affect them. First let s watch the video. What words or phrases do you recall from the video? What were the main points made by the speaker? What was your first reaction to this video? What did you think was interesting? What frustrated you? What are some of the root issues? How do first year students experience these issues? Which issues have implications for our high school? What might be the effects of this video on first year students? What are your recommendations about the video? How can we use it? Should we use it? Closing These are the suggestions I hear you making

117 Reflecting on a Group Experience students High School Situation A group of young people has participated in an unusual kinesthetic experience called The Dance of Peace. Some were reluctant participants; others were deeply moved. After lunch, the trainer is lead- ing the group in a debriefing of their experience. Rational Aim To clarify what we did. To discover common motifs and themes. To identify the cultural origins of dance patterns. Experiential Aim To experience the wonder of each culture s contribution, and to feel the exhilaration of the dance. Other Applications You can debrief after any experiential learning exercise, e.g., a rope course, using sim- ilar questions. Opening Think back to the dancing we did this morning. What movements do you remember? What did the movement look like? What dances did we do? What sounds do you recall? What instruments were used? How did you feel as you were dancing? At what point did you feel unsure, confused, or embarrassed? At what point did you feel excited, deeply moved, or peaceful? When did you really What was going on in this dance? Why do you think the creator of these dances created them? What were they trying to express of communicate? What kind of experiences were they trying to provide for people? What can we learn from these dances? How were you changed by this experience? To whom would you like to teach these dances? Where would you like to see them used again? Whom do you wish had been here this morning? Closing When we started, I felt silly. After it was over, I thought,

118 Understanding an Assignmen students High School Situation High school students are given a verbal assignment for individual projects in carpentry class, for which there is the possibility for creative adapta- tion. Each student has to pick a project he or she intends to carry out. This conversation takes place inside a student s head as he or she thinks about what they would like to do. Rational Aim To clarify an assignment and have a plan for doing it. Experiential Aim To be motivated to do the assignment. Hints The teacher may put these questions on the board or on a worksheet to guide the stu- dents thinking. Opening I guess it s up to me to choose exactly what project I want to do. What words did the teacher say? What did he say we can do? What did he say we can t do? What do I like about this assignment? What do I dislike about this assignment? What am I interested in that this reminds me of? What possibilities are there? What s the purpose of this assignment? What can I make that will be beautiful or useful? What skills might I learn from doing this? What shall I make for my project? What will I do to carry out this assignment? Closing I ll tell the teacher what I plan to do.

119 Practicing English by Reviewing TV Habits students Adult Situation An ESL class is studying words that have to do with TV. After the opening, the class breaks into small groups for discussion. The questions are written out on paper for each group. Rational Aim To practice English language by reviewing TV habits. Experiential Aim To have fun practicing English with a minimum of stress on a topic of student interest. Hints Carefully choose your ques- tions so that the answers help students practice the grammar and new vocabulary you have been studying. Opening For our regular weekly topical narrative, let s review our new TV-related words and phrases. Then we re going to have conversations in small groups about our television watching to practice the words. On this paper are the questions for you to ask and answer. How many hours of television do you watch most weeks? What TV programs do you watch? (For example, sports, news, action, or music) How long do you watch TV at one time? What TV shows make you feel excited? What TV shows make you feel bored? What TV character would you like to be? How does watching TV help you with learning English? What else do you learn from watching TV? After watching TV, how are you different? How has watching TV helped you? What can you do to learn more from TV? Closing Thank you. Now we ll go on to our next exercise.

120 Integrating Learning from an Exercise in an ESL Class students Adult Situation ESL students are given cards with names and descriptions (i.e., age, gender, job, and hobbies) of people to role- play. They are also given written instructions on how to introduce themselves to each other. The teacher starts by demonstrating how to intro- duce yourself. The whole class stands up and mingles. Then they take turns introducing themselves to each other in pairs. Rational Aim To practice English language greetings and introductions. Experiential Aim To have a fun practice with a minimum of stress. Hints Although the exercise is the key teaching tool, the reflec- tion afterwards allows stu- dents to consciously integrate what they have learned. The questions need to be easy to understand and to answer. Opening Let s find out what we learned in this exercise. How many people did you introduce yourself to in the exercise? What part of this was hardest? What was easiest? What did you do that was successful? Where did you have problems? Why? What did you learn about introducing yourself? About using English? How would you introduce yourself in English now? Who will introduce themselves to the whole group? Who else? Closing I m glad we all know how to make ourselves known now!

121 Practicing English while Discussing a Newspaper Article students Adult Situation An adult ESL (English as a Second Language) class is using a focused conversation to practice new words about traffic, such as stop sign, lane, and intersection. They are discussing a recent traffic accident that they read about in the newspaper. Rational Aim To practice new English words about traffic. Experiential Aim To gain confidence in speak- ing English. Hints To keep questions simple and to the point, run through the possible answers the students might give before you use the conversation. Adapting the questions to bring out words your group knows will provide more vocabulary practice. Write the questions on the board, so that students can see as well as hear the words. Point to them as you ask them. When reading the reflective questions from the board, try mimicking anger (shaking your fist), or fear (covering your face with your hands) to give them some ideas. Opening First let's read this newspaper article about a traffic accident. Let s talk about this accident for a while. What vehicles were in the accident? What people were in the accident? Drivers? Pedestrians? Others? What happened in the accident? Imagine what one of the people felt. Make a face to show that emotion. Interpretive Questions What caused the accident? Why did the accident happen? What traffic accidents have you seen? What happened and why? What is one thing we could do to improve traffic safety?

122 Reflecting on a Day in a Learning Lab Experience Staff Members Situation A group of teachers are at the end of the third day of a ten- day learning lab experience. They have spent much of the day actively creating wall posters and teaching images, transforming the environment of their training room into a vibrant learning environment. Rational Aim To summarize the learning of the day. Experiential Aim To be excited and pleased with the experience so far, and anticipate the next day. Hints Keep the questions specific to the situation, as these are, so the reflection is tightly focused. Tailor the questions for your situation. Other Applications You could use similar ques- tions on a worksheet for a solitary reflection on the day s experience. Opening We are in the third day of this ten-day laboratory. We ve created an amazing environment through our activities today. What catches your eye about the Main Hall? What activities do you remember? What colors? What words? What was confusing or overwhelming today? What was exciting? What thought or idea or concept became clearer? What is the key message of this day for you? What have you decided to use from the workshop? How could you apply what you have learned in your work with students?

123 Debriefing the Day as a Team Staff Members Situation A group of teachers is partici- pating in a learning lab expe- rience as a team. They have taught a class together on this Friday, and are reflecting on the day s learnings and plan- ning the next week. Rational Aim To review the significant events of the day and to plan for the next week. To foster shared learning and reflective practice. Experiential Aim To generate team enthusiasm about working together and improving teaching practice. Hints Tailor the interpretive ques- tions to the specific happen- ings of the day. Other Applications Weekly team meetings. Opening Imagine you are watching a video of this day. Visualize what occurred today, from the time the bus delivered our students until a moment ago when the last student left. As we reflect on the day, what is one activity that stands out? What s one thing we each did today? Which students participated today who didn t participate yesterday? When did one of us effectively support the work of another teacher? What surprised you about today? Where or when did students seem to have difficulty? Which activities fostered high student involvement and interaction? At what point were each of us fully engaged in what was happening? When did you feel best about the contribution you made? When students had difficulty, what could we have done differently? Which powerful learning principles did we best achieve today? What understanding is emerging about where we most need to focus to improve student learning? How did yesterday s team planning session affect our work today? What insights do you have about how we can work together better in the classroom? What do we want to contribute to or learn from our colleagues? Based on what we ve seen to date, what can we set as learning objectives for the end of next week? Who is going to do what on Monday? What do we need to work on now to prepare for next week? Closing Part of what it means to be a

124 Celebrating Learnings from a Tough Year Staff Members Situation A rural high school has had a rough year, with much tension between groups of staff. An outside facilitator leads the staff in a reflection on the year, to bring the year to clo- sure and allow for planning for the future. The facilitator draws a large horizontal timeline on the blackboard with the months marked on it, leaving room both above and below the line for cards and writing. Rational Aim To create a timeline and story of the journey of the group. To understand what has brought the group to this point. Experiential Aim To affirm the whole past, with its highs and lows, successes, and setbacks. Hints You can do several streams below the timeline Opening Let s look at the year we ve just had. As we do this, bear in mind that everyone has a different perspective on the year. We do not have to agree on everything, just to listen for the wisdom in what people are saying. We will get out several different answers to each question. What events, accomplishments, and setbacks have happened this school year? Please write them with markers on cards or large sticky notes, and put them on the wall below the timeline in the approximate time period. What were high points for you during the year? (Make a mark by the event like a tick or an asterisk) What were low points? (Mark differently, by each event.) What have you been grateful to someone else for during this year? As you look at this emerging picture, where would you say there are turning points? (Mark them as vertical lines above the timeline, dividing it into sections.) How would you talk about these turning points turning from what to what? (Write the words on both sides of each vertical line.) How would you name each section of the journey? (Write the names in each section above the timeline.) How would you name the whole year? This has been the year of

125 Learning from a Historical Scan Staff Members Situation A neighbourhood school has just reorganized as a middle school. Many of the teachers live in the neighbourhood but only a few have ever taught at a middle school. Many of the teachers do not know each other. A facilitator has just finished creating an historical scan with the group. On the wall are cards on a timeline with events from education in the province, the school s community, the school itself, and personal events from the teachers lives. Rational Aim To understand implications for the future from a picture of the school and its relationships. Experiential Aim To respect each other, and to commit ourselves to the future of the school and the community. Opening Now that we have all this data on the wall so we can see it, let s figuratively step back from it and see what we can learn from it. What words or events catch your attention in the data on the wall? What visual patterns catch your attention? What does the data on this wall remind you of? What story would you tell about what you see on the wall? Where does our new school fit into this picture? What factors and principles are guiding the way we operate? What relationships are there between the community and the school? What do you see happening in the future for this school? What do you see happening for education in general in the next five years? Which piece of that future are you personally most committed to making happen? Closing Thank you. It has been a pleasure to work with you. There is so much commitment to making this school a productive place of learning for the students of our community.

126 Mentoring a New Teacher Staff Members Situation An experienced teacher is mentoring a new teacher to sharpen her teaching skills. The new teacher has just taught a science lesson, after which both teachers sit down to reflect on the experience. Rational Aim To have the new teacher establish what was successful and what would be beneficial to try next time. Experiential Aim To have the new teacher feel validated in her efforts to teach science. Opening I want to help you reflect on today s science class and come up with a couple of strategies to implement in your next science class. What do you remember from the lesson? What did you do? Run through the steps. What was said? What did students actually do? What did students accomplish? What was a high point for you? What excited you? What went well? What was difficult or frustrating for you? What strategies would you keep? What would you change? What content can you take from this lesson to apply to future lessons? What teaching approaches can you take from this lesson to apply to future lessons? What is a key insight you had? What would you change if you could teach this lesson over again? What strategies will you follow up on? What techniques or strategies will you focus on for future lessons? Closing I ve heard your responses to the last questions. Good work! It is a pleasure to work with you.

127 Introducing an Unpracticed Skill Staff Members Situation A group of teachers in a school are embarking on a new style of working together Opening Today we re going to launch into a relatively long-term project that involves a set of skills we all have some experience with. However, not all our experiences have been the same. Let s talk about it a little. As you think about mentoring, what images jump to mind? From reading or movies etc, where have you see mentoring going on? What has been an experience you have had with mentoring or being mentored? What are some things you know about mentoring? What feelings do you associate with mentoring? What aspects do you expect to enjoy about mentoring? What do you think you will not like about mentoring? Why is mentoring important? How will it affect you? Your work? How might we approach mentoring to make it most effective and helpful for all of us? How can we help each other learn about mentoring

128 Exploring the Topic of a Paper Staff Members Situation At their in-service day, twenty staff members of a new mid- dle school are exploring the concept of restitution, a real- ity-therapy-based technique for helping people become self-directed, self-disciplined, and self-healing. They have read a paper and are ready to discuss its implications. The intent of the conversation is more focused on building respect within the team than it is on actually implementing the concepts. Rational Aim To understand the concept of restitution and its implications for the school. Experiential Aim To hear and respect each oth- er s opinions. To begin to be a team. Hints The first decisional question in this case is a summariz- ing question, because the intent of this conversation is understanding, not action. To take the conversation to action, substitute a question like What are our next steps in implementing this in our school? Other Applications This conversation can be used with any paper or document. Opening Let s explore the implications of this paper on restitution together, in order to hear all the perspectives we have on it. We are not yet ready to act on this, but we need a foundation of understanding to decide what we will do. What ideas about restitution does this paper cover? Others? Any we have missed? What leaves you confused? Which ones intrigue or excite you? What more do you need to know? What are the strengths of the concept of restitution? What are its weaknesses? How would applying this concept benefit our school? What might not work so well? How would you summarize our discussion so far? What can we do to experiment with applying these concepts in our school? Closing It s great to have a chance to hear our different opinions. Let s experiment with the possibilities of this concept, and report back to each other later.

129 Learning from the Movie Stand and Deliver Staff Members Situation High school teachers are attending an in-service on image-based instruction meth- ods. They have just watched the movie Stand and Deliver written by Ramon Menendez and Tom Musca, from Warner Brothers. Rational Aim To focus attention on student needs and motivational tech- niques. To initiate a discussion about diverse teaching styles. Experiential Aim To experience the presence and influence of a master teacher. To believe miracles are possi- ble when teachers care. To inspire the teacher partic- ipants to do miracles in their classrooms. Hints Expected time: 20 to 30 min- utes. Allow time for as many scenes to be named as pos- sible at the objective level, so that the group has the whole movie to work from as the conversation goes deeper. Opening This is a very powerful movie. Let s take a few minutes to explore our learnings from it. Name the characters in the movie. Where did the story take place? What scenes do you remember? What was the name of the school? What lines of dialogue do you recall? What objects did you notice in the film? Where did you laugh? Where did you witness people s fear? When did you feel afraid? Where did you see frustration or get frustrated? Where did you see hope? Where did you find yourself in the story? With whom did you first identify? Where did you see symbols in the movie? What did they seem to be pointing to? What were the students up against? What was the teacher up against? Where did you see student motivation shift? From what? To what? What message or messages did the teacher use to accomplish this? How were they delivered? Now let s talk about style. How would you describe the teacher s style? What was the most outrageous thing he did to allow and encourage learning? What was the most effective? Who are colleagues or teachers you ve known as a student who have distinctive styles? How would you describe each of these styles? How do these differing styles affect student learning? What are the implications of differing teaching styles for school transformation or reform? What is Stand and Deliver about? What would you name this movie? Who should see this movie? Closing Thank you. I have learned a tremendous amount from this conversation, and I hope you have too.

130 Processing a Presentation of New Information Staff Members Situation Following a training workshop, a teacher has shared her learnings in a presentation about a new communication tool with her colleagues. She is now leading a conversation to help them process their learning. Rational Aim To understand the new tool. Experiential Aim To feel intrigued with the pos- sibilities of a new communica- tion tool. Hints It is very difficult to lead a conversation on a presen- tation you have just made, because the participants tend to think you are still trying to get a point across, not asking for their real answers. A way around this is to write the questions on the board or flip- chart, or stand at the opposite end of the room when asking the questions, so that your change in role is physically visible. Opening Let s reflect on this presentation for a few minutes, to think about new learnings and possible applications for us. What information stood out for you in the presentation? What are the key features of this process? At what point did you feel a positive personal response? What part of the process particularly appeals to you? What part does not appeal to you? What parts are you skeptical about? What might be the impact of this process on our students? How might this process support you in your work and life outside of school? What might be the greatest challenge to you in applying this process? When will you use this process? How will you prepare?

131 Debriefing Presentations of Approaches that Work Staff Members Situation A team of teachers from each of several cities across the country is participating in an educational conference. Each team has prepared a report on an innovative approach they are using. Each team reports to the whole group. After each report, each team reflects separately on the presentation they just heard. Each team chooses one person to lead the city team in the following conversation, one person to take notes about questions and reflections for their city team for later work, and one person to keep track of time. Rational Aim To share innovative projects and approaches, and begin to look at their possible impli- cations. Experiential Aim To appreciate each other s creativity. To be inspired to be creative in one s own school as a team. Hints Repeat the five questions after each team report. Ten minutes for each conversation should be adequate. The note taker can print responses on sticky notes and stick them on a flipchart to allow changes and additions as the group works. Consider rotating roles of con- versation leader, timekeeper and note taker Opening Let s talk about the reports we ve heard. What stood out for you as you listened to what was going on in that situation? Where were you excited about what they were doing? Where were you unsure or uneasy? What seems most What are things we should consider for your schools? What are other things that come to your mind that we should consider? Closing Reflection as a total group on the day.

132 Debriefing a Role-Play on Team Teaching Staff Members Situation A half-day in-service session on team teaching is provid- ed for all the teachers in an alternative school. They want to decide its usefulness in their school. The session starts with a role-play of two teaching teams, one whose members share common goals and one with diverse members with various goals and approaches. Rational Aim To understand how both teams with common goals and with strongly diverse goals can work together effectively. Experiential Aim To experience the challenges of teamwork. Hints Write out the role-play in advance, giving enough direc- tion so that it can be done easily. Opening Let s explore the possible learnings behind these two role-plays. What did you hear the teachers say or tell each other in each role- play? How did the teachers look at each other? What body language did you notice on each team? What part of the role-play made you most uncomfortable? What looked like the most fun? What does team teaching feel like? What did it look like to you in these role-plays? Where have you seen similar situations in real life? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the team with common goals? What were the strengths and weaknesses of the team with strongly diverse goals? How do students benefit from team teaching? What do you think constitutes effective team teaching? What are the benefits of team teaching that make it worth the effort? What are some of the arguments against team teaching? How did today s demonstration respond to these arguments? What have you learned about working in teams? How might we use team teaching in our school? Closing Our learnings and recommendations from this conversation will help us decide how to use team teaching in our school.

133 Understanding Society from a Teenager s Point of View Staff Members Situation In a high school staff meeting at the beginning of the year, the principal is working to build a respectful, collabora- tive environment of teachers, administrators, and students. Rational Aim To see society as teenagers see it. Experiential Aim To give credence to teens lived experience. To prevent burnout of teach- ers. Hints It is easy to slip out of the imagined role while doing this conversation, especially at the interpretive level. The facilitator should gently bring people back to the perspec- tive. You may also try having each person imagine seeing through the eyes of more than one teenager, for a richer experience. Opening Think of a teenager you know or have encountered recently. Imagine that you are that teenager, looking out from their eyes. Spend a little time looking at the world around you through their eyes. As you walk, ride, or watch TV, what are some of your observations about society? What do you see, hear, smell, taste, or feel? What were your feelings as you made your observations? Who seems to like you as a teenager? Dislike you? What do they say to you? Still as a teen, how do you feel teens are projected in our society? What is a value that comes from your observations and reflections? What would you say to those you like? Those who dislike you? Which elements of the society you are encountering should be retained? Changed? What role do you wish to play in this society? What impact do you believe you can make as a teen to improve society? As you say good-by to these teenagers and come back into yourself, what will you take into the future?

134 Understanding Learning Styles Parents and Community Situation Parents and teachers in a multicultural community are exploring learning styles together, in order to make sure that the school is provid- ing opportunities for students of all cultures to learn effec- tively. Rational Aim To deepen the understanding of one s own learning pat- terns and learning patterns of others. Experiential Aim To gain strength and confi- dence in one s self and one s own learning styles, as well as an appreciation of others and what can be learned from them. Hints As the facilitator, it is appro- priate to check on each small group, but it is wise not to interrupt or interfere unneces- sarily. The small groups may need more time than allotted to share their experiences. After the small group work, you may want to have a con- versation with the larger group such as the one on page 97. Other Applications Any topic where people have previous personal experience that will be useful to bring out new learning, for example, teamwork. Opening First let s go around the table and introduce ourselves to the whole group. Learning doesn t just happen in school in traditional ways of teaching. I remember that when I was a little girl, I learned how to make cookies from my grandmother. She didn t tell me anything. She just made the cookies, and I helped her. When we got to the part where you roll the dough out so you can cut it, she put her hands on mine and guided them. I still enjoy making those cookies. We are going to break into small groups to discuss how we learn best. These are the questions I would like you to answer, in this order (hand out papers). In this discussion, there are no wrong answers. Each person has a piece of the puzzle, and they are all different. If we really listen to each other, we will all be wiser at the end. (Go around the group) What are some events or times when you really learned something or you observed real learning taking place, either inside or outside school? Or when you learned an old or traditional skill? What did you learn in this situation? Who or what was the What parts of these experiences sound like the most fun? What parts sound difficult, painful, or boring? How did you learn in this situation? What actually helped you to learn? What are common elements in our stories of successful learning? For example, was it quiet or noisy? Were you moving or still? Were you alone or with others? Were there visual images? Words? Sounds? Other factors? What were some unique elements? What do these common elements tell us about what factors are important for our best learning? How would we summarize the factors that make learning successful for us as a group? Closing How will we report back to the large group our common elements and factors for successful learning?

135 Integrating Reports from Small Group Work Parents and Community Situation Parents and teachers have discussed their experiences of successful learning in small groups, and have summarized their findings to report back. Each group reports succinctly without interruption. After all the reports, they hold the fol- lowing conversation. Rational Aim To agree on a list of patterns of learning. Experiential Aim To experience an Aha! We have powerful ways of learning that the schools can respect! Hints In this conversation, all the reports are given before the reflection, in order to hear the whole picture first. Sometimes it may be helpful to ask for questions of clarification after each report, then do the rest of the conversation at the end. Other Applications Any plenary session where groups are reporting back. Opening Let s pull together our learnings as a large group. What words caught your attention as you heard these reports? What came as a bit of a surprise or was unexpected? What made you laugh? Where did you think, What threads did you hear running through the reports? Which of these was said the most often? Let s draw all this together What might this all mean for providing culturally appropriate learning in our school? How do we implement our learnings?

136 Envisioning the Future of Education Parents and Community Situation Parents, teachers, staff and students have come together to plan the year. They start with a conversation to set the largest possible context for themselves to sustain their action. Rational Aim To imagine the role of educa- tion in the 21st century. Experiential Aim To experience the possibilities for education in the future. Hints The objective and reflective level questions in this con- versation are drawn from the imagination, making this con- versation very different from many others in this book. It is important to take enough time in the opening to stand firmly in 2010 before a conver- sation. Locating one s self in a different time is hard to hold if you have not had some prac- tice at it, and if you don't hold it, you find yourself inserting your present beliefs into the future. Opening Close your eyes for a moment. Imagine you stumble into a time machine, which starts up. When it stops, you discover you are in the same place, but in the year 2010. Look around you at all the things you see going on in 2010. Standing in the year 2010, what were some key events of the past decade for business and industry? Government? Social groups and communities? Education? Your region? Assuming that education has made a significant contribution to society, what does it mean now in 2010 to be educated? How is education organized in 2010? How are responsibilities distributed? Point to one profound learning over the past decade, since 2000. What has been learned about education between 2000 and 2010? Now, coming back into this time and space, what would you need to know to live effectively in the 21st century? What needs to be done today in order for this picture of the 21st century to be realized? What are you willing to commit to?

137 Introducing a Cooperative Learning Projec Students Situation A sixth grade class is studying world geography. Students have been assigned to do team projects in groups of four. Each team has an assignment sheet with the outcomes expected and the process they are expected to use to produce them. One stu- dent facilitates a conversation for the group to understand the assignment. Rational Aim To enable students to have a focus for their assignment and a plan for getting it done. Experiential Aim To develop interest and com- mitment to the assignment. Hints Rewrite this conversation using appropriate language your students will use. Give all the students the questions. Other Applications Use the same conversation for every project to teach the pattern of analyzing a group problem. Students may also use this individually to prepare for a project. Opening OK, here is what the teacher has given us. What things does the assignment sheet say we have to do? What does it say the final result should look like? What parts don t you understand? Can anybody explain, or should we ask the teacher? Which part of this assignment looks most interesting to you? Which part looks boring or uninteresting? Which parts are you really good at? Which part looks like an interesting challenge? Which looks like it may be hard work, or a lot of work but interesting? What will this look like when we re done? (Brainstorm) Let s draw a picture or a chart of what we want it to look like (we can always change it). What are all the things we have to do to get this done? Let s write them on sticky notes. Who should do them? Let s write names by the actions. When will we do each of these? Let s put them all on a calendar. What s our first step and who will do it? When do we check back? Closing Let s get going!

138 Conferencing during a Group Project to Evaluate and Plan Action Students Situation A group of junior high students is working on a month-long social science project. The teacher takes 15 minutes to conference with each group to make sure they are progress- ing in a helpful direction. Rational Aim To establish a one-week action plan for a group in progress. Experiential Aim To strengthen confidence and trust among group members and with the teacher. Hints Despite reassurances, stu- dents are often afraid to admit difficulties in front of teachers. If you sense there is more dif- ficulty than they are admitting, you may have to ask them to repeat the discussion on their own after you leave them. If that is the case, they need the questions written out on a sheet maybe a form for them to fill in. Other Applications This conversation can work for any project, including staff projects. Opening I want to talk with you for a few minutes to make sure your project is coming along well. I will not be grading you on your answers to my questions, so do be honest, please. If you are having difficulty, it will be important to say so, because there is plenty of time to straighten things out, but it will only work if we raise our questions and resolve them. What did you do on this project last week? Show me your notes, activities, actions, etc. What were the results? Show or demonstrate them quickly. What were you really happy about in what you did? When did you feel frustrated? What was the group s high point? Low point? What have you learned about the topic? What have you learned about working together on this topic? What changes do you need to make? What action do you need to take to proceed with the project? Who will do these things? When will you do them? What do we need to arrange in order to be successful? Closing Good work! We ll check again next week.

139 Thinking about Leadership with Students Students Situation A middle school includes a personal development curric- ulum for students during the homeroom period each day. Today s topic is leadership. Rational Aim To discover qualities of lead- ership in the students own experience Experiential Aim To choose to develop their own leadership capacity Hints This is a conversation designed to be held with students, but a dry run with teachers beforehand will also be useful for the teachers own reflection. Opening Let s go around the room What characteristics of a leader do you observe in these people we just named? What are or were some of the responsibilities of these leaders? What is exciting about being a leader? What is frightening about being a leader? What are some common qualities of leadership in the people we ve named? Which are unique characteristics of some of these leaders? Which of these do you consider to be leadership qualities? If someone were to become a leader, what qualities would they need to develop? Which of these qualities seem really important to you? What are some things you can do to cultivate these qualities in yourself? In others? Closing Everyone in this room has the capacity to be a leader in some positive way, if we choose.

140 Solving a Problem with a Group Technology Project Students Situation Grade eleven and twelve technology students are in the midst of building a robot for a national contest. Two weeks before the contest, they put the robot through a test, and it tips over every time it goes up the ramp. The students have to solve the problem on their own, and quickly. Rational Aim To develop a solution to the problem and an action plan to do it. Experiential Aim To create team commitment to dealing with the problem. Hints Teaching students a generic form of this process for solv- ing problems will provide them with life long problem solving skills. Opening Okay, we ll have to put our heads together to solve this one. What did you notice just before the problem started? Which direction did the robot fall? What other things did you notice What similar situations have you seen? What else do we know about this kind of problem? What are some possible reasons this is happening? Explain your ideas. What might be an underlying cause? What are some things we could do to deal with this? What shall we do first? Who will do it? Closing Let s go!

141 Creating an Anti-Racism Policy Students Situation A racist incident erupted last week in a high school. The immediate situation was resolved, but students want to create a school policy to guard against its recurrence. A diverse group of students meets after school. Rational Aim To develop the elements of an anti-racism policy. Experiential Aim To build students confidence that they can handle future situations. Opening We don t want anything to happen again like last week s incident. Let s create the elements of a policy that can guard against racist behavior in our school. Let s start by reflecting on what went on last week. What are some facts and observations you actually saw or heard with your own eyes and ears last week? Let s try to put together a multi-dimensional picture. What made you angriest? What frightened you most? What struck you as absurd or inappropriate? What were some of the reasons this happened? What is underneath these reasons? What policies or structures in the school may allow or cause this to happen? What changes would help prevent racist behavior here? What elements of policy should we recommend? Which ones shall we include in the draft? What will we do next? Who will do it? Closing When a draft is written, let s all get back and review it.

142 Responding to a Draft Policy Teachers and Staff Members Situation A union representative for teachers has been given a draft policy on vacation time from the school board. She wants some feedback from union members in order to present a considered response back to the board. She has asked a small group of teachers to meet after school to talk about the draft policy. Rational Aim To have well-considered alternatives to a draft policy statement to be included in a response to the draft state- ment. Experiential Aim To have front-line staff expe- rience themselves as co-cre- ators of a policy that affects them. Hints The material could be distrib- uted ahead of time if it would not ignite political maneuver- ing. Silent reading time in the meeting is usually a good idea, even if participants have had it in advance. Consider having the group read the statement out loud, with one person read- ing each paragraph. Opening I want to submit a response to this policy draft from the school board about vacation time. I want your feedback to draft my response, so that we present a well-considered alternative. Could you give me some help? Please look at this policy for a moment. What phrases did you notice in the draft policy? What are the key points? What is the stated rationale behind this proposal? How do you anticipate the draft policy will or might affect you? How might this policy be helpful? How might it be unhelpful? What changes are represented by this draft policy? How does it differ from past policies? How does the draft fit with the collective agreements What are we saying no to? What do we say yes to? What items do we support? How shall we organize our response? To whom shall we submit the response? Closing Thank you. I ll draft a response with our insights and run it past you before I submit it.

143 Implementing Recommendations for Change Teachers and Staff Members Situation A school is concerned with new legislation requiring teachers to integrate special needs stu- dents into regular classrooms. Rational Aim To understand the recommen- dations and develop an initial plan to deal with them. Experiential Aim To ensure teachers feel their concerns have been heard. To generate hope that they can continue to resolve these issues. Hints This conversation is designed from the assumption that the Opening Let s do quick review of the report to look at the objective data. We need to understand the recommendations so we can decide what to do with them. What are the specific recommendations in this report? What particular people or resources does it call for? What points do you need clarity on? What is your first reaction? What images do you associate with these recommendations? What differences will these recommendations make if they are implemented? What would be the advantages? Disadvantages? Which will have the most impact? The least impact? What changes will be required for us? What do we need to do with these recommendations? What is our first step? Who will do it? Closing This conversation has certainly put us in a new place. What were the high points and low points of today s conversation? What have you learned? How would you describe this experience?

144 Evaluating Staff Surveys and Recommendations Teachers and Staff Members Situation The School Growth team has surveyed all staff members about a curriculum event for junior students. The results of the surveys have been summarized by a couple of people, and the recommenda- tions listed. Rational Aim To explore recommendations from staff and identify the best ones for future curriculum events. Experiential Aim To commit to make needed changes. Hints This conversation can be used to reflect on any survey results. Opening The School Growth team needs to review the results of the staff survey about the curriculum events held for junior students in December. Read survey summary aloud, perhaps sharing the reading roles. What words or phrases catch your attention? List the recommendations made from the survey. What are your reactions to these words, phrases or recommendations? What surprises you? Which of the recommendations are most important for you? Why? Which needs to be dealt with first? Why? What do we need to do to implement these recommendations? What is our next step? Who will do it? Closing These are important decisions and will help us make a difference in future curriculum events.

145 50 Gathering Ideas from a Focus Group on a Web Site Teachers and Staff Members Situation A focus group of teachers is meeting to gather require- ments for creating a web site. Rational Aim To set the context for a work- shop getting input from teach- ers and administrators into the creation of a web site for area teachers. Experiential Aim To build anticipation for use of the site. Hints Personal reflection on a larger topic related to the partic- ular decision at hand often encourages creative and practical thinking. In this case, understanding the experience of finding useful information can help increase the usability of the web site content and design. This conversation can easily be followed by an implemen- tation workshop. The deci- sional level question is the workshop focus question. Opening The topic today is to gather requirements for our new web site, which will be a resource for information for teachers in our area and beyond. Let s start by introducing ourselves around the table. Please give your name, your school, and one thing you enjoy about teaching. Because the web site will be a resource for information, I would like us to think about the larger context of searching for information first, then focus on our web site. Think back over your life and share one experience that you ve had searching for information. What are some of the quests for information you have gone on as teachers? In what ways have you used the web as a resource in searching for information for your teaching? Using a metaphor, what were those searches like? For example, I was searching for (x) on the web the other day and it felt like being in a house with a hundred rooms and each room had about 5 doors. There were so many options to choose from. Describe a successful experience. (Just a couple of responses) Describe a less than successful experience. (Just a couple of responses) What was it like when you found the information you were looking for? What was it like when you hit brick walls or dead ends? What were the keys to finding the information you were after? What else helped you? How do you anticipate a web site will serve teachers? What is the importance of having an area teacher web site? How will it affect you personally? Your work? What resources do you especially want to see on a web site for our teachers? What should the web site look like? What would you include? What would you put on the front page? Closing With this input, our local teacher web site should be much more useful to teachers.

146 Improving Staff Meetings Teachers and Staff Members Situation Primary and Junior Division faculty members in an ele- mentary school have met regularly to plan together for a few years. There is some anx- iety that the meetings need to be more time-effective due to increased pressure on the school day. The division head decides to reflect on the meet- ing structure with the group. Rational Aim To provide direction for how to improve the structure of future staff meetings. Experiential Aim To allow the staff to gain own- ership of and commitment toward their own meetings. Hints Since the decisional level answers are the key ones in this conversation, it may be helpful to write the answers to this level on the board or a flipchart one by one in order to get a clear consensus. Write the name or names of people taking responsibility beside the action. Document the results for the group. Opening Let s look back at how these meetings have been structured over the past couple of years. What are some things we have done in our meetings over the last couple years? How have we organized our meetings? Not how well , but how have we structured them? What topics and concerns were addressed? What seemed to be working well? What has been frustrating for you? What needs have emerged? What has been the impact of these meetings in your classroom? In your school? How have the meetings fit in with your school plan? What is the most significant thing about these meetings? What trends are emerging in our discussion so far? What do you suggest we continue to do? What do you think needs to be stopped? What changes are needed? Let s summarize what we have said about the changes we need in our meetings? Who will take responsibility for any of these changes? Closing This should make a big difference. The next meeting should be much more effective. At the end of the year we will do this again to see how we re doing. Thank you.

147 Making a Mission Statement Meaningful Teachers and Staff Members Situation A newly merged school board has created a new mission statement. Each school staff member has been asked to look at this mission statement and work to make it real in the local school. Rational Aim To understand the underlying meaning of the mission state- ment. Experiential Aim To own the mission statement and be a part of the team it belongs to. Hints The interpretive questions will get boring if they do not go really fast. It is asking the same question over and over. Treat it as one question with a few follow-through ones that are only used if necessary. Other Applications This conversation can be used to discuss values, princi- ples, or vision as well. Opening Have the mission statement written and visible to all participants Would volunteers from the group each read a section from the mission statement? What words or phrases stand out for you? What visual images are triggered or pictures come to your mind as you see and hear this read? What part of this is really exciting? Scary? Demanding? Right on target? Confusing? What word or phrase of this strikes you as the most powerful? What do these statements of our mission look like in real life, in our day-to-day operations? How do these statements affect our work? How do we play them out in day to day activities? When you see these being acted out, what do you see? What does this tell us about who we are as an organization, as educators, or as a group? What implications does this have for our actions in the future? Which part or parts of this are you personally most committed to? Closing This mission statement has taken on new life for me, and I hope for all of us.

148 Planning Curriculum Teachers and Staff Members Situation There is a new curriculum guideline out for Social Science. It describes expec- tations and has some lesson suggestions, but does not designate exactly how to do the curriculum. All of the teachers affected by the guideline are meeting to plan together how to implement the curriculum. They will do com- mon lesson plans to ensure all students in the school have the same opportunities, and so that teachers can share resources. Rational Aim A comprehensive curriculum plan ready for lesson plans. Experiential Aim Experience the strength of teamwork Hints At the objective level, putting the curriculum sections and key concepts on a graphic on the wall will be very import- ant for continued reference throughout the conversation. Cards, each with a separate idea, will be useful, as they can be moved around to group and sequence the topics. Opening We ve got two hours to discuss the social science guidelines and flesh out what they mean for our curriculum plan. Let s make sure we understand what is asked for here. As you flip though this, what are the sections of this curriculum? Looking at this curriculum section by section, what are the key concepts in each section? What images come to your mind as you read this? What would be fun to teach? What makes you uncomfortable? What are the enduring understandings that we want students to come away with? What are some ways we can organize these concepts to teach them effectively? How shall we group and sequence the topics? What blocks of time do we need to accomplish these objectives? At what times during the school year? What materials will we need? What materials can we use? Who will do the lesson plans for each time block? What is our next step? Closing Thank you, everybody, for your insight. I m so glad we have such different gifts and perspectives. The students are going to really benefit from this curriculum.

149 Improving Parent-Teacher Interview Evenings Teachers and Staff Members Situation Teachers in a large city high school have expressed con- cerns about parent-teacher interview evenings. At a staff meeting, the principal takes time to listen to teachers and facilitate the creation of a solution to the problems. Rational Aim To understand the issues involved in the parent-teacher interview evenings. To develop a plan for the remaining meetings sched- uled for this year. Experiential Aim To struggle with the conflicting interests of all involved in par- ent-teacher interviews. To feel ownership of the plan developed. Opening This conversation will help us decide about the format of parent- teacher interviews. We have recently experienced two parent- teacher interview evenings. Think back to those two evenings. What words or phrases come to mind to describe what you saw and heard at the last interviews? What caught your attention? What types of parents were there? What was your first response to these evenings? What excited you? What frustrated you about them? What concerns do you have about parent-teacher interviews? What are some of the root issues behind our concerns? What are the implications of these issues for our school? Which of these are the most important? Why? Which of these issues must be dealt with first? Why? What actions or ways of organizing the evening would make them more helpful or effective? What changes do we need to make? What are some of the things we can do to solve the problems? Closing Let me try to sum up. We agree that -state the decision.(

150 Identifying Issues as Input to a Collaborative Plan Teachers and Staff Members Situation The business roundtable of the Chamber of Commerce and an educational foundation want to find ways to assist new charter schools to build on effective business prac- tices and become financially viable. Roundtable members plan to hold a conversation with the leadership of each school. The results will be used to plan a joint retreat to plan how to improve the schools management. Rational Aim To identify underlying financial and management issues of the school. To have some suggestions for the content of the retreat. Experiential Aim To experience having wisdom and input into what is needed. To experience support and morale-building from external advisors. Hints It would be wise to write the answers to the objective question on a flip chart or blackboard to provide a visual, external reference point. This process can use a consensus workshop at the interpretive level to identify underlying issues. See the appendix and bibliography for a description of this method. Opening The purpose of this conversation is to get an idea of what business practices you can use help with to improve your school s management. Let s begin with introductions: What is your name, position, and something you appreciate about this school? Let s start our conversation by sharing a bit about your concerns. What are some of the specific financial and management arenas you spend your time on? Which ones demand the most time? Which ones are the most complex? Which ones are very closely related? Which seem to be going well? Which are giving you difficulty? Considering all these different arenas, what specific answers do you have to this question: What are the financial or management issues we need to solve in order to thrive? Which of these point to similar underlying issues? How would you name these underlying issues? Which ones, if Looking at these, what implications do you see? Where might collaboration with the business community and with other charter schools help? Which issues could you take on yourselves? Closing Once our group meets with all the schools, our plan is to come together for a management retreat. Which would you prefer: to spend one day to clarify one issue or to spend two days creating a solid plan to deal with all of these issues?

151 Understanding a Policy and Resource Guide Teachers and Staff Members Situation A resource person has been asked to provide information and guidelines on school- based decision-making (SBDM) to about thirty school leaders. Rational Aim To know the major elements of provincial SBDM policy and the relationship between the Resource Guide and SBDM policy. Experiential Aim To have a sense of the impor- tance of SBDM in each work situation. Hints This is a brief conversation. It is designed to enable a group to gain an overall image of material quickly. Deeper con- versation can take place after this quick overview discus- sion. This kind of conversation can be used to replace or enhance a presentation. This kind of conversation can be used with a large group if the questions through the interpretive level are discussed in conversations around small groups, then shared with the whole group. This requires careful planning of time to allow the small groups to work, yet share peri- odically with the large group for wider insights. Other Applications This conversation can be rewritten to fit other new poli- cies or written initiatives. Opening Welcome. Let s go around the table and introduce ourselves: give your name and one question you have about SBDM. Here are some resources. The package of materials contains the provincial SBDM policy and key parts of the Resource Guide, including the table of contents and the question and answer section. What are the major requirements spelled out in the written policy? Skimming the Resource Guide table of contents, what topics catch your attention? As you skim the question and answer section, what catches your attention? What parts do you find most interesting? Which parts intrigue you? What information here do you find helpful to know? What links do you see between the policy elements and the Resource Guide? What are ways you might use this information in your work? What is one new idea you have from looking at this material? How does it relate to your role in the school, jurisdiction or school council? How might you use the Resource Guide in your role? If you had two minutes to explain SBDM policy to someone else who was not in this session, what would you say? Closing What additional information do you need to know about SBDM as a result of this session?

152 Sharing a Quarterly Team Progress Repor Teachers and Staff Members Situation A dispersed, district-wide spe- cial project team has quarterly progress report meetings. Rational Aim To have clarity on progress since last meeting. To have appropriate plans for future action. Experiential Aim To deal with anxieties and build team confidence. Hints You can use a pre-printed report form designed accord- ing to the conversation meth- od to enable participants reflection. Before the meeting, each person fills out a simple team report form and brings it to the meeting (see the report form in Chapter 10). Get brief, bullet-point answers from each person. Move quickly. Be sure everyone par- ticipates. Appoint a reporter. Opening To begin this meeting, let s share what has happened this quarter. First we ll go around the group and get one answer from each team member, and then we ll open it up for additional comments from anybody. What has happened since the last time we met? Think of accomplishments, events, and activities related to our task. How many people have been involved? What is going well in your work? What struggles or difficulties have you encountered? Looking to the future, what are one or two chief challenges we face in continuing to work on this project? What actions do you suggest to deal with our challenges? What are key actions we intend to take? Who will be responsible for each? Closing I think we should do something to celebrate our progress and our future. Let s have a treat and toast the future.

153 Reflecting on a Writing Team s Work Teachers and Staff Members Situation A group has worked hard to revise the teacher evaluation guide. Afterwards they reflect on their work together and the product they have created, in order to decide how best to use it. Rational Aim To identify ways to introduce and implement the use of the revised guide. Experiential Aim To experience their work affirmed. Opening Let s review the work we ve done and figure out where to go from here. If you were a newspaper reporter, how would you describe the steps we went through today What about our work do you feel best about? Where did we struggle the most? How will the product, with our proposed revisions, compare to the previous one? What are its strengths? What weaknesses can you see? How will it be used? How will it make a difference? What can be done to ensure the revised guide is used effectively? What are the next steps? Closing Thank you for your effort!

154 Talking through Roles and Responsibilities Teachers and Staff Members Situation Experienced and beginning teachers in a school district have spent an in-service day planning projects together in mentor and prot Opening Now that you have planned your next projects, let s talk a bit to compare insights between teams. What did you plan today? What scenes, phrases or events stand out for you? From your work today, what are some of the major tasks of the mentor in your project? What are some major tasks of the prot What are you excited about doing? What part of the work ahead seems like a heavy burden? In a sentence, what would be a job description for your project for the prot What is the first action you have planned in your project? When is the date of your first meeting? What other support will assist you to successful completion of the project? Closing Your work together is going to make a big difference for our students learning. Thank you very much.

155 Determining Staff Development Needs Teachers and Staff Members Situation A principal needs to work with staff members to determine their in-service needs. Rational Aim To gather recommendations for in-service training events Experiential Aim To create anticipation and motivation for in-service train- ing events. Opening One of my tasks this week is to arrange our in-service schedule, and I wanted to make sure I understand what you need. What are some of the program issues or changes that concern you? I will write these on the board. What other needs have you noted in the area of program? Curriculum? I ll write them on the board as well. What points do you need clarified regarding these issues? Which items seem like they ll be easiest to deal with? Which items present the greatest challenges? What is already in place that could help you to deal with these issues? Are any of these issues similar or connected in any way? What are some of the possible teaching strategies to use in dealing with these issues? What experience do staff members have in dealing with these issues? What do you think would be the best approach to address some of these concerns? Which of these is best addressed in an in-service session? Which of these teaching strategies is the most immediate need? How can it be addressed in an in-service training session? Who needs to be involved? Where would be a good place to start? What other help might you need? What else can we do to assist you? Closing This has not only given us an in-service program, but it has given us other ways to address our development needs. It is a pleasure to work with you! I ll get back to you with the schedule as it works out.

156 Assessing Need for Staff Development in a School Visi Teachers and Staff Members Situation A program support person from the school board office is visiting principals to determine staff development needs. She conducts this focused conver- sation in a half-hour meeting with each principal, taking notes as the principal talks. Rational Aim To gather prioritized needs for staff development. To know what support is need- ed from the board. Experiential Aim To enable the principal to feel supported and heard. To take responsibility for deal- ing with needs. Hints In a one-on-one conversation, these questions may have to be asked more informally. Pick and choose the appropri- ate ones for each level. Opening I want to take a few minutes with you to get your thinking on staff development needs in your school this year, so we can plan how to support you. What are some of the program concerns that your staff members have expressed? What other needs have you noted? Which items strike you as easiest to deal with? Which items present the greatest challenges? What is already in place that could help you to deal with these issues? What other questions do you have about these issues? Are any of these issues connected in any way? What are some of the possible strategies for dealing with these issues? Which staff members have experience in dealing with similar issues? What do you think would be the best approach to take in addressing some of these concerns? What resources do you need to assist you in dealing with these concerns? What is the most immediate need to deal with? Who needs to be involved? How will you start? How can I best help your school s needs for staff development? Closing Thank you for your time. We will use your input and that of other principals to focus our staff development programs.

157 Deciding What Course Material to Purchase for a Language Program Teachers and Staff Members Situation An elementary school has made a priority focus on literacy over the next few years. Although resources are limited, they have decided to spend some money on upgrading their reading and language resource materi- als. At a staff meeting, the resource teacher is leading staff in a discussion of what to buy. Rational Aim To establish criteria for pur- chasing resource materials, and to decide on next steps. Experiential Aim To experience responsibility as a group for making a diffi- cult decision. Other Applications Not only can you use this conversation for other curric- ulum material decisions, but also for making other difficult financial decisions, with some adaptation. Opening As you know, we have a priority this year on better reading skills. This is just the beginning of improving literacy resources in the school. What materials are you presently using in your classroom? What other resources are available in the school? What other resources do you know about that we don t have? What do you like about our current resources? What do you dislike about them? What other materials would be helpful? How effective have our current materials been? How have they been helpful? What impresses you about those you like? What student needs are not being met in this area? What does this tell us about what we are missing and what we need? What are the basic criteria we need to use in evaluating potential resources? If we have limited funds, what would be your priorities? Are there any specific materials these values suggest? What do we recommend we acquire with our limited budget? What should we do next? Closing I think we have some good direction for us to move toward increasing our reading resources in an effective manner. Thank you for your time.

158 Identifying Educational Trends Teachers and Staff Members Situation A large conference of educa- tors tries small group conver- sations as an inspiring way to start a plenary session on the future of education. People are sitting at round tables of eight to ten people. Rational Aim To identify trends in education. To wrestle with the future of education. Experiential Aim To sense that they are responsible for the future of education. Opening Let s take a little time to have small group conversations about trends in education. Each table has a sheet of questions. Choose a facilitator and answer the questions in order, so that we have a shared experience as a whole group. At the end each table will be asked to share a few insights, so you will also want to have someone take notes on the conversation. Let s go around the table. Give your name and your role in education in the past five years. What are some trends, innovations, or new directions in education that you have seen or experienced recently? Where have you been excited about the trends in education? What worries you about some of the trends? How have your images of teaching shifted in the last ten years? What are your images of education for this century? What do you want to see in the future? What major concerns do you have when you think about education? What can we do to encourage the positive trends and discourage the negative trends? What does the future of education depend on? Closing Each group is asked to share an insight or two with the whole group.

159 Inspiring Effective Teaching Teachers and -Staff Members Situation Before the school year begins, the principal of an elementary school brings his staff togeth- er to inspire them to think about teaching students in a holistic way. Rational Aim To articulate the qualities of an effective human being in today s world. Experiential Aim To inspire participants about effective teaching. Hints Taking the time to reflect on inspiring topics canener- gize people and make their work more effective. Opening As we teach, we are models to our students whether we like it or not. Let s take a few minutes to think about some people who were models for us. Let s go around the table, and each person name a teacher you will never forget. What did you learn from that teacher? How did you learn it? Now, go beyond the usual category of teachers. Who are the people you think back to (or dialogue with) when you need help or inspiration? What do you find yourself copying or learning from these people? What are some of the elements of their success? What is it that enables them to be effective? What did they do to develop these qualities? What can we do to increase our own effectiveness? What can we do to develop the effectiveness of our students as human beings? Closing We want to keep this in mind as we prepare our students to be effective human beings.

160 Planning Staff Development for Working with School Community Councils Teachers and Staff Members Situation Teachers in a school have been given a document on implementing school community advisory councils. Some teachers are concerned about the changes required of them, as parents become more active. The principal decides to have a conver- sation with staff as an item on the staff meeting agenda, about what professional development would be useful to ease the implementation. Rational Aim To explore the document on school community councils. To provide some input about professional development to the implementing team. Experiential Aim To experience some feeling of interdependence. To feel valued. Opening The purpose of this conversation is to provide input to the Board about professional development to work with school community councils. Let s focus on the document for a few minutes to be sure we understand it. What are the section headings for this document? What does the document say is the mandate of school community councils? What does the document say the membership should be? What does it say about the group s start-up, and the duration in office? What does it say are the functions of other parent groups? What excites you about the opportunity to get involved? What frightens you? What skills do you already possess that will facilitate implementation? What is your past experience with our school s parent groups? What words in the document need further clarification? In what parts of this program will there be a need for professional development? What skills do you need to develop? How would they best be developed? With whom should they be developed? What recommendations do you have about topics for professional development? What do we need further training on? When should training take place? Who will help take these recommendations forward? Closing We will make sure that the implementing team has the results of this conversation. Thank you.

161 Reflecting on Effective Learning at a Principals Conference Principals Situation A new superintendent in a city school district has called a meeting of principals. This meeting represents a significant shift in agenda and format for these principals. They are accustomed to sitting and listening to the superintendent transmit information with little time for questions and answers and no time for discussion and dialogue. As a result, this is the first opportunity for many of the principals to talk and get acquainted. Prior to the conversation, the principals are engaged in an icebreaker to set the stage for the conversation. Rational Aim To get to know other principals in a more informal setting than usual. To engage in a dialogue about learning with their peers. To identify groups based on areas of interest in education for future dialogue. Experiential Aim To value the time spent in dialogue and making new connections. To begin to trust their new superintendent. Hints For a group larger than 20 or 25 people, the first three levels of conversation could be done in small groups, then shared with the group before the decisional questions. Other Applications This conversation leads to small groups that can contin- ue to work on their decisions. This conversation can be use- ful for any other topic where the formation of small groups is part of the aim. Opening Let s think a little about what enables effective learning. We all have wisdom and that would be helpful to others. What contributes to learning in your school? What specific examples can you share from your experience? What are some different factors you have observed that no one has mentioned yet? What is it about learning that you are most passionate? What intrigues you about learning? What are the greatest challenges to real learning that you see around you? Which of these elements of learning are the most important? Which of these elements of learning have the most impact for the learners in your school? What do you do, as a principal, which contributes to these elements of learning? What is it about learning that you want to focus on? What areas of interest related to learning would you like to continue to dialogue about? (Write the list on a flip chart.) Which areas would you like to sign up to do more work on? If those people who have signed up for a particular area form a small group, we can continue to dialogue in small groups. Who will help convene the group for each area of interest? Closing We will continue our dialogue in a similar fashion throughout the year.

162 Understanding a Regional Structure and its Benefits Teachers and Staff Members Situation Six regional consortia for pro- fessional development have been established. The person responsible for the project needs to familiarize all direc- tors and senior managers in the department of education with the concept. Forty people have come to a meeting. Rational Aim To become familiar with the purpose of the regional con- sortia for professional devel- opment To know how the regional consortia might benefit par- ticipants in their curriculum work, student evaluations, and implementation of the core goals and values of their departments. Experiential Aim To appreciate the practical ben- efit of the regional consortia. Hints If small groups are going to come up with common results, it is important that they all follow the same process. The questions may be written on an overhead or flip chart, or printed and put on each table. Another short conversation with the whole group on what they ve heard from the small groups may pull together the whole group s learnings and create consensus. Opening This meeting is to make sure all of you understand the purpose of the regional consortia, and can see how they might benefit your work. Let s talk first in groups of five so that we all have a chance to speak. We will start with this newsletter, which describes the facts of the program. Each group will use the same questions, so that all groups have a similar conversation. Here is the newsletter and a sheet with the following questions. Take a few minutes to read it. Who is involved in each of the regional consortia? What is their stated purpose? What is their structure? What worries or challenges come to mind as you imagine this initiative playing out? What positive potential can you see? What positive potential can you see? How can the regional consortia benefit professional development? How can they affect the parent councils? How will they improve work in the classroom and the students? How will they affect your own work? What can we do to contribute to their success? Closing Will each small group please share their key insights with the whole group?

163 Setting the Context for Planning School Board Members Situation A school board has set aside a full day to begin preparing goals for the next three years. The board and its senior administrators are having a conversation to prepare for their goal setting exercise. Rational Aim To raise awareness about the events and trends which have shaped the school district. To consider the potential of this day to affect the future of the district. Experiential Aim To awaken a sense of fascina- tion with the district s eventful history. To evoke optimism among participants grounded in a his- tory of accomplishment. Hints If time allows, invite partici- pants to respond to the first question by telling a brief story about their involvement in or knowledge of events described. An individual school that is preparing to develop school goals can use the same con- versation. Opening We have committed this day to the beginning the process of goal setting for our school district. When we set goals, we are deliberately forecasting the future of our organization. The responsibility for planning is best carried out by the team that provides leadership to an organization. For a school district, at the heart of that team is the school board and the senior administrators. As we begin this process, we should be mindful of the rich history of our school district. If we had time, we might cover a wall with a timeline filled with important events, and then reflect on the trends that have made us who we are today. To make the best use of our limited time today, we will instead reflect on our history in a conversation, and consider the implications for the future. When was this district founded? What are some of the key events that you can remember from the history of our school district? What changes have taken place in our enrollment levels? When have we made important changes to our programs or facilities? When did changes in personnel affect us? When did you personally first become involved with our school district? What do you remember about those times when we have made progress? Where have we struggled? What do you associate with those struggles? If we were to divide our history into chapters, where would you divide the chapters? What would you call these chapters? What new vantage point does this discussion give us on our school district s progress? What does this conversation tell us about who we are and where we are going? How has this conversation helped prepare us for our school district s planning exercise? Closing Thank you for your memory, wisdom, and insight. This makes me very proud to be a part of this school district, and full of positive anticipation for the future.

164 Debriefing an Intensive Brainstorming Session Parents and Staff Members Situation Seventy-five parents and staff of a School Planning Committee of a province-wide education association are finishing an intense three-hour session, in which they have done workshops in small, self-selected groups on how they can help school councils or committees. At the end they need to do a focused conversation to bring all their experiences together. Hints This conversation can be used to debrief any tough session. Opening Let s quickly reflect on our experience today. What did we hear, see and do this morning? (Two to five word impressions) Where did you laugh? Where did you feel hopeful? What parts caused you anxiety or concern? If you were to do this session over, what would you add? What would you leave out? What was the value of this session for you? What is one thing you ll do to follow this up at your school? Closing Thank you for your incredible wisdom and commitment.

165 Making a Mid-Course Correction of an Action Plan Teachers and Parents Situation At the beginning of the year, a group of parents and teach- ers set an ambitious plan to reorganize the classes in the school. It is now January, and the government has imposed new priorities, which demand attention in a different area. People are beginning to ques- tion why they should continue reorganization at all. Rational Aim To develop a realistic revised action plan to deal with the changes to the situation. To identify next steps required in order to complete the revised action plan. Experiential Aim To relieve guilt and pressure on the group. To experience renewed com- mitment to a more appropriate plan. Opening We want to see where we are on the implementation of our action plan. Look at our original plan. What have we completed already? What has happened since we started implementing this plan What concerns you about the implementation of our plan? What do you still feel is important? What parts or elements of this plan need to be completed as we designed them? For example, what still seems to be on track, or are very high priority activities that would not be wise to let go. Which parts of the plan need to be reconsidered? What impact does completing this plan have on the new government priorities? Which parts are most critical to complete? Given that we are limited in time and resources, now that we have additional priorities, which parts can we reasonably complete? What new elements do we need to add to our plan? What do we need to include in our revised plan? What steps can we take to ensure completion of our goal? Set up an outline of what to include. When will we need another mid-course check? Closing Tremendous. Let s get going!

166 Discussing Implications of New Performance Standards with Staff Teachers and Staff Members Situation A school district staff meeting is discussing how to imple- ment the newly mandated performance standards and benchmark exams. The changes are controversial, but there is no choice but to implement them. Rational Aim To thoroughly understand the implications of implementing the mandated performance standards and benchmark exams. Experiential Aim To develop the commitment to address concerns and to make the changes work Hints Notice the smaller series of objective, reflective, and interpretive questions within the objective level. The first question is objective, the sec- ond two are reflective, and the last four are interpretive. This sequence ensures that the group has digested the infor- mation before going on. This conversation may be followed later with the one on page 133 with parents. Opening Next year our instruction will be modeled around performance standards and benchmark exams. Let s think through ahead of time what the parents and teachers possible questions, concerns, objections, and criticisms about this process might be. Then we can answer the questions ourselves. After we have thought through possible objections, we can work with teachers and parents to address them and make the mandate work to the students benefit. Let us review for ourselves the features of teaching the performance standards and having benchmark exams, starting with a fact paper describing the changes. What words or phrases stand out? What do you need to have clarified? What worries you? What pleases you? What are the main points? What ideas and innovations could come from teaching this way? How does it differ from the current method of instruction and evaluation? What does this method of instruction and evaluation NOT do? As you think of implementing these exams, what makes the hair on your neck rise? What potential vulnerabilities do you see? What potential benefits do you see? Why do you think the Department of Education and the Legislature have decided to require these exams? What will parents and students be thinking as they see these changes implemented? What specific questions will they want to ask? What particular objections can you hear them raising? How can we address these concerns and make this mandate work to the benefit of students? What suggestions do you have for how we might go about it? What is our next step? Closing This conversation can better prepare us and our school district to address the concerns, objections, and obstacles that parents and teachers present when confronted with performance standards and the benchmark exams.

167 Exploring the Implications of Performance Standards with Families Parents and Community Situation The intention is to talk with the community in a major effort of faculty and aides to visit the families and discuss the benchmark tests. Each faculty member will be assigned one or more families, which will make it possible for a contact person to coordinate visits for all the siblings at the school. Rational Aim To ensure that families under- stand the performance stan- dards and the possible impact on their children. To gather ideas on how to assist students. Experiential Aim To build trust between families and the school. To relieve anxiety about per- formance standards. Hints These two conversations may be followed later with others specific to identified problems. Opening Here is an outline of the upcoming changes (give the handout). Take a few minutes to read this. I ll let you look it over, and then we can talk. What are the key facts about the recent changes requiring a high school exit exam and benchmark exams? What concerns do you or your family have regarding this new practice? What do you like about it? Why do you think the schools and the Department of Education think this is so important? How might these new tests affect your family? What are some of the things the community and school can do to help in preparing kids for these exams? Closing This conversation can better prepare our community to address the concerns, objections or obstacles present when confronted with performance standards and the benchmark exams.

168 Reflecting on a Year-long Study Group Parents and Teachers Situation A study group of parents and teachers has been meeting regularly through the school year. Attendance is begin- ning to drop off as spring approaches, and they decide to review their reasons for existence. Rational Aim To review goals and ideas. Experiential Aim To identify common goals and directions and record them. Opening Let s review reasons for the group to clarify direction. Why did you join the group? What goals did you have when you joined? How do you feel now about this group? How do you feel you ve grown? How has the group helped you? What have been opportunities you ve experienced? What have you enjoyed? What would you say has been the most worthwhile aspect of this group? What s been least helpful? What goals have been met? What would you like to see happen in future? What direction do you sense from the group? What do we need to do over next few months? Who will take on which tasks? Closing Who will record our findings for the next meeting?

169 Making Communication Effective in Groups 77 Assigning Projects to New Facilitators Parents and Community Situation A school board committed to community participation has created an ad hoc group of facilitators. A list of proj- ects needing facilitation has already been identified. The projects need to be assigned so work can begin. Rational Aim To enable the facilitators to identify their strengths and interest, and choose their proj- ects accordingly. Experiential Aim To empower the group to choose their initial projects. Opening Going around the table, let s each introduce ourselves with our name and a bit about our expertise, strengths, and interests. Looking at the list of facilitation projects, what projects catch your attention? As you look at the list, which projects excite you? Which ones frighten you? Which projects need more attention? What is it about the projects that worry you? What makes you more comfortable with certain other projects? What additional information do you require about any of the projects? What suggestions do you have to alleviate your fears about these projects? What method could we use to choose our projects? Using this method, who will do which project? How can we support each other to make working on these projects a pleasant and productive experience? Closing We ll make sure these assignments are written up, and that we schedule a time to meet again as a team to check on our progress.

170 Gathering Feedback on Proposed Sex Education Curriculum Parents and Community Situation A large urban school board has created a new draft cur- riculum on human sexuality for grades seven to nine. They have consulted with a broad spectrum of passionate inter- ests, but need to get specific feedback from a diverse rep- resentation of stakeholders before moving to a final draft. About fifty people have come to an evening meeting. After opening with an overview on the whole process, they have been divided into small groups, one for each theme or subtopic. Facilitators are guid- ing each small, diverse group. A writing group will take lists of recommendations from this meeting and weave them into the new draft. Each small group facilita- tor leads their small group through the following conver- sation. Rational Aim To have a range of recom- mendations and suggestions for the final draft of the human sexuality curriculum. Experiential Aim To experience having been heard. Hints For such a hot topic, the facil- itators have to be prepared to be both open to a wide diversity of answers, and firm to guard the process. Naming the steps of the process at the beginning can give the group a structure for their participa- tion. (For example, objective: data, getting clear on the doc- ument itself; reflective: initial reactions; interpretive: getting out the underlying significance and implications; decisional: making recommendations.) Setting out participation guide- lines will allow the facilitator to return to them to keep people on track. You may want to restate working assumptions and clarify the facilitators roles (i.e., the facilitator has no opinions while they are facilitating, we use a process to make sure that the whole group gets to its objective, etc.). The facilitator may also need to restate the theme and the product (rational aim) of the small group work. Participants may want to argue with each other s views. The facilitator needs to get all the perspectives out without allowing arguing. This conversation does not assume that the group comes to agreement on recommen- dations, only that they are discussed thoroughly and list- ed. Recommendations in this case can include more than one perspective or opinion. If pulling together one statement is difficult for the group to agree on, skip this step and take several recommenda- tions forward. We will give this whole list to the writing team. If we can do this quickly, it may be helpful to give them some priorities from our perspective. From our list of recommendations, which would we say are most important? What have you heard us saying the most strongly as a group? Closing The writing team will take our recommendations and those of the rest of the groups, and will use them to refine the curriculum. Let s go back to the large group. Opening Let me outline the process that will be used. Let s go around with quick introductions What words or phrases stick out for you? What are the key points the curriculum makes in each section? We ll go through it section by section. What questions do you have about what the document means? Where does something in this document trigger an experience you ve had? What parts of the curriculum do you like best? Which parts are you concerned about? Why are you concerned about these parts? What are the implications of this curriculum for students growth and development? What values or principles do you see included in this document? Give a concrete example from the document. What recommendations do we want to suggest to the writing team? What other values or principles would you include in the curriculum? What other information would you add to the curriculum? What other changes would you suggest? What resources would you add to the bibliography? Anything we ve left out? (continued)

171 Establishing A Parent Advisory Council Parents and Community Situation The Education Department for all schools has mandated parent or community advisory councils (PACs). The principal has invited some active par- ents to think about how they can organize a successful council. Rational Aim To establish a strong support- ive parent advisory council with at least a twenty-member turnout for monthly meetings. Experiential Aim To have willing, committed participants and volunteers in school life and activities. Opening Let s look at this article on How to Organize Successful Parent Advisory Committees . Take a little time to look the article over. What do you see in this paper that catches your attention? What key words or phrases jump out at you? What does the paper say about why parents get involved in PAC s? What does it say about why parents don t get involved? What past memories, experiences or feelings do you have with advisory groups? What positive experiences have you had? Negative experiences? What angers or excites parents about working with schools? What do parents worry about? What opportunities do parents see? What would a strong PAC do? What results would we want from it? How can we increase the awareness of parents and community? What are the benefits of a strong PAC to parents? To students? To the school? To the community? Why is it important to develop a strong PAC? How can we increase awareness of parents & community in the PAC? How do we make PAC membership a priority to parents? What are our first steps in forming a PAC? Who is going to do what? Closing Let s check back with each other in a week s time to see how we re doing.

172 Establishing a Community Advisory Council A school has decided to establish a Community Advisory Council (CAC). A small group of parents and staff is exploring how to get it started. Rational Aim To explore the benefits of having a Community Advisory Council. To develop an action plan to establish a Council. Experiential Aim To generate excitement and trust. Hints Although this conversation is on a similar topic as the one about starting a parent advis ory council, it starts with a different concrete beginning point. You can compare the two conversations to see how a different starting point affects the discussion. How would you describe the characteristics of our school? How is it unique? What are its gifts? How are community members participating in the school? What is motivating about being involved? What frustrations need to be identified? What has been working well with the current community involvement? Why do people choose to become involved? Where do you see a CAC fitting into the system? What would it do? What issues could it help with? What do you see as the role of the CAC What do we need to do to get started? Who will do these things? Closing I m glad we re finally on the road to getting this done. Thank you, everyone, for your time and creativity.

173 Editing a School Pamphlet The School Community Council needs to revise the school profile pamphlet that is given to students every year. Rational Aim To identify key areas of the profile that need to be updat ed. To make a decision about what changes to make. Experiential Aim To be excited about making changes and contributing ideas to the school profile. As you are aware, one of our tasks of the School Community Council is to produce a school profile As you look at the pamphlet, what are the major sections? How would you describe the general layout of the pamphlet? As you read through the pamphlet what are some main words or phrases that get your attention? How does the layout strike you? What part really grabs your attention? Which part doesn t hold your attention? Who are we really trying to reach? How will it be used? What does the profile presently communicate to you? What else does it need to communicate? What shifts in our situation need to be communicated? What new information do we want to get across? What changes might accomplish this? What changes are most important? Why? What have you heard our members say are the key areas to deal with first? What is our next step in making these changes? Closing This is an important step. Thank you for your help.

174 Unblocking Poor Parent Involvemen The Parent Advisory Council is in despair because fewer and fewer parents come to every meeting. A small group is taking on more and more essential functions. The coun cil is faltering. Rational Aim To create options for increas ing involvement. Experiential Aim To encourage parents to stay involved. Hints The objective data is hard to get here, because parents who are not showing up may not have spoken to anyone. It is important to actually find people and ask their opinions, or you will only be operating out of interpreta tions from other people. To achieve breakthrough, you need objective data to solve the problems that really exist. Before this conversation takes place, you may need to have people call other parents who have come in the past and no longer participate to ask them the questions, and then add them to the group s answers. We want to focus on what we should do to get parents interested in the Parent Advisory Council for the school. Let us review what has brought us to this point. What background data do we have? How long has the organization been operating? How many members do we have? What is the membership potential? How many parents showed up for our biggest meeting? The smallest? What were the topics discussed in these meetings? How have we invited people to meetings? How do parents find out about the meetings? What comments have you heard from parents about these meetings? What draws parents to the meetings? What activities have generated the most involvement? What invitation strategies have worked most effectively? What parts of involvement in the PAC are really energizing? What is the most frustrating part of involvement in the advisory council for you? For other parents? What are we looking for in the area of parent involvement? What factors prevent us from generating the kind of parent involvement we want? What can we do to involve more parents? Which change shall we pursue first? Who will do it? Closing We ll begin as soon as possible to implement these.

175 Reflecting on a Survey A parent council has distribut ed a survey on school safety. The results have been tabulat ed, and they are considering the results at a parent council meeting. Rational Aim To make decisions about priority needs, based on the survey. To explore options for actions to address identified priorities. Experiential Aim To develop trust in each other and the commitment to work together for change based on common concerns. Here are the actual survey results. Take a moment to skim through them. What results here catch your attention? What points of this report do you need more information on? When you heard the results, what experiences came to your mind? Which survey comments sound most familiar? Which are unexpected or surprising? What are the key issues or concerns raised? Which of these items is the most important? Why? What are some things that we can do to deal with these issues? Which of these actions are the most important? What are our next steps? Who will do them? Closing Thank you. Let s go to our next agenda item.

176 Focusing the Purpose of a Parenting Workshop Rational Aim To focus the group s expec tations. Experiential Aim To have the group experience its creativity and wisdom. A group of parents has come to a workshop on positive par enting. The facilitator wants to set the purpose and the agen da in a participatory way. Let s go around the room, giving your name, and one thing you would like to gain from this workshop on positive parenting. Are there any other things you would like to work on? What excites you about the positive parenting idea? What worries you about this topic? What have you heard the group name as some common goals we have for this workshop? Which of these common goals would you make a high priority? Which of these goals are you personally committed to? What are our next steps? Closing Your thoughts have helped me choose which elements to focus on in this course. Let s move into our first exercise.

177 Talking through Misbehaviour with Preschool Children Students Talking through misbehavior with preschool children This morning a mother had a real fight with her preschool ers on their way to school. She wants to talk it through with them, since they were all upset and they don t want it to happen again. Rational Aim To identify an area of difficulty in cooperating. To begin to think about ways of solving this difficulty. Experiential Aim To resolve to change their behavior. We need to talk about what happened this morning. What things happened before we went to the school this morning? What did mommy s face look like this morning? Make a face like that. What did your face look like? Make a face like that. Interpretive Questions What made mommy mad? What made you mad? Why do you think this happened? What should we do differently tomorrow? Closing I m really glad we can solve problems like this so we don t have to have them again. (Big hug.)

178 Conversation after a Playground Figh Certain students have been trained to intervene in peer conflicts on the playground. A fight has just happened and an older student is handling the situation. Rational Aim To understand what caused the fight and have a plan for solving future problems. Experiential Aim To experience that the situa tional problem is resolved. To be confident about han dling similar situations in the future. Hints Of course, you will have to substitute the real behavior that students report in their answers to the objective questions in the reflective questions. Let s see if we can work this out. Stacey, tell me in your view what happened? Brenda, now you tell me what happened. How did you feel when she called you names? How do you think she felt when you hit her? Why do you think this happened? What are some of the reasons for both of your actions? What can you do differently if this happens again? What can we do now to get back to what we were doing before this problem? Closing All right. Let s try to have some fun.

179 Increasing Understanding of Sexual Harassmen A high school counsellor is meeting with small groups of students to talk through social issues and how to deal with them. Rational Aim To bring each participant to an understanding of sexual harassment. Experiential Aim To be able to recognize and act when seeing sexual harassment. Hints The second conversation in the closing is a good one to process the experience of the main conversation, when it has been long or difficult. It can be left out if the main con versation is short. First let me read a definition of sexual harassment. What is sexual harassment in your own words? What actually happens in a situation of sexual harassment? What are some examples you ve seen either in real life or on TV? Put yourself in someone else s shoes for a moment. What worries you the most about sexual harassment? What images do you associate with a situation of sexual harassment? What are some effects of sexual harassment? What are some values in our society that foster sexual harassment? What can we do if we see sexual harassment happening? What can we do to prevent harassment from happening? Closing Let s reflect on our experience of this conversation. What words did you hear? What was interesting or frustrating? How are we different as a group because of this session? What did we learn? How will this change your behavior in situations of sexual harassment?

180 Improving Behavior on the School Bus A bus driver has stormed into the principal s office with a complaint about rowdy behavior on her bus that is endangering her driving. The principal has all the kids on the bus sit down together for a conversation. Rational Objective To enable students to under stand the consequences of their behavior. Experiential Aim To develop the capacity to consciously choose behavior. To be encouraged to monitor their own behavior responsibly. We need to talk about the behavior on the bus. What have you seen kids do on the school bus? What has the driver asked you not to do? What have you done? What is one thing that someone has done on the bus that makes you mad? What is something you ve done that made somebody else mad? What actions upset the driver? How does this bus behavior affect other students? How does it affect the way the bus driver drives? Why is this a problem? What choices can you make about your behavior on the bus? What can you do differently? What choices will you make? Closing We will talk again next week and see how things are going. I m looking to see how much better you can make this.

181 Solving a Conflict between Students The teacher has just broken up an escalating argument in her classroom. She wants to solve not just the current argument, but the pattern of conflict. Rational Aim To resolve the conflict between the two students. Experiential Aim To develop the ability to talk through conflict. Hints At the interpretive level, the answers may lead to other specific questions that cannot be anticipated. Follow the conversation, adding ques tions that probe a little deeper into the underlying issues, until it is time to move to the decisional level. Language will need to be made specific for each situation and age level. We are going to work out this problem together, so that we all feel comfortable. If we can t, I ll make the decision as to the consequences of your behavior. (Addressing each person, one at a time) Tell me, what is it you did? What did you say? Just use (To each person) What were you feeling when this happened? Did you have any other reactions? Let s get to the bottom of this. (To each person) What do you think she meant by that? Why do you think that? What are you discovering about why this happened? What can each of you do to clear this up (or resolve it) What do we need to make sure this doesn t happen again? Closing Let s go back to work.

182 Understanding Rude and Bullying Behavior Parents and the teacher of a grade four to six classroom are concerned about rude and bullying behavior between the students. One of the parents volunteers to facilitate the discussion. Rational Aim To understand what some of the reasons were for the behaviors. To get suggestions for what might be done about the issues from everyone. Experiential Aim To enable parents and stu dents to hear one another s views. Hints It is difficult in a potentially vol atile factionalized situation to have a parent from one of the factions facilitate. It will help to explain to everyone what the process is and why you are doing it this way (before and during the meeting). It is helpful to set some ground rules because of the intimidating aspect of having a whole lot of parents present. It helps if some of the more con fident kids speak up and have the support of their parents. We re going to talk for a while to see if we can sort out some problems that have been happening in the past few weeks. I m going to focus the discussion by asking some questions in a carefully planned order. Some ground rules: Everyone s idea is important. We are not looking to blame anyone. So let s get started. What are some of the things that are happening right now (both good and bad)? Let s get an answer from each person. What part of what s going on are you happy about? What upsets you? What worries you? Why are you worried? What are some of the reasons things are not going well? What can we do about these issues? Closing I would like you to turn to the person next to you before you leave and thank them for their participation. And thank you to all of you.

183 Discussing Peer Pressure with Students Seventh grade teachers in a junior high school decide to have conversations on social issues with students in their homeroom classes. The first conversation is on peer pres sure. Rational Aim To recognize the power peer pressure can have on an indi vidual. Experiential Aim To recognize the power stu dents have inside them to resist peer pressure. To understand their own exer tion of peer pressure on others. Hints You might give out the main objective questions all at once, give an example and let the group tell their stories as distinct units. They answer any or all of the questions. You will need to decide about questions and clarifications, because seventh graders will want details when friendships are involved. This could be long, but good. Let s talk about how friends and other students influence your decisions or actions. Think about a time when you were with a group of friends and had to make a decision. Objective Questions What was the situation? What were the choices? Where and when did it happen? Who was involved (no names needed)? What was said? What happened? What was the decision? What are similar experiences others have shared with you (no names needed)? When have you done something under the influence of others? What is a situation in which you have exerted pressure on a friend? How do you feel when someone or a group is trying to get you to do something? How have you reacted when you felt pressured? How do you think your pressure makes others feel and react? What part of dealing with peer pressure is hardest? What is easiest? Why do you think this pressure or influence is being exerted? What are some of the benefits that may result from pressure? What are the dangers? How do you deal with pressure from your friends and other people? What does it take to make responsible choices or your own decisions? What help do you need in order to make decisions? How can groups of youth make helpful decisions together? What can you do to resist pressure if that is what is necessary? How can you learn to recognize peer pressure? What can individuals do to lessen negative peer pressure on them? What do you plan to do about peer pressure in the future?

184 Discussing Discipline with a Student after a Confrontation A seventh grade student has just punched another student beside his locker. The hall supervisor collars the student and takes him to the office. The teacher then has a con versation with the student. Rational Objective To help the student create an alternative to aggressive behavior to deal with a difficult situation. Experiential Aim To enable the student to take responsibility for his own choices. OK, let s talk about what just happened. What happened, in sequence, please? What did you do? What did the other person do? Who else was involved? Who were the witnesses? How did you feel after you acted this way? How would you feel if someone did this to you? Where have you seen this behavior before? What do you think promoted or caused the negative behavior? What message does it send when you exhibit this kind of behavior? What message do you want other people to have from you? How could you have handled this differently? Who could you have discussed the problem with? When this situation comes up again, what can you do differently? What consequences should you pay if you repeat this kind of mistake? Closing You are a very capable person, and I m looking for some positive changes from you.

185 Debriefing a Major Trauma with Students or Staff A traumatic incident has just happened in a high school. The immediate incident is over, but students and staff are shaken and need to talk about what has happened. Students go to their home rooms for a conversation, led by the homeroom teacher. Rational Aim To talk about their personal experiences of the trauma. To face reality and begin to deal with it productively. Experiential Aim To move from shock to begin ning to come to terms with the situation. Hints Some of these questions are difficult to answer, so if there are few spoken answers, don t worry. The very fact of raising these questions and following this flow allows deeper reflec tion later. It may be helpful to print out the questions for the students to take with them for solitary, small group, or family reflection. This event has shaken all of us. Let s take a little time to reflect on what s happened, so we can come to terms with it. I m going to ask some questions that will help us gradually process what happened. I would like you to let everyone have their own answers Imagine you were a video camera recording what you saw happening. What actions, words, phrases, objects, and scenes are recorded on your tape? Let s get everything out so we all have a full picture of what happened. What shocked you about this incident? What was most frightening? What made you want to escape? How else did you find yourself reacting? Any place you wanted to cheer? Why do you think this happened? What might have been some other contributing factors? What impact does it have on you? How are you different now? How might we be different a year from now? What can we learn from this? What can we do to prevent this from happening again? Who else do you need to see or talk with? What can we do to help each other now? What can we do to symbolize how we changed or what we have learned? Closing We will undoubtedly continue to reflect on this. If you need help, please be sure to ask for it.

186 Debriefing a Conflict in Class At the end of the day, a teach er decides to reflect on the conflict that happened in class earlier, so students can use the event as a learning expe rience. Rational Aim To enable students to develop a meaningful story about what happened and to know how to go on peacefully after a conflict. Experiential Aim To enable students to respect each other s views. Remember when Jan and Mike got into a big fight earlier today? What words or phrases did you hear? What did you see? What part of this made you excited, angry, scared or worried? What did this remind you of? What is different in our class now? What story would you tell us about this event? What change is needed? How can we go on and make our class more peaceful? What is the first action we need to take? Closing We can learn from events that happen, even the ones we don t like, if we reflect on them.

187 Examining Underachievement of Ethnic Groups in School Trustees A study on underachievement of certain ethnic groups in a nearby urban school dis trict has been reported in a newspaper article. The race relations consultant decides to discuss the article with trust ees to catalyse some action in her school board. Rational Aim To understand the under achievement of ethnic groups and to arrive at a decision to deal with it. Experiential Aim To develop trust, understand ing and empathy. Hints Pass out the paper or article, and then give a few minutes for people to read it. Ask them to note key points. This will be a highly sensitive topic. Language and word usage will be very important. It is critical to establish an atmosphere of respect right away. Ensuring that all affected groups are present and included in the discussion will be important. Other Applications Reviewing the implications of any article. A study of the underachievement of some ethnic groups in a neighbouring board of education is reported in an article in the Saturday paper entitled What statistics in the article point to underachievement among Black and Portuguese students? What statistics do we know about our own district? What are your first reactions to this article? Try to put yourself in the place of a Portuguese or black person. How do you feel about these findings? What similar things does this remind you of in our school system? What are the long term implications of under achievement of ethnic groups? What lessons can we learn from this study? What are the critical issues in our situation that need to be addressed? How has this situation been addressed successfully in other locations? What might be some solutions to this problem? What do you think we can do to address this problem on an ongoing systematic basis? Which one would make a difference for our minority students? Which ones can we successfully implement? Which of these suggestions should be given high priority? What should be our next step? Closing Thank you. I hope this will move us a long way down the road to ensuring that all of our students achieve at the highest possible level.

188 Increasing Participation of Businesses in a School Community Council Rational Aim To make recommendations and decide about how best to get businesses involved in the School Community Council. Experiential Aim To act on best recommen dations and make decisions about business involvement for future meetings of the Council. A concern arose in our last meeting about the lack of community business involvement for our School Community Council.Lots of parents and social agency people are involved in the School Community Council (SCC), but few busi ness people are involved. The Council is concerned and puts a discussion on the next meeting agenda. How many businesses are there in our community? What other types of business do we have? What is intriguing about the possible involvement of these businesses? What is a bit scary about their potential involvement? What are the benefits of their involvement to us? To them? What are the dangers? What are other implications of business being involved? Why do we think businesses are not involved at this time with the SCC? What are some things we can do to get businesses involved? What is our first step? Closing These are important decisions and will have an impact on our future as the School Community Council.

189 Making Recommendations to Change the School Timetable Due to required curriculum changes and budget cuts, the length of classes and number of classes per day have to be reduced. Teachers, students, and parents are anxious about the changes. The principal calls a meeting to discuss possibilities and come up with recommendations. Rational Aim To create a solution to the timetable issue. Experiential Aim To enable participants to take responsibility by creating solu tions to a problem they resent. Hints A statement of the new requirements would be helpful at the objective level. Small groups may work on possible solutions at the inter pretive level, then bring them back to the group to discuss. Blank copies of a timetable would help people experiment with options. This task is difficult without graphics that depict the whole picture. The decisional level may take some time, as people struggle with synthesis of the options. It may be necessary to assign a small group to take the results of the interpretive level and work them through, or to come back a day or so later with the whole group. Other Applications With minor adaptations, this can be used for other major changes that a group needs to work through. We ve got some major changes to make in our timetable that will affect all of us. We need all of our perspectives to come up with a workable solution. What are the characteristics of our present timetable? How many classes do we cover each day? Minutes in each class? What are the new requirements? What makes you most anxious about the suggested changes? What parts of the new situation are intriguing? What are the key differences between the old and the new requirements? What are implications for the students? For teachers? For parents? What are the bottom lines here? What are possible ways to arrange our timetable to meet these requirements and best serve our students? Let s look at each of these possible solutions: What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? What elements seem to work best? How can we put these elements together to create a solution we can live with? Closing We ll flesh out this recommendation, and get back to you with the results.

190 Solving a Problem with Support Staff Staff Several teachers have com plained that their rooms have not been properly cleaned in the last few weeks. Rumors about budget cuts are ram pant, and morale among support staff is low. The vice principal is asked to have a conversation with the jani tors about the situation. Rational Aim To make a decision about how to maintain a clean building. Experiential Aim To enable janitors to experi ence affirmation and support from administration despite the ambiguity of job cuts. I ve heard that some things are bothering you, and I ve also noticed some uncharacteristically unfinished work in the last few weeks. I think we need to talk, because your work is important to the well being of students and their learning. What are some things that have happened in the last few weeks? What are people talking about? What is worrying you about our present situation? What are you OK with, or even happy about? What are some of the underlying issues here? How do these affect your work? What are some possible responses to these issues? What can we do to deal with these issues and make sure the work gets done? Closing Thank you for your honesty. We ll all try to make sure these things happen. When shall we talk again?

191 Involving Staff in School Improvement Planning A mandated School Improvement Plan (SIP) at an elementary school has been running for a year, but with lit tle staff participation. It needs to be revised, and invigorated with more participation from teachers. The SIP committee has asked for twenty minutes at a staff meeting to discuss it. Rational Aim To create a revised action plan for school improvement. Experiential Aim To be committed to being involved in the School Improvement Plan. We need to come together and talk about the School Improvement Plan. What aspects of the SIP have you seen implemented this year? What are your immediate reactions to the SIP? What part of the SIP do you see as most important to you? What parts of this are workable? Which parts don t work well? What are the purposes of the SIP? How could the SIP help make our school more effective? What can we do individually to help make this more effective? What component of the SIP are you willing to be involved in? Closing We can see from this conversation that for our school to be more effective, it is vital for everyone to be involved in the School Improvement Plan. I m glad you are willing to be a part of it.

192 Thinking through a Serious Personnel Issue An administrator is having dif ficulty with a tenured teacher. This conversation is one the administrator has with herself to clarify how to deal with the teacher. Rational Objective To decide how to move for ward on a serious personnel issue. Experiential Aim To develop the courage to move. If the first step is to talk with someone else, a similar set of questions can be used with them. I am going to address a serious personnel issue. This reflective conversation is the first step. What facts do I know about this situation? What employment history is relevant here? What behaviors have been observed or reported regarding this teacher? What have I seen myself? What is my reaction or response to these reports? What is my real concern about this? Why? What are my legal obligations? What are the possible traps or dangers in making a decision in this situation? What are my options? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option? How do these options impact students? What do I need to verify with other teachers, parents, or students? What s my first step? Closing OK. Let s do it.

193 Exploring the Concept of Effective Teams A principal wants her staff to be organized in teams, to share responsibility for the life of the school. She leads a conversation in a staff meet ing to prepare teachers for the idea. Rational Objective To explore ways that team work can help teachers. Experiential Aim To experience anticipation of better teamwork. Effective schools are based on the development of effective teams. So we want to spend a little time discussing, Where have you seen effective teams working? Give examples. What are other examples of effective teamwork? In society? History? Sport? Any others? What can be frustrating about working with a team? What do you enjoy about teamwork? When have you wished for more teamwork among our staff? What are the results or benefits of effective teamwork? What could we do better here with team effort? What elements are needed to create a good team? What are some of the requirements for an effective team? What must be in place? How would you determine who needs to be a member of a team? How would you determine roles and responsibilities? What impact might teamwork have on our program? What is the first thing you want to try to tackle in teams? Closing The next time we talk we need to focus on how we can organize teams and what guidelines we will need to guide them.

194 Identifying Challenges with Discipline A school consultant starts an in service session with teach ers with this conversation to identify challenges with disci pline. It is done before a work shop on realistic strategies to deal with these discipline challenges. Rational Aim To understand the underlying challenges of discipline in the school. Experiential Aim To experience dealing with problems within a larger con text of affirmation. Hints Simple procedures for a workshop method based on the steps of the conversation method are included in the appendix. Other Applications Similar conversations can be used to look for underlying obstacles for other problems. In a few minutes, we are going to do a workshop on realistic strategies to deal with discipline problems. In order to do that, we need to get a clearer picture of what is behind the challenges we have. Let s start with a few simple questions. What is an example of a discipline problem that you have encountered recently? What other situations in your teaching experience are you reminded of? What is the most difficult part of these challenges? What sustains this behavior? What are some of the factors behind discipline problems at our school? Why do these underlying factors continue to exist? What strategies for dealing with discipline have worked in the past? What has not worked as well as you would like? Why do you think these strategies have or have not worked? What does this say about the underlying obstacles that sustain these problems? How would you summarize what we ve said here? Closing Next we are going to do a workshop on realistic strategies to deal with these problems.

195 Discussing Homophobia A consultant is doing in ser vice training for teachers to break down homophobia in the schools. George, a gay student, has just given a personal presentation on his experience. Rational Aim To understand the effects of homophobia on students. Experiential Aim To experience compassion for gays in the school and com mitment to changing hateful behavior. Hints People will likely come into a conversation like this with opinions already formed. Keeping the focus on the speaker s presentation until well into the interpretive level will be important to increase the likelihood that participants see the situation from a new perspective. The facilitator may have to work hard to make sure that people actual ly answer the questions that are asked. It may be helpful to have the questions written out where people can see them all as they go through the con versation. Other Applications This may be used to explore individual presentations from other marginalized groups. Let s take a little time to explore George s experience and its implications. What is one thing you heard the speaker say? What were the events he described? What people did he mention? What words or phrases caught your attention? What feelings did he identify? What other points did the speaker make What popped into your mind when we introduced the speaker? What impressions came to your mind as he spoke? What did you find interesting? What concerns came to you? How do you relate to how he felt? What details of George s experience can you relate to? Can you describe a situation similar to this? What were the most significant things that happened to George? Why did this happen? What roadblocks were there? Supports? What are some of the issues homosexual students face generally? In the school system? What are the implications for teachers and schools? What have you learned from this conversation? What changes are needed to make this a place where people are respected? What strategies can we apply in the classroom, the hallway, the playground, the staff room, and the community? What are you committed to do? What are our next steps? Closing When we work together like this, we can make the world a better place for the diversity of its people.

196 Dealing with Inappropriate Conduct at Recess Rational Aim To learn effective ways to prevent and deal with inappro priate behavior. Experiential Aim To experience a shift from reacting to events to being able to be proactive. In a staff meeting, teachers are discussing ways of deal ing with inappropriate student conduct at recess. What type of conduct are you seeing at recess? What strategies have you tried to correct these? How frequently do you intervene? What was an intervention that made you feel effective. What was one where you felt ineffective or unsatisfied with the results? What would the What patterns did you notice from these stories? What factors seem to be critical in dealing with student conduct effectively? How can we integrate these critical factors into our schoolyard routines? What changes do we need to make as a staff? How can we accomplish these changes? Closing Let s continue to share our wisdom and experience on tough issues like this. We can all learn a lot from each other.

197 Reflecting on a Rough Day on the Way Home A teacher has had a really rough day, enough to burn anyone out. He is driving home after work and des perately needs to process the day so as not to ruin his evening. He decides to have a disciplined conversation with himself, to reflect on what happened. Rational Aim To glean the learnings from the day Experiential Aim To affirm the events of the day in real life Hints Conversations in one s own head are the hardest to keep on track. The emphasis is on the experiential aim, rather than the content. Other Applications Try using this structure for daily journal writing. A com muter might talk into a small cassette recorder. The con versation also works well for students to reflect on the day to consolidate their learnings, or for anyone to learn from the experience of a difficult event. OK, let me focus on this day for a moment. What were the things that happened today? What did I do? What did the kids do? What other things happened? Which parts of this day were the most frustrating? Made me mad? What parts were the tiniest bit hopeful or a little fun? What have I learned about what works with teaching today? What have I learned about what doesn t work? In the big picture of things, what is the importance of today? How does this affect what I ll do in the future? What metaphor or poetic title would sum up this day? Closing Whew, now I can leave this day behind and not take it home with me.

198 Talking with Teachers about a Frustrating Field Trip A group of teachers have taken a large number of stu dents, including some children with disabilities, to a puppet show. They have encountered a number of obstacles and have come back upset. The team leader decides to lead a conversation to debrief the experience. Rational Aim To learn from the frustrations of this field trip. Experiential Aim To share the experience and let go of the frustrations. Hints When a group is really upset about something, leave enough time at the reflective level to get the frustrations spoken, but then move the group past them with interpre tive questions. This will keep the group from getting stuck in negative emotion and help them move forward. We want to go over the events of this theater trip in order to prevent these problems on future trips. Describe the puppet show setting. What obstacles to accessibility did we encounter? What were the children s responses? What were the various feelings throughout the trip? Where in your body did you feel your frustration? Describe what it felt like. What can we learn from this experience? What will we do differently next time? What suggestions will we make to other teachers? Closing It s helpful to get perspective on these kinds of situations and learn from them.

199 Exploring Alternatives to Punitive Discipline A group of teachers has decided that the emphasis on punishment in their school is not decreasing disruptive behavior. They decide to explore alternatives. Rational Objective To come up with new ideas about turning behavior around. Experiential Aim To generate hope and new energy for dealing with disci pline. Hints To sustain the hope and fresh insight generated by this conversation, there should be a follow up conversation a month or so afterward to reflect on changes, and learn from experience. We want to discuss what creative ways we can use to deal with discipline. Where have you seen examples of negative behaviors? What effect has this behavior had on others? How do we let disruptive students know that their behavior is a problem? How can we discover what the child is good at and bring that out? What are ways we can have the class work as a team to support the best and redirect the worst behaviors? What are actions we could implement to enable changes in behavior to become more positive? Closing This is just initiating our thinking about what is possible to turn around behavior from negative to positive.

200 Increasing Teacher Skills in Effective Discipline A principal of a school with a number of newer teachers is concerned with the number of discipline problems being sent to the office. A staff meeting is designated to discuss the issue. Rational Aim To discuss how to teachers can more effectively discipline their own students without needing to rely on others. Experiential Aim To increase teachers confi dence in applying discipline methods successfully. Discipline is difficult when it goes beyond the classroom and involves other adults. We want to share ways to handle more of the discipline problems ourselves and support others attempts. What are some examples of misbehavior taking place recently? Who is usually present? Who is involved? What are some of the standards in the classrooms agreed upon before incidents occur? What are some steps you take when it does take place? How do participants feel when outbreaks occur? How does the rest of the class feel? What is your biggest concern? How do these incidents affect the classroom? What is at the root of the problem? At what levels? Why? What are some examples of classroom management techniques that have actually worked for you? What rules do you think are important to have? How can we get the students involved in solving discipline problems? What changes will you make in your classroom? What school wide changes would you like to see? What kind of support do you need? How will we involve all parties? Closing We have discussed what problems exist, how these problems come about, and what exacerbates them. We also talked about reactions to them. The most important thing is that we have decided on some steps that can prevent these problems in the future. Working together like this is going to help us more effectively solve these problems.

201 Discussing Strategy for a Student s Misbehavior as a Faculty It has come to the attention of several teachers that the misbehavior of one student is having a strong effect on the whole school, and needs to be dealt with in a caring manner. Rational Objective To discuss specific situations of misbehavior of a particular student, notice any patterns of good behavior, and to create a team response. Experiential Aim To experience caring, under standing and empathy for the student. It has come to our attention that students and teachers are concerned about Johnny s behavior. What specific acts of misbehavior have you seen in the classroom? In the halls? On the playground? When have you found him behaving well? How does this student antagonize others? What is it that upsets other students and parents the most? What worries you the most about his behavior? Which behaviors have the most negative impact for this student and for other students? How does the misbehavior affect the instructional program? How does his behavior affect relations with students, teachers, and parents? What may be some of the causes of this behavior? Where do you see chinks in the armor, or places that are vulnerable to outside influence? What values do we want to hold the next time that he has a problem? What might we do to limit the destructive behavior and encourage positive behavior? When shall we come back and evaluate how our plan is working? How would you make this a learning experience for others? Closing How we handle these situations affects everyone. The community around a child gives messages to a child that have an impact on his behavior. When we act together, we can strengthen the impact we have.

202 Handling an Irate Phone Call The school secretary has just answered the phone. A parent identifies herself and begins almost immediately to shout incoherently. The secretary must find out about the situ ation in order to decide who should deal with it. Rational Aim To discover the real problem. Experiential Aim To have the parent calm down and experience being taken seriously. Hints The secretary can take notes in order to give the next per son a briefing . A notepad can even be printed up to take these notes, since the irate person may not answer the questions in order! A sample can be found in the appendix. Other Applications Not only secretaries get irate phone calls! Parents, administrators, and teachers also get them or have people come into their offices upset. Anyone can use sequence of questions to guide the conver sation. Ms. Jones, please wait just a minute. I m having difficulty understanding you. I need to understand you better in order to help you. Could you start at the beginning and tell me what happened? What happened after that? What have you tried to do? You sound really upset. When did you first feel there was a problem? What s the worst part of this for you? What do you think is causing this? What are the implications? What would help resolve the situation? What are you recommending? Who would you like to speak with about this? Closing Could you please hold while I see if this person is available to help you?

203 Talking With a Parent about a Child with Discipline Problems A child in the school has suddenly begun acting aggressively, disrupting her class and the playground. The teacher is concerned, and makes an appointment with the parent. Rational Aim To understand Molly s behav ior, and create a plan to care for her. Experiential Aim To increase trust and respect between teacher and parent Hints When the facilitator has an opinion or some answers to his own questions, it is difficult for the other participants not to feel that the facilitator is trying to manipulate the con versation to his own ends. Be very careful when you insert an answer or an opinion, that you make it clear when shift ing hats between discussion leader and participant. I ve asked you to come because I m worried about Molly. Generally, she s always behaved in a pretty normal fashion, but in the past month she s begun acting very aggressively, jumping up from her seat and hitting other children. I wonder what s going on and what we can do about it. What have you noticed Molly doing in the last month or so? What new or different behaviors have you observed? What, if any, changes have there been in your family situation that might affect Molly s behavior? What have been some of the other changes that you have noticed in Molly s life? What part of this worries you the most about Molly s situation? What part are you relatively unconcerned about? What do you think might be some of the causes of this change in behavior? What might we do about it as the school? As her family? What are you committed to? The school is committed to . How can we make sure we re successful? Closing When we work together, we can make a difference, and I m glad we can start right away. We all want Molly to succeed.

204 Discussing a Response to Education Cutbacks Cutbacks in school funding are imminent, and children (students) will be affected. Parents have called an emer gency meeting to discuss what to do. Rational Aim To develop a thought through response to the cutbacks. Experiential Aim To enable parents to move from helplessness and anger to commitment and hope. Hints When a group comes in ready to vent, it is difficult to move them beyond the reflective level. This conversation must be led by a strong facilitator. The conversation will build on participants reactions, and take them beyond venting to responsible action. We have called this meeting to clarify the new budget cutbacks, our reactions to them, and to decide how to respond. This is the detailed announcement of the cutbacks. Let s start by seeing just what it says. What facts catch your attention here? What other information do you have about the cutbacks? What parts of this are most alarming? What parts are you okay with? What are the likely results of this new situation, both positive and negative? What would tell us that these are positive results or negative results? What would be the implications of leaving funding as is, both positive and negative? What seem to be our overriding concerns here? What changes would deal with the concerns about cutbacks and also the negative implications of leaving funding as is? What can we do to respond to these concerns? Who will do these things? Closing There is a quote attributed to Margaret Mead that says,

205 Leading an Inspirational Study to Begin a Board Meeting At the beginning of each board meeting of a child cen ter, different board members take turns leading an inspira tional study. One such discus sion is beginning. Rational Aim To think about roles and differ ent perspectives. Experiential Aim To make a transition to thoughtfulness and focus on the meeting at hand. To reinvigorate the childcare center board members. Hints Choose a quote or reading that is appropriate to the group or the situation. Keep the conversation moving quickly, but don t be afraid of silence. Sometimes only one or two answers for each ques tion are enough to transform the mood of the group. Other Applications This is a useful tool for any group that is distracted, tired or dispirited. Uplifting pas sages help the group make a transition from their individual regular workday tasks to the common work of caring for the school. The topics can range from meditations from various daily spiritual journals, thoughtful papers, relevant news articles, and favorite one line quotes. The convenor reads the following vignette from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Roles Who were the characters in the story? Which person did you identify with? When have you found yourself playing a role you did not expect, but realized was important? As educators, how can we encourage the people and children we work with to discover their perfect

206 Understanding the State of the School Existing board members of a small non profit preschool, which has undergone sub stantial financial, legal, per sonnel, and administrative crises over the last several months, are meeting to reflect on their current situation and discover where to go in the next year. Rational Objective To arrive at a clear, common understanding of where the school is and what is needed, and who is committed to help strengthen the school. Experiential Aim To develop commitment to going forward and willingness to work as a team Hints When participants have questions of clarity at the objective level, the reporter or someone on their team can answer with facts, or simply say, I don t have an answer . The facilitator of the conversa tion keeps both the questions and the answers objective. Let s start by giving five minute reports on problems and topics you re working on, such as various aspects of finances, enrollment, events, and staffing. Please include the facts of what happened and insights that were revealed. This will give everyone a picture of the What words or phrases did you hear in these reports? What questions of clarity do you want to ask the reporters? Which parts of these reports made your heart sing or lifted your spirits? What parts made you want to cry or run away? Where did you find yourself puzzled or stunned? Where did you breathe a sigh of relief? What gifts do we have as a school? Where did you sense gaps What actions do we need to take to meet our stated plans? How are you willing to commit to the school at this point? If so, what will be your contribution? Closing I feel that, as a result of this conversation, everyone has a better view of where the school is, what we need and where we, as individual trustees, are committed to going forward. Thank you.

207 Recommending Appropriate Consequences for Inappropriate Behavior Parents on the school council are concerned about students behavior, and want to make some recommendations for school policy. This conversa tion is held at a school council meeting. Rational Aim To list behaviors and recom mended consequences. Experiential Aim To experience having been heard and affecting the school in a positive way. Hints This is a direct approach that is not addressing the deep er questions of looking for systemic solutions. It is an effective conversation, but it is only part of the real solu tion. Another conversation on systemic solutions may also be held. This discussion is about behaviors that are not acceptable and what consequences should apply. What are some unacceptable behaviors you have seen or heard about recently in our school? Describe the situation in some detail. What words, phrases, or incidents stuck in your mind from these stories? What is your reaction when a child comes to you about an incident that happened at school with another child? What did other people say that rings a bell with you? Why do you think these problems are occurring? What are the inappropriate behaviors you would like to see dealt with quickly? What are possible consequences for each of these behaviors? What are values we want to hold in choosing the appropriate consequences for each behavior? Which of these consequences should we choose for each of these behaviors? Which of these are priorities? How do you inform the school community about these decisions? Closing We would like to present the school administration with a list of misbehaviors and a corresponding list of recommended consequences. Hopefully the recommendations will be implemented as soon as possible with approval of the school administration.

208 Solving a Safety Problem Concerns have been voiced about traffic safety around the elementary school. The par ent council is discussing the problems. Rational Aim To create a plan for improv ing traffic safety around the school. Experiential Aim To enable parents to come away knowing that the chil dren will be safer. To experi ence working together on a problem. People have come to me with concerns about the traffic safety around the school. This meeting has been called to talk about this and make some changes before someone is hurt or killed. When you observe our children coming to school and leaving it, what are some problems you have seen? What are previously reported problems you have heard about? Which of these problems worries you the most? What are the underlying problems that need to be addressed? What can we do in order to improve this situation? What will these measures cost in money and time? How will we pay for them? How can we involve the students in improving the situation? Who will make sure these things happen? Closing Parents have had the chance to voice their fears and concerns about school traffic safety. We will all work together to create a safer area for the children.

209 Reflecting on a Spelling Bee A grade six class has partici pated in a district wide spell ing bee. No student advanced to the next level, and the mood is low. Rational Aim To realize that competition sometimes doesn t seem fair, yet learning can take place even when you lose. Experiential Aim To experience the joy and pain, and to be aware of other people s feelings Let s reflect on our experience of being in the competition. What some of the words we had to spell? What were easy words? Which words were difficult? How did you feel when you spelled a word correctly? How did you feel when you misspelled a word? How did you feel when others got the same word right? How do you suppose others felt when you succeeded or failed in spelling a word? What did you learn about spelling from this experience? What did you learn about succeeding at spelling the words correctly? What did you learn about coming up with the right spelling when you are unsure? What did you learn about being in a public competition? What did you learn about dealing with stress? What did you learn about winning and losing? Why do you think we participated in the spelling bee? What did you / we gain from this experience? How will you use what you ve learned about winning and losing in other situations? How will you prepare for next year s spelling bee? Closing Winning is great at the moment, but learning lasts for the rest of our lives. You are great students.

210 Coaching a Sports Team The coach of a girls baseball team has the whole team reflect on each game for a few minutes right after the game. Rational Aim To conclude the game as a team Experiential Aim To encourage players to aspire to higher levels of play. To give confidence and affirm players identity and worth in the team Hints Tailor the questions carefully for both the sport and the results of the game. The Interpretive and Decisional questions may require probing and grounding questions. Focus on the posi tive for motivation. Other Situations Conversations similar to this may be used before a game or after a practice. What was the score? How many runs did we make? What happened in the game? What is one thing you saw or heard from where you were playing? When did you get really excited? When were you discouraged or feel badly? What did we really do well? Why? What could we have done better at? Give an example. What are we going to do differently next time? What are you personally going to do differently next time? If you were to do this game again and make one outstanding play, what would you do? Closing All right! I really enjoy working with you. See you at practice.

211 Reflecting With Students on an Enrichment Program Eighth grade students have participated in a part time enrichment program for the past year. District staff would like to get their feedback as part of their decision about whether to continue the pro gram. Rational Aim To enable students to think through their experiences in the enrichment program and provide feedback for future program planning. Experiential Aim To take pride in their accom plishments and realize that their experience can be applied to future learning. We would like to help you think about your experience in the enrichment program and get your ideas about how to run such programs in the future. Which parts of the program do you remember most? What other work did you do? What work did you do outside the classroom? What were the highlights of the program for you? What was surprising for you? What work went easily? What was more difficult than you expected? What did you feel the most proud of? What do you wish you had done better? What problems did you find? What skills did you learn here that will help you in the future? What would you have liked to experience that was not part of this program? What will you tell other students they will learn if they apply to get into the program next year? What goal would you set for yourself if you did another enrichment program? What skills or other learning have you developed that will help you in your regular class work? How would you respond if we told you we would not be able to continue the program? What reasons would you give for finding a way to continue the program? Who do you think should participate in the program? What changes would you recommend? What ideas do you have about next steps we should take to run the program next year? Closing I m really glad to have you a part of the program. Thank you for your insights. We ll let you know what happens.

212 Sharing Use of Portfolios for Student Assessmen A school is holding an in ser vice on the use of portfolios of student work to strengthen student self assessment and goal setting. Rational Aim To develop an understanding of the purpose of the portfolio. To share strategies to help students self assess their work Experiential Aim To deepen commitment to portfolios and decrease frus tration about their use. Let s take some time to share how we ve used portfolios and other assessment strategies. What subject portfolios do you have at present? What is in these portfolios? Can you share some ways you have kids self assess key pieces of work What have you struggled with in the use of portfolios? Where have you had a big aha! happen in relation to their use? Why do we keep portfolios? What is the value of the portfolio? When assessing their work, what do kids need to focus on? What are the best practices in using portfolios in the classroom? What resources will support the use of portfolios for assessment? How can we help parents and kids value the portfolio? Closing Thank you, I think we have all learned a lot we can put to good use.

213 Evaluating a Library Program A pilot book exchange pro gram has been going for a few months. The librarian in the media center has taken stock and discovered chaos. Lots of late returns and lost books are rapidly depleting the choices. The librarian asks for a dis cussion at the staff meeting. Rational Aim To decrease overdue books and material losses in the media center. Experiential Aim To build shared responsibility for the book exchange pro gram. Hints The final question will require some discussion to select actions that can and will be implemented by the partici pants. There may be some negotiation toward a set of actions that will actually do the job. We hold both scheduled class exchanges and unscheduled small group or individual exchanges. There have been many losses of books, and we need to evaluate this program. What are some examples of how your students have used this program? What behaviors have you observed in the students? What reactions are you getting from your students? What is an example of when it went well? What are some examples of where book exchange was a disaster? What difficulties do you see in the library with book exchange? Why do you think we have so many late returns and losses? What routines are not working? Where do you think the problem lies? What can we do to improve our library book exchanges? What are the key next steps? For the library staff? For teachers? Closing Thank you. I think this will help keep the books circulating to everyone s benefit. We ll check on this again at the next staff meeting.

214 Sharing Techniques of Evaluation and Assessmen Teachers have been asked to bring an example of a successful eval uation strategy. Rational Aim To explore various evaluation and assessment techniques, and to learn new techniques. Experiential Aim To increase respect for each other s knowledge. A brief in service training has been set up to expand staff knowledge of evaluation and assessment techniques. Since there is a wide range of expe rience among teachers, it has been decided that no outside expert is required. What is one evaluation and/or assessment strategy that you use in your classroom Which aspects of evaluation and assessment do you find most difficult or most frustrating? Which aspects do you find most helpful, useful or successful? What do you see that works or really shows promise? What are some similarities you noticed among the methods we shared? What are some of the differences? What aspects of the assessment strategies make them effective? What have you learned this afternoon that you will be able to use in your classroom? How will you use it? How can we support each other in making assessment and evaluation effective in our classrooms? Closing We ve learned some really important things this afternoon. Thank you for all your wisdom!

215 Evaluating School Achievement Data The government has mandat ed school improvement action planning based on the results of standardized tests of school achievement. School staff must evaluate the significance of the test results, prioritize effective strategies to improve school performance, and act on those strategies. Rational Aim To identify priorities for improvement in school perfor mance. Experiential Aim To engender commitment to improvement and the hope that it will work. Hints The opening reading may be done in small groups, highlighting relevant facts. A jigsaw method may be used where small groups focus on certain sections of the data, then share observations. The objective level questions can focus on one section of data at a time, then repeat for the next section. At the interpretive and decisional levels, write the answers on the board or a flip chart so that the information is available to the group for the next questions. In this conversation, there will be a tendency to want to answer reflective and inter pretive questions as soon as the reading is done. This may lead to defensiveness rather than thoughtful evaluation. (continued) Here are summaries of relevant school data for everyone. This includes school achievement data from standardized testing, data from student and home questionnaires, board and provincial data, report card data, and some other relevant school and/or achievement data such as exemplars or representative student portfolios. Let s take a short time to skim through the data, and then I am going to ask the questions I have posted on the board. We will focus on facts first, then connections and responses, then interpretation, and finally implications for action. What data catches your eye in each of these categories? What facts stand out? What questions of clarity do you have? What is unclear to you? What surprises you in this information? What most concerns you? How does this data compare with your intuitive or personal experience of students achievements? Where are we strong relative to expectations? Where are we weak relative to expectations? What may be some of the underlying causes? What are some emerging themes in all this information? Which of these is most important for you? Why? Which of these needs to be dealt with first? Why? From the standpoint of building on our strengths and dealing with weaknesses, what subjects or areas of skill do you hear the group saying are the highest priorities for improvement in our school? Which do you hear the group saying are the lowest priorities at this time? What three or four of these high priority areas do we most need to focus on improving in the next few years? Who will work on the plans (and the actions) for each priority? Watch the flow of answers very closely. The very first time someone answers a question that has not been asked yet, ask them to hold that response until the ques tion where it will be most appropriate. If you have writ ten the questions on the board as an agenda, it will be easier. Do it gently, but nipping the tendency to jump ahead in the bud seems important in this conversation. More than three or four priority subjects or areas for school improvement is probably not manageable. This conversation is the first step, and can be followed with an action plan for each priority. Closing This is tremendous work, and will make a difference in our students performance. We will take a couple of weeks for each group to complete an action plan, and then have another quick meeting to share the plans.

216 Reflecting Informally on a Leadership Program A group of teachers from across a district has participat ed in a project on facilitative leadership. They have come together to celebrate what s working and plan for the next year. They start with individual worksheets. Rational Aim To evaluate the facilitative leadership program and extract their learnings. Experiential Aim To experience affirmation for the whole year s efforts The purpose of this exercise is to give us an opportunity, as leaders, to reflect on our work this past year and to share our reflections. There are no right or wrong answers. Listen actively and appreciatively. The hope is that we will learn something by listening to one another s experiences. Take some time to answer the questions on the worksheet for yourself. We will be sharing answers as tables, but it is up to each individual to decide what is appropriate for you to share. In which projects and activities this year did you or a colleague provide leadership for improved student learning? Which projects and activities are you are most proud of? What stories or vivid memories out of this year give a human face to your work? Which of these stories give meaning or insight to your work What do you need to do to complete and document the accomplishments of this year? Who or what needs to be celebrated, recognized, or thanked? Closing Thank you for your insights.

217 Evaluating the Implementation of a New Curriculum A new provincial math curric ulum was introduced a year ago. Teachers are reflecting on their learnings about its implementation, so that they can ensure improved student learning. Rational Aim To understand the effects of implementing the new curric ulum. To create consensus on direc tions for further growth. Experiential Aim To increase teachers confi dence in their ability to use the curriculum effectively to meet student needs. We need to take some time to evaluate the new math curriculum. How has the math program changed since the arrival of the new curriculum last year? What do you do differently now? What changes have you noted in the students knowledge, skills, and attitudes? What changes are you most comfortable with? What changes make you feel uncomfortable? What changes have been most easy for students to adjust to? Most difficult? How has student learning improved? Are there areas where you are less than satisfied? What key strands and expectations do we need to focus on to continue to improve student learning? What areas need the most attention at this point? What resources are still needed to implement the curriculum successfully? What in service training do we still need to implement the new curriculum to improve student learning? What are some reasonable steps that we can take now to keep us moving in the right direction? Closing I think these steps will continue to improve our student s learning. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and care.

218 Processing a Training Session Quickly At the end of a training ses sion, participants hold a quick conversation to process their experience. They have about 15 minutes. Rational Aim To recall ideas and concepts presented and relate them to their own lives. Experiential Aim To be ready to apply learn ings. Let s do a quick look back at this session to process it. What ideas, concepts, tools, or techniques were identified in this session? What excited you about the material in the session? What frustrated you? How do these ideas and concepts relate to your professional experience? What significance do they have for you? What will you do with this information? Closing It s been a great day. See you tomorrow.

219 Debriefing the Day A team of teachers sits down together after a day of team teaching. They are focused on what students need. Rational Aim To review the significant events of the day and to plan for tomorrow. To foster shared learning and reflective practice. Experiential Aim To generate team enthusiasm about working together and improving teaching practice. Hints This type of conversation replaces complaints and off hand comments with a shared process of learning from both positive and negative experi ences. For a quicker conversation on subsequent days, ask only the most pertinent questions, or substitute others. Keep the conversation short and to the point to avoid burnout. Visualize what occurred today, from the time the bus delivered our students, until a moment ago when the last student left. What is one scene, conversation, phrase, or sound, which stands out to you as you review the day? As you reflect on the day, who is one student who stands out in your mind? What is one role you played today? At what point today did you have a strong feeling about what was going on? When did you see students particularly engaged? Particularly disconnected? What in this experience reminds you of students you ve worked with in the past? Where did you feel the most success in the classroom? What did we do today that best reflects powerful learning principles? If you were a student in this class, what would you tell your family about what you learned today? What insights have we gained about the students in our class and how our teaching affects them? In which areas did we work most effectively together? Where do we need to improve? What did we do today that we want to continue doing tomorrow? Which students, if any, need special help tomorrow? How will we provide it? How can we work together more effectively to address student needs? What is one accomplishment we each plan to achieve tomorrow?

220 Evaluating a Project Group s Work A group of teachers in a new school has been studying the possibility of organizing the school into multi age group ings. As they have been work ing, the educational climate has been changing, and their energy has been flagging. Rational Aim To explore some of the issues and opportunities the group currently faces, and decide where to go next. Experiential Aim To struggle with the paradox of conflicting agendas and directions. We ve been working with the concept of multi age groupings and there seems to be some concern about its real benefits. There are concerns about the potential for achieving such a change in the conflicting agendas of the current educational climate as well as the demands of putting the idea into practice. It seems that we need to come to an understanding as to where this group is headed so we can move forward with a common purpose. What do you remember about our meetings over the past few months? What decisions do you recall us making? What products have we produced for ourselves so far? What changes have you observed since we began? What has been the most frustrating or worrisome part of this group s work? What excites you about what we re doing? What else have we learned about the tasks we ve set out for ourselves or the way we work together? How would you describe the dilemmas we face as a group? What are the areas where we are seeing the greatest creativity most positive impact? What is our highest priority at this point in time? What shall we do at this point? Closing How would you summarize this discussion?

221 Reflecting on a Personal Growth Plan with a Mentor A school system encourages teachers to form mentoring relationships with other teach ers. Each teacher makes growth plans for their own learning and reflects on them with a coach. A coach asks the following questions to help the teacher assess the past year and plan the future. Rational Aim To evaluate the past year, and plan the next year Experiential Aim To affirm the past and have the courage to continue Hints It is helpful to have an outside coach to ask these questions, but it can also be done as a solitary exercise. If the coach has been there all year, she can give her responses as well to many of these questions. For example, the mentor might say, It seems to me that Let s take a few minutes to evaluate last year and begin a plan for the next year. What have been some key events this year in terms of your growth plan? What projects did you work on? What other events do you remember What accomplishments are you most proud of? Where did you have the most difficulty? What surprised you? What would you say is your most important accomplishment this year related to your growth plan? How will your experiences of this year and your reflections affect what you do in the coming year? What are your hopes and dreams? What are your more concrete goals for the coming year? Where might you encounter difficulties in moving towards your goals? Who could be of assistance to you in achieving your goals? What will you do differently next year? What are your next steps? Closing I ll leave you to do your detailed action plan.

222 Evaluating a Difficult Teaching Situation Alone A university professor has experienced a frustrating semester, where several stu dents have been highly critical of his lectures. He decides to do a personal reflection. Rational Aim To have a clearer plan of action. Experiential Aim To feel motivated to teach next semester. Hints As in most internal conversa tions, especially on intense subjects, it is hard to stay focused. The key is not the precise questions, but to guide the levels of thinking in a disciplined way, with one student after another. OK, let me reflect on my own situation, so I can arrive at a clearer plan of action and feel motivated to attempt it (as against ducking the whole thing). What do I remember about interactions with student X (choosing one of the students)? What has been most difficult for me? What would I say are the underlying issues? What can I do to work more effectively with this student? What is the first action I need to take?

223 Talking with a Teacher at a Parent/Teacher Conference A parent is talking with the teacher at the parent teacher interview, and wants to get the most information possible from the teacher in the allotted time. Rational Aim To find out from the teacher how her child is doing aca demically. To find out the teacher s rec ommendations. Experiential Aim To have the teacher experi ence affirmation of parental support. I need to get a clear picture of my child s academic performance. What information can you give me on how she is doing? Marks? Portfolio? Journals and Workbooks? This is what I have observed What are you pleased with as the teacher? What are you worried about as the teacher? How does this performance measure up to class standards? What are the challenges she is struggling with? What do we need to do to support her performance? When should we talk next? Closing Thank you. I ll do my part to work with you and support her learning.

224 Talking with a Parent at a Parent / Teacher Conference A teacher uses this format to have a quick but thoughtful conversation with each parent on parent teacher interview night. Rational Aim To share information on stu dent performance. Experiential Aim To establish mutual respect and trust, and commitment to supporting the student s best learning. Hints This structure can also be used alone by the teacher to prepare for the interview. The teacher also answers the questions in this conversa tion. A challenge in using this conversation is in keeping the questions and the teacher s own answers separate. Having the questions on a sheet that the parent can see will help make the process more objective for all partici pants. The teacher may want to prepare a couple of Hi, I m Johnny s teacher. I m glad to meet you. Let s look at some information on your son s progress this term. Here is some data from my gradebook on attendance and performance. What clarification do you need about this information? What would you add to these reports from what you have seen? What pleases you most about how Johnny is doing? What worries you? Where are Johnny s strengths in this area? What are his weaknesses? What might be underlying reasons for this level of achievement? What are the major opportunities or concerns we need to address? What implications does this have? For the teacher? For the parent(s)? For the student? For others in the system? What can we do to support and encourage Johnny s highest possible achievement? Closing Thank you very much. With both of us working together to support Johnny, he ll do well. For instance, the student may understand math processes, but doesn t do the calculations right and gets confused. The student doesn t seem to be able to read at the expected level or speed. The student isn t attending regularly. If there are deep concerns about the overall perfor mance, the conversation will be somewhat different.

225 Discussing a Portfolio with Parents and Teacher Students at a high school keep portfolios on their course work, so that they can report to parents and teachers on their progress. In this session, the student shows her work, and facilitates a conversation on it. Rational Aim To have the student, parents and teachers understand the student s performance and progress. Experiential Aim: To have the student experi ence pride and ownership of her learning journey. I d like to share samples of some of the work I have done over the past six months. As you look through my portfolio, what do you notice? What catches your eye What about my portfolio of work excites you? What worries or concerns you? What do you understand now about my progress from these work samples? What questions do you have for me or my teachers? What achievements do you see? What, if any, gaps do you see in my learning? What things do you think that I have to work on? What do you suggest may be the next steps? What support do you think I need? What do we need to do to make sure these things happen? Closing Thanks for participating. It ll be great to work on this together. Let s go! Hints This conversation can also be used in primary school, adapting the questions to a simpler form, but keeping the four levels.

226 Deciding about Retaining a Student in a Grade Toward the end of the year, despite the hard work of par ent and teacher, a child is not performing well enough for the next grade level. The teacher asks for the parent to talk with her about whether the student should repeat the grade. Rational Aim To decide whether a student should be retained in the same grade or not. Experiential Aim To engage parents and teachers (and the student as appropriate) in serious dialogue about the student s progression. Hints The conversation can be adapted to having a parent lead the conversation with the teacher or the principal. As you know, I am really concerned about Fiona s learning, and I have been considering whether to have her repeat this grade. I would like to talk through this with you, to get your thoughts. What are some of the areas that you have noticed Fiona achieving in lately? What is she not achieving in lately? What is she enjoying most at home and at school? What concerns do you have about Fiona s learning progress? These are some of my concerns and those of Fiona s other teachers. What is your reaction to these? What are you satisfied with in her progress? If Fiona were to repeat a grade, what would be some of your concerns and questions? What would be some of the pros and cons of retaining her in this grade? What do you see as the learning needs of your child? How do feel we can best support these needs? How would we sum up where we are on all this? Are we ready to make a decision, or do we need to explore this further? Closing Thank you very much for your concern. It s clear we all want Fiona to succeed.

227 Healthy Behavior: Taking Care of Ourselves students Elementary This conversation was used as an introduction to the cur riculum. Rational Aim To raise consciousness about healthy behavior. Experiential Aim To experience the topic of healthy behavior as fun and interesting. Let s stand in a circle, and go around it once, each giving an answer. What is your name? What is your favourite food? Your favourite color? What is something you love to do? What is something you do that is not so healthy for you? What is one way you keep yourself healthy? How do you take care of yourself? Decisional Activity Now let s return to our seats. Here are some markers and paper for you to use. One piece of paper has a large circle on it. Draw pictures of ways to take care of yourself in the large circle on the piece of paper. When you are finished, I want each of you to hold up your art work and say something about it. We are going to make a book of all of your work. What name shall we give to this book you ve just created? Closing We will create a poster together using your art work, and telephone numbers to use in emergency situations as well as telephone numbers for support people and support groups, to hang for the year in the classroom. We will also put each student s art work as a page in a laminated book, which will remain in the classroom library for the school year.

228 Evaluating a Difficult Teaching Situation Alone A university professor has experienced a frustrating semester, where several stu- dents have been highly critical of his lectures. He decides to do a personal reflection. Rational Aim To have a clearer plan of action. Experiential Aim To feel motivated to teach next semester. Hints As in most internal conversa- tions, especially on intense subjects, it is hard to stay focused. The key is not the precise questions, but to guide the levels of thinking in a disciplined way, with one student after another. OK, let me reflect on my own situation, so I can arrive at a clearer plan of action and feel motivated to attempt it (as against ducking the whole thing). What do I remember about interactions with student X (choosing one of the students)? What has been most difficult for me? What would I say are the underlying issues? What can I do to work more effectively with this student? What is the first action I need to take?

229 Planning for a Special Education Studen The school has placed John in a special education pro- gram. At the end of each year the teacher, other staff, and parents review the students progress, and plan the next year. The team leader leads this conversation. Rational Aim To discern two or three aca- demic and social needs to focus on for this student for the next year. Experiential Aim To develop a trusting relation- ship between parents and the teacher. We re here for the annual review of John s progress. Let s start with a recap of last year s accomplishments. What were some of John s accomplishments last year? In which courses was he less successful than desired? What were the courses John did well in? When did you notice John getting enthusiastic? What were high points? When did you notice John was discouraged? What were low points? What was the most difficult issue to deal with? For his teachers? For his parents? For John? What are some of the factors that seem to be leading to these frustrations? What can be done to ease your anxieties? How are John s needs changing as we look forward to next year? What could we do differently next year? What areas will we focus on? What academic courses should John take? What can we do to ensure John has a successful year? Closing I m confident we will make this a very good year for John.

230 Talking with a Teacher at a Parent/Teacher Conference A parent is talking with the teacher at the parent-teacher interview, and wants to get the most information possible from the teacher in the allotted time. Rational Aim To find out from the teacher how her child is doing aca- demically. To find out the teacher s rec- ommendations. Experiential Aim To have the teacher experi- ence affirmation of parental support. I need to get a clear picture of my child s academic performance. What information can you give me on how she is doing? Marks? Portfolio? Journals and Workbooks? This is what I have observed What are you pleased with as the teacher? What are you worried about as the teacher? How does this performance measure up to class standards? What are the challenges she is struggling with? What do we need to do to support her performance? When should we talk next? Closing Thank you. I ll do my part to work with you and support her learning.

231 Talking with a Parent at a Parent / Teacher Conference A teacher uses this format to have a quick but thoughtful conversation with each parent on parent-teacher interview night. Rational Aim To share information on stu- dent performance. Experiential Aim To establish mutual respect and trust, and commitment to supporting the student s best learning. Hints This structure can also be used alone by the teacher to prepare for the interview. The teacher also answers the questions in this conversa- tion. A challenge in using this conversation is in keeping the questions and the teacher s own answers separate. Having the questions on a sheet that the parent can see will help make the process more objective for all partici- pants. The teacher may want to prepare a couple of Hi, I m Johnny s teacher. I m glad to meet you. Let s look at some information on your son s progress this term. Here is some data from my gradebook on attendance and performance. What clarification do you need about this information? What would you add to these reports from what you have seen? What pleases you most about how Johnny is doing? What worries you? Where are Johnny s strengths in this area? What are his weaknesses? What might be underlying reasons for this level of achievement? What are the major opportunities or concerns we need to address? What implications does this have? For the teacher? For the parent(s)? For the student? For others in the system? What can we do to support and encourage Johnny s highest possible achievement? Closing Thank you very much. With both of us working together to support Johnny, he ll do well. For instance, the student may understand math processes, but doesn t do the calculations right and gets confused. The student doesn t seem to be able to read at the expected level or speed. The student isn t attending regularly. If there are deep concerns about the overall perfor- mance, the conversation will be somewhat different.

232 Discussing a Portfolio with Parents and Teacher Students at a high school keep portfolios on their course work, so that they can report to parents and teachers on their progress. In this session, the student shows her work, and facilitates a conversation on it. Rational Aim To have the student, parents and teachers understand the student s performance and progress. Experiential Aim: To have the student experi- ence pride and ownership of her learning journey. Hints This conversation can also be used in primary school, adapting the questions to a simpler form, but keeping the four levels. I d like to share samples of some of the work I have done over the past six months. As you look through my portfolio, what do you notice? What catches your eye What about my portfolio of work excites you? What worries or concerns you? What do you understand now about my progress from these work samples? What questions do you have for me or my teachers? What achievements do you see? What, if any, gaps do you see in my learning? What things do you think that I have to work on? What do you suggest may be the next steps? What support do you think I need? What do we need to do to make sure these things happen? Closing Thanks for participating. It ll be great to work on this together. Let s go!

233 Deciding about Retaining a Student in a Grade Toward the end of the year, despite the hard work of par- ent and teacher, a child is not performing well enough for the next grade level. The teacher asks for the parent to talk with her about whether the student should repeat the grade. Rational Aim To decide whether a student should be retained in the same grade or not. Experiential Aim To engage parents and teachers (and the student as appropriate) in serious dialogue about the student s progression. Hints The conversation can be adapted to having a parent lead the conversation with the teacher or the principal. As you know, I am really concerned about Fiona s learning, and I have been considering whether to have her repeat this grade. I would like to talk through this with you, to get your thoughts. What are some of the areas that you have noticed Fiona achieving in lately? What is she not achieving in lately? What is she enjoying most at home and at school? What concerns do you have about Fiona s learning progress? These are some of my concerns and those of Fiona s other teachers. What is your reaction to these? What are you satisfied with in her progress? If Fiona were to repeat a grade, what would be some of your concerns and questions? What would be some of the pros and cons of retaining her in this grade? What do you see as the learning needs of your child? How do feel we can best support these needs? How would we sum up where we are on all this? Are we ready to make a decision, or do we need to explore this further? Closing Thank you very much for your concern. It s clear we all want Fiona to succeed.

234 Improving Parent/Teacher Conferences The principal and teachers are evaluating the parent teacher conferences at a staff meet ing. Rational Aim To extract what staff has learned from talking to parents at the conferences. Experiential Aim To affirm the experience of the conferences. Hints Be sure to get out objective information from all or many of the teachers before moving to more depth. Our parent teacher conferences for this grading period have come and gone. Let s take a few minutes to reflect on the experience, and think about what we learned from talking with the parents. Let s go around the room, so each teacher can respond to the first three questions. How many parents came? How many students came? What percentage of your students parents came? What specific comments or questions do you remember? What pleases you most about what you heard? What concerns you? What common patterns are you hearing from across the school? Do you see any really outstanding concerns that need to be addressed immediately? What can we learn from these interviews? What implications might this have for us? What actions do we need to take in the next grading period? Closing Thank you for your insight. Now for the next agenda item.

235 Planning for a Special Education Studen The school has placed John in a special education pro gram. At the end of each year the teacher, other staff, and parents review the students progress, and plan the next year. The team leader leads this conversation. Rational Aim To discern two or three aca demic and social needs to focus on for this student for the next year. Experiential Aim To develop a trusting relation ship between parents and the teacher. We re here for the annual review of John s progress. Let s start with a recap of last year s accomplishments. What were some of John s accomplishments last year? In which courses was he less successful than desired? What were the courses John did well in? When did you notice John getting enthusiastic? What were high points? When did you notice John was discouraged? What were low points? What was the most difficult issue to deal with? For his teachers? For his parents? For John? What are some of the factors that seem to be leading to these frustrations? What can be done to ease your anxieties? How are John s needs changing as we look forward to next year? What could we do differently next year? What areas will we focus on? What academic courses should John take? What can we do to ensure John has a successful year? Closing I m confident we will make this a very good year for John.

236 Evaluating a Program with Preschoolers The funder of a multi cultural neighbourhood preschool wants the students to evaluate their program. Rational Aim To obtain feedback from stu dents on the impact of their program Experiential Aim To experience delight in sharing Hints Although most conversations use language, there are many ways to communicate ideas and answers. This conversa tion uses kinesthetic (body movement) and visual spatial intelligences in addition to language to answer questions so that young children with limited verbal expression can communicate in a wider vari ety of ways. For people with difficulty in understanding a question or those who have a narrow range of verbal expression, giving a broad range of pos sible answers may help them to choose their answer. Make sure you are not just giving prompts for the answers you want to hear! Other Applications Although this conversation is quite specific, the ways of asking for responses may be used with other groups with limited language, such as spe cial education classes or ESL classes. What did you do today? Show me some things you do in preschool What do you like to do here? Bring me your favourite thing to play with. When do you ever feel sad, angry, or unhappy here? Show me what it looks like. What is something you ve learned to do here? Point to something that you ve learned to do. Draw me a picture of the best part of preschool. Can you tell me about your picture? May I write what you said on the picture? Closing Thank you for sharing with me.

237 Dealing with Complaints about a Staff Member Several parents have come to the principal with serious complaints about a teacher from their students in a grade seven class. The principal is concerned that the situation be dealt with carefully and fairly, protecting both the students and the teacher. First the principal interviews all involved individually and documents what they say. Each interview is confidential, so that there is a safe environ ment to speak. Rational Aim To understand the situation and receive input on what to do. Experiential Aim To diffuse feelings and devel op the capacity to look for positive solutions. Hints Setting out the questions where participants can see all of them before answer ing helps to create safety in answering, and also allows people to hold answers until the question comes up. Depending on the situation, this conversation may be followed by the justice circle conversation (see Chapter 10), which puts everyone together to resolve and heal the situation. As my memo to invite you to this interview states, some serious allegations have been made about this teacher. Before we proceed any further, we need to establish the facts. In the end, it is my responsibility to make a decision about what to do next, but I want to be really clear about what happened so far, and I want to hear from all perspectives. I will also be interviewing others. Everything said is strictly confidential. These are the questions I will be asking. Tell me what has been going on with this teacher. Try to speak from the standpoint of an external reporter, holding a video recorder. Be as specific as you can. Give me a specific example or two of the teacher s actions, as best you can. What are some things that may have led up to this? What part of this situation has been the most upsetting to you? What worries you the most? What frightens you? What do you think might be behind this? Why do you think this is happening? What implications do you see for the students? The teacher? Others? Which elements of school policies does this invoke? What are your thoughts on what we might do to deal with this situation? What are we obliged to do? What else do you recommend? Closing Thank you for your input. As I said at the beginning, I am gathering all the information I can on this situation, and I will be making a decision as soon as I have conclusive data.

238 Responding to a Proposed School Leadership Change The school board has announced that it is moving both the principal and the vice principal at the same time next year. The advisory coun cil has called an emergency meeting to discuss the issue. Rational Aim To decide on a response to the announcement. Experiential Aim To sense the power of the advisory council to affect school changes. As you all know, we are losing our principal and vice principal at the same time. We need to look the situation over and take our concerns to the board. Think back to the last time that a principal or vice principal was moved from this school. When was that? What happened when one of them moved? What worked well in the past in relation to administrative changes? What hasn t? What is your immediate reaction about losing both principal and vice principal? What angers you? What doors might this open for us? How do you feel this will affect the school community? What might be some positive effects? What could be negative effects? What values do we want to see honored in this decision? How shall we respond? What are we going to do to get our opinion heard? How will we present our response? Closing This plan will make our concerns known. We have certainly taken a major step in making our concerns known about the school climate that affects our children s learning. Thank you very much for your concern and creativity.

239 Reviewing Requests to Cancel a Class Trip Teachers, Students and Parents An expensive school trip, traditional to the school, has been planned. A strong group of parents have objected that a number of families will find it a hardship to afford the trip. The school council has recommended canceling it. Students and staff are upset, because they have been look ing forward to the trip all year. The principal, vice principal, and senior staff have to make the final decision. They are having the conversation with all the students, teachers, and parents. Rational Aim To make the final decision. Experiential Aim To experience that staff mem bers care about everyone s feelings. We need to make a decision regarding the field trip, and we all have to feel comfortable with it. Here is the information we have. What questions of clarity do you have? Are there any other facts that you know about this situation? What s your initial response to this information? What are your feelings surrounding this decision? What is it you really wanted to accomplish on this trip? What are the implications if we cancel the trip? If we don t? What else might we do that would accomplish the positive intent and minimize the negative impacts? Given our feelings and the information, what should we do? How should we communicate our decision to the rest of the parents, staff members, and students? Closing Given the situation, I believe we have made a choice we can live with.

240 Increasing Participation of Businesses in a School Community Council Lots of parents and social agency people are involved in the School Community Council (SCC), but few busi ness people are involved. The Council is concerned and puts a discussion on the next meeting agenda. Rational Aim To make recommendations and decide about how best to get businesses involved in the School Community Council. Experiential Aim To act on best recommen dations and make decisions about business involvement for future meetings of the Council. A concern arose in our last meeting about the lack of community business involvement for our School Community Council. How many businesses are there in our community? What other types of business do we have? What is intriguing about the possible involvement of these businesses? What is a bit scary about their potential involvement? What are the benefits of their involvement to us? To them? What are the dangers? What are other implications of business being involved? Why do we think businesses are not involved at this time with the SCC? What are some things we can do to get businesses involved? What is our first step? Closing These are important decisions and will have an impact on our future as the School Community Council.

241 Understanding Bullying Students, staff members and parents in an elementary school are exploring the phe nomenon of bullying. Rational Aim To understand bullying behav ior, and its effects. To begin to identify options for dealing with bullying in the school situation. Experiential Aim To share students perspective on bullying in the school. To be committed to work together to build a trusting and safe environment. Hints Be very careful to focus on the behavior and not label individuals or groups. The people, themselves, are not the problem. They may well have problems, but labeling people as bullies or victims will exacerbate the problem rather than solve it. In a conversation that includes children and adults, be pre pared to ask questions in more than one way so that everyone understands the question and can participate. Today we are going to have a conversation about bullying. Let s start with some working assumptions: everyone has wisdom and important ideas to share; there are no wrong answers; everyone hears others and is heard. We ll start with a definition of bullying from the dictionary. What words or phrases caught your attention as I read this definition? Think of a bullying situation you have observed. Think of the overt, direct, clear situations, but also think of the subtle ones as well Where or when have you seen or experienced something like any of these situations? How did you feel? What was frustrating for you? How did the people around react? What are the common threads in these experiences? What are the characteristics of those who use bullying behavior? What are the characteristics of those who are the recipients of this behavior? What have you learned? Why do people behave in this way? What are different ways this behavior can be dealt with? What changes are needed? What can we do to deal with this behavior in our school? What are you committed to do? Closing We will share the changes and commitments we have mentioned to other parents and staff. Your commitments to making changes are extremely valuable to your school. Thank you for your insight.

242 Compliance and work place inspection Create an action plan to complete workplace inspections. JHSC take responsibility to complete inspections. Workplace inspections are required by law. Status of inspections chart. Lets dismiss what we can do to improve completion. Closing: Thank your for your contribution to the creation of the action plan to complete workplace inspection. Now lets move forward. Why are we doing inspections? What are some benefits to doing inspections? How many inspections have we completed this year? Why do we need inspections? What make you reluctant to do inspections? What makes you happy or willing to do inspections? Describe your positive experiences doing inspections? Negative ones? What are the obstacles? What would make you more comfortable? What would make it easier to do them? What tools could you use to do them better or at all? Who has to be involved for you to be able to complete? What has not been mentioned to assist with inspections? What steps have to be taken to achieve completion? What will perform the steps? Make a timeline.

243 Special Authorization Identify all options to make a decision. All involved parties will feel part of the decision. We have a request for medical supply contract. r/t. accountability of $ and BP Closing: Reinforce decision with the rationale. Why is item required? Why is contracted item not able to meet need? Is the Cost Rational clear to everyone. Clear objective information. What is the freedom we have to make decisions? What is the competency? Wanting to meet dts needs base on RN perspective. Reacting to frustration of nurses and doctors. What other options? explore. Second guessing? Provide direction based on information discussed.

244 Problem Solving and/or System Change To overcome and solve roadblocks. Relief to move forward. Have done status review two months into project. Roadblocks have been identified. Closing: Reinforce decision with the rationale. Read out cards. What are the roadblocks that the projects has? Any other roadblocks? - frustrated - demoralized by committed Have you experienced any of these obstacles before in other projects? What does this mean for the team? What are options for overcoming these obstacles? •increase awareness to increase volunt. •more planning around new releases •training session on standards •legislation: non-affordable increase from corp donation, council D design chair Provide direction based on information discussed.

245 Team Updates Matrix row 3: cordinate "Planned Action" Review our commitments and review action for next month events. Recommit to revised schedule. motivation to accomplish tasks. Read cards - silent - read verbal Any questions of clarity? Which events excited you? Which will be easy? Hard? Where were you concerned? What needs to come first? Second, Next? Why are we committed to get these done? Who will lead each task? How many people and hours will likely be needed?

246 Conversation to adjust budget To create a realistic revised budget for each team. Committed to raising the money to meet the budget. We were decided on our budget on June 25th. We were in a hurry. Today we would like to revisit the budget and make it realistic. Closing: Thanks everyone. This will allow us all to continue forward. How much did you budget in the original plan? How much did you actually spend? Who is already committed to fuding the budget? How were you able to work with the existing budget? What concerns do you have with the budget for the res of the year? What problems were caused by our existing budget? What additional revenues are needed in the budget? What are some possible ways to increase income, so it is sustainable before and park is created? Wha will happen if we do nothing with the budget? Who will we need to approach? How will we generate the additional funds if needed? Who's going to do this?

247 Quarterly Update Conversation on your group summaries Drawing our details of group summary. Groups feel united in project efforts. To discuss community collaboration and standards, and design as it relates to accomplishments, roadblocks, and commitment to next actions, and funding. Closing: Congratulations on your efforts and on your next steps. Read summaries. Have you achieved your stated accomplishments, removed roadblocks, set your monthly action plan and budget appropriately. Read them back. What part is motivating? What part is difficult? Do you see anything missing in any of the components? Summaries? What part is most motivating. What make your stomach hurt? What have you learned? What is significant about what you learned? In 3-5 words how would you describe your process? Can everyone agree with these descriptions?

248 Initiating new team members Establishing a shared vision for the osteoporosis program. New members have awareness of the teams purpose and goals. The team will be engaged and supportive of the vision. New team members feel welcome. What does the program currently do well. Strengths and weaknesses. What do you need to know about the team? Where have we been and where do we want to go? What excites you about the new vision? Worries? Concerns? What is scary about the new team? Are there any conflicts among the team? What is the most important things for new team members to know? What are potential road blocks in moving forward? What is missing? What might happen if we don't move ahead? How do you work as a team. How will we develop the the supporting objectives and milestones and outcomes? What steps will we need to take to get it members? First steps for integrating of new members. How do we get Docs invested and staff buyin?

249 Implementing hospital hygiene (HH) as part of clinical PA. Group will understand concept as quality measure rather than punitive measure, and how to develop valid processes. Trust the audit process and impact understanding of quality versus punitive. How will I be measured? What are the HH stats for ie individual units, professions, hospital? How is HH accountability currently addressed? Is what we are asking for fair? What are you excited with or afraid of in including HH in PA? What scares you about this new addition? How will this affect practice? Why is this immportant to you? What barriers are occuring? Hw can we achieve improved compliance? How will will staff be measured? What is an acceptable standard of compliance? Are we ready to include HH in PA? What other members need to be included with totals.

250 Getting buy-in and compliance for change already implemented. eg. Hours of operation. Learn why we have to make the change to participate actively in making change work. To support change in hours/days of operation. Trust in decision makers. What other organizations have changed to this service model? Who was involved in this decision? What questions of clarity to you have? Why has the change occurred? How has this impacted on patients length of stay? What if any costs are involved? What concerns you about this change? What can you live with? What cant you live with? What do you like about the change? Why does this frustrate you? What significance does this change have in your life? What are the practice issues and what resolutions do you see? Do the patients like this new model? What are the implications of this change for you and your role? What supports are needed for staff at work? at home? What do we seem to be saying? What further change is necessary to make this work? What are our next steps? What are you personally committed to do? What adjustments could be made?

251 Non compliance with handwashing Understand why, when and how to wash your hands. The group will have a thorough understanding and will be passionate about hand washing. What are the best practice procedures / standards for hand hygiene? What percent compliance rate of handwashing in this group? What may happen if you do not wash your hands? How many times per hours do you clean your hands and equipment? What is the importance of this issues (What's the big deal?) Why not wash your hands sometimes? What do you feel like when you see someone treat a patient without washing their hands? What worries you What are the possible reasons for non-compliance? Is the placement of the ABHR convenient? disruptive to flow? Will this make a difference? Do you have a preference for products? How important What is the first action we need to take? What changes are required? What do we need to do to increase the rate of hand washing compliance? What will you do differently?

252 Angry relatives about wait times Identify concerns regarding wait time to be presented to administration. Relatives will feel heard and satisfied that their concerns will be communicated to senior management. Who is involved? Where was it? How long did you wait? Is there a legal issue involved? What does the term wait time mean to you? How has this wait time affected you? What was not right about the situation? Why did you feel that way? What do you think the hospital could have done differently? What have you heard the group say is the highest priority? How changes are you hoping for? Who make make the report to the board. What is the most important message you wish to deliver? When will this concern be communicated to senior management team?

253 Start time shift (day) Suggest ways to make the change work. Acceptance of new change. Are all departments changing? Why not other shifts? What questions do you have? What will the union think? What if I cant come at that time? Why is this not a good idea? How will this affect you? What If I am late more often? What time is best for you? Can I change shifts as done before? Why is this happening? Is this best for patients? What are our next steps? When should we start?

254 Compliance with eye protection Address some of the barriers to wearing eye protection. To increase commitment to wearing eye protection? What are the barriers to wearing eye protection? What are situations where you have to wear eye protection? What are the key points in the policy? What does it feel like to wear eye protection? What do you like or dislike about our current eyewear? What do you think when you see others wearing eye protection? Have you ever worked somewhere or a department where all staff wore eye protection. Tell me about it? What are the benefits of wearing eye protection? What are the reasons we should wear it? What are the consequences of now wearing it? Why would someone choose contact over safety? Are there concrete tools to help get people to wear eye protection? Which actions will we take to help each other wear eye protection? What are our next steps?

255 Safe patient transfer and lift policy joint health and safety committee to review the policy and identify recommendations. Everyone has the opportunity to provide input. Everyone provides feedback. Bringing the policy forward for input and review. Read out loud the policy high lights. What do you understand is the purpose of the policy? What should it cover? What is key? What are your questions of clarity to help you understand it? What is your reaction? How does this policy impact the health and safety of staff? What are you concerns? What are the challenges in implementing and enforcing this policy? What should be deleted, changed, added? How valuable is this information for staff? What are the practices and resources for staff to follow this policy? What wording changes or additions do you recommend? Who should this revision be circulated to? Who else should provide support.

256 Falls prevention guidelines To determine the relevance of this guideline to our organization. Feeling positive about potential and value of falls prevention What is the current proposed policy? Do you think this is a problem in our organization? How long has falls prevention been in place? What departments need to be involved? What are the key recommendations in the guidelines? What is your experience with falls strategies? What frustrates you about falls? Which recommendations are not relevant to our facility? How would these guidelines work for our organization. Who do you think these changes would impact? How will front-line staff be informed and educated about the new changes and policies. What recommendations should we implement? What policy changes are necessary to obtain sustainability? How we we move forward? How do we measure success?

257 Care review for a perceived delay in treatment of a baby To determine if the patient received appropriate care in a timely manner. That the group will come to consensus and feel that process was valuable. What was the chronology of events? What specific examples of delay did the parents give? Who were the staff involved? What care did the infant receive? What are the facts of the case? Did the parents say something specific to you? What are your reactions to the event? What is bothering people about this situations? Or what concerns are there? Did you realize that there was a delay at the time? What are the barriers and challenges to implementing changes? What did we do well? What could have been done differently to expedite the care? What should the chronology have been? How could we have improved the care of this patient? What recommendations should we make? Who will be responsible for implementing the changes?

258 Provision of Services. PSW-client wants needs more hours Staff person will be confident from discussion based on client X. Comfort level is increased and anxiety level is decreased. Staff will know how to handle in the future. I understand that you are having difficulty with client X. Do you have a few minutes to meet?... Closing: Trust that you feel comfortable to move forward with this decision. Thank you for having clarified. What are the assessed hours? What is the client's perceived need? What other community organizations have been considered? Has there been consultation with peers, eligibility criteria, policies etc? What situations have you had like this before? **What is the most difficult part of talking to the client? What strategies have you used in the past to resolve? What worked best? What didn't work? What tools or strategies are we missing? **How can the organization support staff in these kinds of situations? What are your next steps? eg discuss options with the family? Do you feel comfortable to have conversation with the family/client?

259 Performance issues with workers To make the employee aware of the issue and hopefully prevent it in the future. To have the employee take ownership of the performance issues and commit to resolving the issues. I hav e some concerns that have been brought to my attention which I would like to discuss with you. What can you tell me what’s been happening with your work? What parts of your job do you enjoy? What parts of your job do you struggle with? What factors are affecting your work? How do you feel about the work you do? What aspects of your job creates frustration? What could we do to support you in your job? What could you do to improve your work performance? What areas do we agree on or not agree on? What steps do we need to take to reach agreement? What is the first action we need to take? I am glad that we had this discussion and we were able to share information. I feel that it will help us come to a consensus.

260 Grievance Concern To come up with a good solution to solve a grievance. The generate commitment to try out and live with the solution. Present the grievance hours of work. -choosing to work OT on Sunday or Saturday What is your grievance? Was your OT approved? What was your understanding of hours of work? How did you arrive at that understanding? What was your reaction when your OT was refused? When have you hear of this happening before? What else does this remind you of? What concerns you about this? Why is resolution of this important to you? How could we have prevented this? Why did this happen? What can we learn from this? What could we do different to avoid this is the future? What are we committed to do? Wha will do it? What is our consensus?

261 Restructuring Workload / work assignments to achieve equitable case manager assignments / workload at the hospital and For staff ideas / opinions to be heard and considered for restructuring of team. Current and LHIN and Prov and Contract measures What is the current state of work assignments: BCD #’s? What are the requirements of your assignment? What are the characteristics of your average traffic care plan? What image do you have of our team function? What are the + / - about your current assignment? If you can change an aspect of your job what would it be? How do you determine a balanced team portfolio / criteria What is your vision of a balance team portfolio. What are the PROS and CONS of 1. Balance volume vs complexity of work. 2. diversify skills and expectations. What do we need to change? How will this impact each team member?

262 Expectations from LHIN Come to consensus of Local Health Integration Network expectations. Be collegial and partnering We would like to explore the relationship between balanced budget and system impact. What are some of the trends that are being observed? How have you seen a balanced budget effect clients? Positively? Negatively? What system improvements have you seen from a balanced budget? What additional information is needed or should be researched? We have a fear that we won’t be able to serve high need clients with the available money. What personal views or concerns do you have about service to high needs clients? How does reduced service to low priority clients affect you, or affect the system? What impact on low priority clients How do some of the trends we are seeing open up options for us to explore? What are the pros and cons of these options? What are some of the implications of these options? What are commitments by CCAC? By LHIN? What is the direction we need to take?

263 Call with a client about a Health Case Manager not returning the clients calls. Explore client concerns with client. Client and CM feel supported during the process. Thanks for talking my call. I wanted to get back to you to discuss your concern that your Case Manager has not returned your calls. Who is the Case Manager? What are the details of the unreturned phone calls? What is the issue? What are any risks associated with the unreturned calls? What is your history with the Case Manager? How did the lack of response affect you? When did you start feeling frustrated? How is this impacting you? Is there anything you need me to do right at this moment? Can I follow up and get back to you? When will I be able to reach you.

264 Refreshed BSC to get PPM consensus on measures for a refreshed BSC. Confidence in the BSC going forward to org and board Here are the current LHIN and Provincial and Contract measures What questions of clarification do you have? What are other potential measures we could use? What has Board said they are looking for? What measures do we need? Others to consider for accreditation? Which measures do you like? Which on the list cause you some real concern? Which of these will be problematic to measure? Which will be easy to measure? Which measures do you like? Which on the list cause you some real concern? Which of these will be problematic to measure? Which will be easy to measure? Which are the priority measures? What clarity do we now have. What are we still unclear about? Who needs to vet the refreshed BSC.

265 Planning education for client services. Difficult conversations for CMs’ Each participants will know how to plan education for difficult conversations. Confident, engaged and committed to the agreed upon outcome. [ How often do you have to hold difficult conversations?] How are we managing difficult conversations now? What education plans do we have in place right now. What data do we have around complaints and appeals. What policies and procedures are currently in place? How do you feel about how we are handling things now? What specific experiences have you had? What is a story of your experience? What would be the consequence of having a well-planned and delivered conversation? Of a poorly planned one? Why would we want to go down this road? What are the options open to us? What is/ are the preferred options? What needs to be in a plan?

266 getting nurses to order supplies accurately in home. know how to accurately complete the form in the home. group will embrace the process. provide data client impact financial CCAC impact receive feedback from supply providers and vendors How do you feel about this data? Why do you think this is happening? Do you see your role contributing to this data? What other factors do you think are contributing to this situation? How do you feel about a decision to have nurses complete orders in the home. How do you see yourself supporting nursed to accurately complete order forms in the home? Anything else? What is/ are the preferred options? What needs to be in a plan?

267 Techniques for reducing absenteeism in the workplace Participants will gain knowledge skills and techniques to reduce absenteeism. Participants will be satisfied with responses. Where have you worked with bad absenteeism? What is the current policy? What is the objective and averages? What are some of the reasons for absenteeism? How many staff are affected and how many managers have done anything? What tools are in place to deal with it now? What is the most frustrating part of absenteeism? Why do we have to deal with this? What happens as a results of inaction from the managers? What part of our organizational culture does absenteeism play? What needs to be done to improve? What needs to change? What is the first step we need to take?

268 Calming an upset client / family member To have client or family aware of CCAC, service and elibility to access of service. to have client or family member calm by the end of the conversation. What are the issues? Why are you upset? What is your biggest concern? Have I heard you correctly? What do you know about CCAC? Who have you spoken with already? Why does this upset you? What is the impact this is having on you? What else have I missed? How can I help? Are you satisifed with the results of this conversation? What more information can I provide?

269 Historical Scan conversation To reflect on accomplishments to date. People on the same page regarding the current state. Welcome. Will reflect on accomplishments regarding the project state. Volunteer each team to read out accomplishments. Then we'll talk about them so that we're on the same page Ask for volunteer from each team to read card. Questions of clarity? High points? Low points? Turning points? Shifts happening? What do we want to capture on the blue card?

270 Sudden reduction in budget To explore the budget change and identify options to change behaviour. The staff will have understanding and trust in the process. What is the new budget compared with the old? What have you known about budgets in the past years? How long will this last? What parts of the budget affect the services for clients? What concerns or fears do you have? Which line items cause you the most concern? What makes you the most nervous about this budget? How does this impact your clients? What opportunities for change does this open up? What can we do? What options do we cut or to redefine?

271 Counseling for Short-Wait List Facilities To have clear information to make an informed decision. Clients trust the information given and the rational for the next steps to decision making (selecting a short listed facility) Closing of conversation: Participants verbalize their learning and the final decision? Are you committed to the plan? What experience have you have with LTC? What do you understand the process to be? Do you understand the consequences? What do you want to see come from the process? What fears do you have about the process? What memories affect your own decision process? What are the options? What are your values in caring for your family members? What will happen if we don't agree? What are the next steps? What are you committed to do? What will each party do? CCAC. Family/client. What are the consequences to the decision?

272 Client requires more care They and Staff will identify options to maintain clients in the community when increase support is required. Group will feel they have tools to assist families/clients maintaining clients at high levels of service. CMs are struggling with discussing / planning / supporting clients and families increased/ing care needs. Are we providing the service plan for HSW? What is on the service plan? What did you hear from the client and family? Who was at the HU? What is the current CM's RAI score/ RUM report. Who does the client live with? What services are currently in place ie family, role, CSS, FHT, FD What did you see at home visit ie condition. How creative are we being? What's been tried and what's worked in the past? What is going well? What isn't? What are the risks to the client? Why does the client need more service? What is the most frustrating part of this? What are the trends happening? Which peers can be asked for support? What are other underlying issues? Does everyone feel the same way ie client, family, CM. What might happen with a zero increase in service? What next steps? Re day program, family support meeting. CM and (LP) etc.

273 Presentation of a Decision To inform people of a decision that will affect them that has already been made. Understanding and acceptance of the decision already made. As manager, I need to pass along a decision that has been made that will affect you. The basic decision is this...... The background data that led up to this is..... Here are some of the facts that we all need to know abut. These are some of the past policies or analyses that were done that led to this decision. Here is why we had to make the decision now rather than later. What concerns me about this situation is.... What pleases me about this situation is.... Some previous similar experiences that we have had are... The implications of this situation are... Some of the ways that this will affect us are... Here are some of the options for implementation that are open to us. The decision, specifically is..... We are expected to.... Here is how I think we will need to proceed. We can discuss this further if you need to understand, but we cannot change the decision at this point. Thank you for your support.

274 General meeting with a team to discuss guidelines for dealing with conflict Develop a procedure for dealing with conflict. Create a collaborative approach to addressing conflict There is always the potential for conflict within a team. We want to discuss how it should be dealt with. What have we observed about conflict in the workplace? What are some examples of it? When confict is not resolved, what kind of changes have you seen in the workplace? How does conflict make you feel? What is your pattern of behaviour when facing conflict? What are you concerns about conflict and attempts at confict resolution? How do you think conflict affects others? What is your understanding of what can drive conflict? What happens when conflict isn’t resolved? What have you seen in similar situations that helps resolve conflict? What does conflict resolution look like to you? What changes are needed in this workplace? What are the next steps to develop a procedure draft? Who is going to do which steps? What is your level of commitment?

275 Delivering an unpopular Decision Inform senior management of task and deadline. For senior management to understand need, urgency and rationale for request. A decision has been made and this is the information. As you read the directive through what questions do you have? (write questions down, but not necessarily answer right then) Who is most affected? What is the best way for me to followup with you? What further info What concerns do you have? What questions do you have? What do you feel is missing in this directive? What questions does it raise for you? What implications does this have for our department? What options can you suggest for completing the task? How can we turn this into a win-win? How will we get this done? How will give resources? What is the best way for implementation?

276 Taking ownership of Compliance ‘X’ rule exists. All staff need to comply. We need to promote compliance. Identify the rule. Explain the history and purpose of the rule. What concerns do you have with the rules as they exist? What are the positive aspects of the rule? Negative? Do these rules conflict with other rules or social or cultural conventions. Why do the rules bother you? What is going to happen if the rules aren’t followed? Are ther any options to the rule? Compliance with the rule. What modifications might be considered along with the compliance.

277 Adhoc problem with a high technical component People will understand what caused the problem and how it can be prevented from happening again. Fixing the problem and establishing protocols for future difficulties. What happened? Getting the facts. Tell us what happened? What can you tell us that is happening in your work. Let’s reconstruct the events. What about this problem frustrates you? What concerns do you have? How is this affecting your job? What implications does this have? What could improve the situation? Who has the expertise to help? What actions do we need to take first? What solutions are available to to us? What resources do we need? (personnel, financial, etc.

278 Talking about intimidation with a whole group Each person in the group will recognize and understand intimidation within ourselves and others. Individuals with feel empowered to deal with intimidation, and others will want to back off from their intimidating behaviours. Who is affected? What are the behaviours exhibited to make one believe intimidation is happening? What does intimidation sound like? What is intimidation? What does intimidation feel like to you? How do you feel when intimidated? What affects does it have on the workplace? What concerns do you feel with intimidation? Why is intimidation a concern in the workplace? What is the real purpose of intimidation? What are the strategies to reduct intimidation in the workplace? What actions can we take to recognize intimidation? What changes would you like to see to prevent intimidation.

279 Working with a ‘why bother” attitude Understand how a “why bother” attitude affects the workplace and decide on 1st action items. Be more aware of what contributions each person can make to improve attitute/morale. What is a “why bother” attitude? What are specific example of a WB attitute? What frustrates you about WBA? What images come to mind? What feelings do you associate with a WBA. When have you experienced such an attitute? What are the effects of WBA on staff? on the overall workplace? What are some larger issues that might influence this attitude? What actions might influence a positive change of attitude? What would the outcomes be of each of these options? What is the 1st step we need to take? Who will do it? How will we evaluate whether our actions are working?

280 Preparing for upcoming staff changes. Understand the need, purpose and aim of upcoming changes and the opportunity. Better accept the changes that are coming and give the opportunity to be heard. What are the proposed changes? Who is affected? When will the changes take place (immediately, over time, rollout)? What do you know about why the changes are taking place? What questions do you want to ask about them? How did people feel with past changes? What concerns do these raise? What makes you anxious, worried, or excited about these changes? How can we use the changes in a positive way to better the organization? How can the change be supported? (tools and resources) What options are there? What are some of the things that need to be done? What priorities can we identify? What are the next steps? What is each person’s role? What can be done now? What do we need to explore further relating to: admin needs, recruitment & needs, layoff status, office supply and space?

281 Two party personal conflict to arrive at a mutually agreed upon solution for all three parties. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the ongoing personal conflict between the two of you. Closing: We need to ensure that both parties abide by our decision today. What is the conflict about? How long has the conflict been going on? Where do the people work? Who are the coworkers? What is their individual take on the conflict? How do you feel about your job/ work/ department? How do you fel when you are faced with this problem? What type of personal issues are you dealing with that may be the source of this conflict? When does the conflict happen? What do you think is the underlying problem? How would others deal with this issue? What are the tools you need to move out of this situation? What can we do to ensure that your job is back on track? What is the first step or action we need to take, and when?

282 Planning for new office space Since the current office space is not ideal, uncover the key points in a plan to have sufficient space for each branch office. Get past the impasse of non-action. What are the present policies? Who does space planning? What are the sq ft parameters per employee? How have you noticed it affect efficiency of operations? What are budget requirements? What are the time lines? What is most irritating when the problem remains unsolved? How do you feel or how does it affect you personally when proper space is lacking? What are some important requirements? What are some underlying issues? What are requirements, possible options, solutions? What are the implications of our proposals affecting other branches and departments? What specifically do we need to do to get answers from the D.M.?

283 Streamlining Efficiencies Discover what efficiencies are within our means and focus on the do-able. Create an atmosphere of encouragement. What are some of the things people often refer to when they talk about efficiencies? What are some of the typical barriers to efficiencies? Which of these barriers do we have some control over and which ones do we not? Which of the barriers cause you or us real headaches or grief? Why? How have some of these inefficiencies affected us? How do they affect us now? What are the costs of change? What is the value or worth of change? What political support is needed for change? What changes are those within our authority? What changes are not within our authority? Which ones do we need to do?

284 Aligning values and behaviour To assist department employees understand how values and behaviours are related. Help people see the behaviours based on values could become the norm in our day to day work. What values from our departmental strategic plan do you remember? What behaviours have you experienced in your work environment that creates a positive work environment? What do you think about our stated values? Which values are important to you? Which values are most important to you in doing your job? Why do you think it was important for our department to set workplace values? How do people express their values through behaviour? How has your behaviour changed since the introduction of workplace values. What values are required for a healthy workplace? What do we need to do to align the values and behaviours and make them meaningful to people.

285 Collaboration on implementation of CDIP / CMP activities Decide on specific areas of collaboration Excited and motivated to work on specific areas of collaboration. 1 hour meeting Introduce Topic. Set ground rules that everyone's ideas will be heard. We are looking for clear decision regarding ideas for collaboration. In what areas are we currently collaborating? Be as specific as you like. How does this collaboration fit into each directorate' bigger strategy and OPHIS. What have you seen that works and doesn't work in this collaboration? What concerns you about any of these collaborative efforts? What are the pros and cons of working together / separately. (take notes on flip chart.) What are implication of working together or not? (notes on flip chart) What are the resource implications? What else do we need to talk about? What are priority areas we should collaborate on? What parts are best done separately? What does our consensus appear to be? What have we learned from this conversation? Let's summarize our next steps.

286 Elements of a high performance team Rational Aim(s) By the end of the discussion the group will define the elements of a high performance SAN team. Experiential Aim(s) The group will be excited with new ideas and trust each others’ perspective. Each person will have been heard. We are going to have a conversation about the elements of a high performance team. Start the discussion by sharing your experience with a high performance team (either you are part of the team or seen a high performance team) – might takes too long. - Maybe, “What other teams operate in our division ???.” * Lets see how many accomplishments we can name over the past two years for our team or various teams. Might be your own accomplishment or something you heard about. Only 1 sentence each. Be as brief as possible. Go around the room halfway. * What things have perhaps not happened, have not turned out the way you wanted them to, or perhaps can not be called accomplishments ye because they are not finished. for whatever reason. Go around the other half of the room. What comments/feedback have you heard? * What were the high/low points for you? (maybe 4 people) What were the strengths/weaknesses of the team? Where was the group at the highest/lowest? How did you feel? What reactions do you notice in yourself and the team? * Where have you/team struggled most? (4 different people) How did the team bounce back from failures and overcome challenges? What was the turning point for you/the team? *What have you learned about working as a team? (maybe six people) What does this experience tell you? What will you do differently as result of this experience? *** Now lets talk about a High Performance Team. What seem to be the contributing factors that make up a high performance team? (maybe write these on a flipchart. How would you pull this together into a definition of high performance team? (not a lot to be gained from a definition._ *** Lets See if we can name the 5 key Elements of a high performance team? What visual could we create to remember these five elements. What difference will it make to how we grow as a team? (Record the elements that the team has indentified on a large note pad.)

287 Co-infection policy conference - Support Service delivery Rational Aim: Develop research questions that will lead to better delivery of support services. Experiential Aim: “This could really make a difference.” Setup: 7 tables of 8 people each, far enough apart to have discussion, but close enough to a wall to see the flip charts. Makers at each table. An ORID discussion guide page for each person. Two flip chart pages for each table. What is your name and one thing from the presentation that stood out for you? Which support services make the biggest difference or have the greatest effect? From your experience what are some of the critical points in the continuum of care? What question, if answered, would lead to improvements in the continuum of care for people living with co-infection? Which questions would create the biggest positive impact on service delivery? Which two people would like to report to the whole group our interventions at the plenary at 12:00.

288 Co-infection policy conference - Social policy development Rational Aim: Develop research questions that could lead to important policy development. Experiential Aim: “This could really make a difference.” Setup: 7 tables of 8 people each, far enough apart to have discussion, but close enough to a wall to see the flip charts. Makers at each table. An ORID discussion guide page for each person. Two flip chart pages for each table. What is your name and one thing that stood out for you from the presentations? What heartens or concerns you about the current state of social policy? What are some obstructive policies? Or What barriers or gaps in knowledge are blocking action? Or In what areas do we need good policy developed, or poor policy changed.) What question, if answered, would accelerate the development of good social policy? Which questions would create the biggest positive impact social policy? Which two people would like to report to the whole group our interventions at the plenary at 12:00.

289 Co-infection policy conference - Clinical service delivery Rational Aim: Research questions that would enhance clinical service. Experiential Aim: An expansion and then focus of understanding Setup: 7 tables of 8 people each, far enough apart to have discussion, but close enough to a wall to see the cards. Makers at each table. An ORID discussion guide page at each table. A flip chart page. What is your name and one thing in the research presentations that surprised, delighted or concerned you? What is your name and one thing in the research presentations that surprised, delighted or concerned you? From your experience, what are some of the gaps in research about clinical service delivery, or perhaps just gaps in clinical service? What question, if answered, could lead to enhanced Clinical Service Delivery? Who can see two or three questions that are similar? Lets move those together. What other questions are similar and could be put together into a cluster? Do this several times until six or seven clusters emerge. Each table takes a cluster and discerns the ONE RESEARCH QUESTION that all the questions in your cluster are pointing toward. Which question would have the greatest impact if it was answered. Which five people will take 10 minutes before lunch to clean up these patterns? Which two people would like to report to the whole group at 4:15?

290 Co-infection policy conference - Socia-Behavioural Research Rational Aim: Research questions that would add new insight to socio-behavioural research.. Experiential Aim: An experience of real insight. Setup: 7 tables of 8 people each, far enough apart to have discussion, but close enough to a wall to see the cards. Makers at each table. An ORID discussion guide page at each table. A flip chart page. What is your name and one thing in the research presentations that surprised, delighted or concerned you? What is your name and one thing in the research presentations that surprised, delighted or concerned you? From your experience, what are some of the gaps in socio-behavioural research, or gaps in our understanding of behaviours of co-infected people? What question, if answered, would add valuable insight into socio-behaviour research? (or would add valuable knowledge about the social behaviour of co-infected persons? Who can see two or three questions that are similar? Lets move those together. What other questions are similar and could be put together into a cluster? Each table takes a cluster and discerns the ONE RESEARCH QUESTION that all the questions in your cluster are pointing toward. Write that RESEARCH QUESTION on a Flip chart page and post it up front. Read them all out loud. Which question would have the greatest impact if it was answered. Which five people will take 10 minutes before lunch to clean up these patterns? Which two people would like to report to the whole group at 4:15?

291 Co-infection policy conference -Clinical and Epidemiological Research Rational Aim: A broad set of research questions. Experiential Aim: My important topic has been listened to and heard. Setup: 7 tables of 8 people each, far enough apart to have discussion, but close enough to a wall to see the cards. Markers at each table. Discussion guide for each person. 2 flip chart pages. Instructions from Facilitator. “Everyone picks up a Discussion Guide sheet at your table, and follows the procedures. We will convene as a whole group in 30 minutes. Your name and why you wanted to attend this conference. What did you hear during the conversation that heartened you or concerned you? What are some areas of clinical or epidemiological research in which there are gaps. What question, if answered, would move clinical and epidemiological research forward. Who can see two or three questions that are similar? Let’s move those together. What other questions are similar and could be put together into a cluster? Do this several times until six or seven clusters emerge. Each table takes one cluster and discerns the ONE RESEARCH QUESTION that all the questions in that cluster are pointing toward. Write that RESEARCH QUESTION on a Flip chart page and post it up front. Let’s read the 7 out loud. Which of these Research Questions would create a major impact? Get several answers. Which five people will take 10 minutes before lunch to clean up these patterns? Which two people would like to report to the whole group

292 Program implementation between 2 Directorates. Find ways to reconcile the two approaches Increase trust in each other's persepctives, and increase understanding of rationales for different approaches. 1 hour meeting Parameters of the discussion can include a decision on how to implement both approaches. Ground rules: -opportunity to hear all opinions and perspectives. (Notes can be taken on flip charts at certain times.) How did each program originate? What was the rationale for each program? Who is the target group? Frequency of program? How does this program fit into the bigger Directorate Strategy? What else do we need to know about each program? What concerns you about these two programs? What is most interesting about the other's program? What have you seen that works or doesn't work in this process? What are pros and cons of working together? Working Separately? What are the implications of working together, or not? What are the resource implications? Which part of the programs should we do together? Which parts is best done separately? What do we seem to be saying? What steps do we need to take next? Summarize • next steps • taking to CMO • Manage resource issues, if applicable.

293 introducing a new VP to staff RA: show value. What programs are doing. Champion EA: staff are reassured Opeing: Topic introduction of new VP. Conversation on getting to kow at new VP and Sharing our value. Guidelnes. Opening overview and Q&A. Time 1.5 hour Town hall meeting. Beginning point. CEO introduce new VP What is your pass experience in health care or cancer. What about the portfolio made you interested in the role. What is your leadership style. What is your vision What are you feeling about taking new role. How does this role affect everyone. What are considerations the interviewee should consider. What is your existing relationship with MOHLTC. What is the programs desired leadership style. What are you immediate priorities What is your objective.

294 Organizational Culture/ Meeting Culture RA: Current meeting culture is inefficient, there is room for improvement EA: Each individual has a part to play, equipped with strategies Opening: General feeling that meeting mgt is a problem at this organization, issues include…, lack of time, lack of planning, no innovation How often do you meet? How long are you emetings? Who do you invite? What proportion of your meetings are with internal vrs. external stakeholders? How do you feel about the quality? Do you feel they are effective? How does current culture affect your work? What are aspects of the most effective meetings? Least effective? How would you improve meetings? What change should we test? What is the best way for communication the proposed changes to the organization? Who would lead this? How would we measure success? Closing : Thanks for participating.

295 Implementing self reported symptoms at a regional level(site lod/adim, project leads IPM, clinicians) Rational Aim: Ideas of how to implement tools successfully, identify barriers Experiental Aim: Be collaborative, work as a team, buy-in language, focused Opening: 2 -TOR – role/roop, 4 – timeline, 3-scope, 1-input – purpose/goals Background info/data, process – meeting freq?, team composition?, clarification required? What excites you? What are your concerns? What does this remind you of? What are the barriers? Possibility? In relation to other work, What are we missing? What change is needed? Personally committed? What support? Resources? Next steps?

296 Dealing with limited office space. Rational aim: How to make it work, new systems for dealing with limited? Experiential aim: Reducing burden (booking), less frustrated, more flexible This conversation is specifically about meeting space and the lack of it, and what we might be able to do about it. How much space is there for meetings? How many meetings do you have / frequency? What is the current process for booking space? How often is this a problem? What is your experience when booking rooms? What is it important to have enough space? What happens when you can’t find room? How do you feel when you have no room? How does this impact you work? What do you do if you can’t book? What is the CCO’s perspectives? What resources can we leverage? What barriers cause lack of meeting space? Solutions/options? Are the alternatives to face-face meetings? What change is needed? How can we prioritize the issues? What are we committed to do ?What is the first thing we do? What is responsible? Department ? Closing: Thanks

297 Review of a recent HR policy on Cap on promotion maximum to 2nd grade level RA: Recommend options for improvement in the next iteration of the policy EA: elicit their acceptance, ensure engagement Describe new guideline. Highlight changes, Discuss Aims What is the current policy What are new and what are old policy elements Who is involved? Why the new change? How this this policy impact you? What make you uncomfortable with the changes. What makes this easier for you. Why is the change important to you. What options can we include in the next revision of this policy What hve you learned with respect to the initiatl approach to the policy revision Which options/revisions shouw we movie forward with? Who needs to be involved? Next steps? Closing Summary of points of the conversation Thanks for your participation.

298 Addressing long wait times in hospitals in cancer care RA: generate ideas for addressing long wait times EA: group motivation to address the issue Opening State objective. Definition of wait time. Set parameters ie specific service, setting, etc. Define length of meeting and time for certain discussions Invite comments and questions throughut. Present data Do you have an clarifiying questions? What are other or important key facts? How does this play out for you in your clinic. What is your experience of wait times in this setting Which wait time are concerning for you. What has worked well for your environment. What has not. What excites you about this initiative What are the associated point outcomes of have a particulary long wait time. Do you notice any patterns. Why is this important. What are some waits to reduce wait times. Which options are most feasible at your hospital. Which of the options should be try first. What would be the easiest to implement. What should the longer term goals. CLOSING High level summary of the discussion. Confirm decision. Summarize next steps and action items.

299 Strategic Partnerships RATIONAL AIM (S) To understand enough about the project and each other to be able to work together. EXPERIENTIAL AIM (S) To create a comfort level between strategic partners so that we can move forward We are all partners or potential partners in the successs of this particular project. Let’s talk about what our expectations are, what we need to accomplish and what we each bring to this partnership. Let’s go around the table and give your name, your organization, what it does, and what is your interest in this project. What questions of clarity would you like to ask of each other? Let’s take a look at the project plan as it has been developed so far. What specifically about this project holds long term promise for you? What is most reasonable, difficult, possible, impossible about this plan, regardless of who works on it? Why? What are blockages to working together that we will need to work through? What have you learned about partnerships that needs to be brought to bear on this project? What are the most important values about partnership that we will have to hold, in order to keep this partnership functioning well over the long term? Which specific parts of the project plan do you have something to bring to the table? What do you need from this group in order to make a commitment on behalf of your group? Who needs to be in on the organizing team? What are our next steps? Closing: We are all looking forward to hearing back from each other on our respective assignments.

300 Sharing Approaches That Work Interview RATIONAL AIM (S) To discover what are the most important learnings about this project that need to be shared widely with others. EXPERIENTIAL AIM (S) To affirm and celebrate the expenditure of energy that has gone into this project and create the desire to share it with others. We very much appreciate your openness to share all this experience with us We have been told by XXX about your project and would like to get to know more about it. Do you mind if we ask some questions and takes notes about this project that might be useful to others? What was the issue that was being addressed by this project? What were the original objectives of the project? What are some of the accomplishments? What is some of the important background information that is helpful to know about? What are some of the key factors of success for this project? What are some of the broad developmental learnings? What has been the importance of this project to the local area? What project materials are available to share with others? Who is the key contact person and the contact information we can publish? CLOSING After we write up a draft of this interviews, we will send it to you so that you can make appropriate corrections. Thank you!

301 Documenting a project RATIONAL AIM (S) To explore various dimensions of how people have been affected as a result of the project. EXPERIENTIAL AIM (S) To recommit to the journey of development. Clarify the subject of the documentation and why it is important to underkake at this time. Let’s get everyone's input on this documentation project, so that it can be the best that it can be Which audiences do you have in mind who should see the final documentation? What potential effect to you think our documentation might have on these audiences? What are some of the possible arenas of documentation? What are some sources of information we already know about? What are some products you are beginning to see in your mind's eye? What types of documentation make you enthusiastic? Turn you right off? What are the key questions our potential audiences are asking? What struggles do our potential audiences have that our documentation could speak to? What are the primary arenas for documentation that answer our audiences questions with real historical data? What are two or three story line options that could hold our document together? What are the most stunning reports on victories in each arena of our documentation that will speak directly to the underlying questions of our audience? What are those missing jewels of raw data that will really "make" our documentation? What are the necessary artwork, photos, quotes, tables, graphs the will focus the audiences attention? What is the overall image to be used on the cover and throughout that will tie everything together. CLOSING: This has been a great conversation. Let's figure out when we need to meet again to begin collecting all the pieces of documentation we have been talking about?

302 Getting to know a community after a neighbourhood walk. RATIONAL AIM (S) To share people’s intuitive grasp of the community. EXPERIENTIAL AIM (S) To create an intense interest about the community and its residents Now that we have spent some time walking around this community, let’s sit back and talk about our intuitions and what we have learned What are the boundaries of this community and the main topographical features? What are the primary secondary and service industries in this community? What do we know about the population, the income, the main shopping nodes, What is the cultural history? What was its historic role? What attracts people here? What surprises you? What are people worrying about? What limitations, irritations or specific issues did you hear about? What makes this community different from others? What is the mood? What is the communi- ties image of itself? What image does it have from the outside? What agencies and organizations are real resources to the entire community? What organizations or groups are working to improve the community? What approaches or experiments are working? How do residents sense their future? What is your own usual personal preoccupation when you look at this community? What else might you look for as you travel throughout the community? What interview questions might you ask a resident? What other sources would you refer to, to sensitize yourself to this community?

303 Community Historical Scan RATIONAL AIM (S) Create understanding and begin to create a common story about what has happened in this community.EXPERIENTIAL AIM Create a sense of wonder and amazement about the history of the community OPENING Let’s go back XXX years in this community’s history and consider what has been happening since that time. Let’s use this as a way to develop a common story about the community. What are some of the key events or marking points that have occurred in this community? When did they occur? Key celebrations? Major setbacks? Small or large victories? Important developments? Of all of these events which would you consider to be high points in the community? Low points? When was there a key turning point or shift in this community? Why do you think that? What made it a turning point? What was happening before? After? What are other such turning points? What is the story that people tell themselves about this community? What title can we give to the time periods between each turning point? As you look at the past events, what are some of the trends you can see that are important for the future? What are some future events that will be important in this community? Closing: How will we document this history and keep it in front of us as we work in this community?

304 Basic community data gathering RATIONAL AIM (S) To do some systematic and disciplined research and data gathering about the community. EXPERIENTIAL AIM (S) To experience tremendous potential in this community, and how it is a microcosm of the whole world. Economic What are the economic resources? -natural resources, skills, technologies. How do these resources get produced and processed? -industries, entrepreneurs, jobs. How do the products get distributed? -stores, transport, communication Political How is order kept and things organized in this area? -population, visitors. How is justice administered? -politics, leadership, institutions. What are the local processes that protect people, make sure they have enough food, and have ways to participate in what's going on? -food, housing, work. Cultural Who holds the community’s wisdom? Who or what provides training in academic disciplines? How is the style enacted? How does a new family get the help it needs? What are the community’s symbols? Where do people go to find out what life is all about? - language, art, beliefs What surprises have you found in this community? What delights you about this community? What concerns you? What intrigues you? What's the relationship between the resources, products and distribution. How are order, justice and welfare related What's the connection between education, family mores and human values? What are you learning that will have a bearing on our project? What do you want to learn more about. What additional research do we need to do? Who do we need to talk to? Who will do it?

305 Frameworking a project RATIONAL AIM (S) To share our potential contacts and understand that everyone could be a potential ally for our project. EXPERIENTIAL AIM (S) To create limitless possibility and an openness within the team about who can be an ally. There are a lot of people who can be very helpful to our project. Let’s share our knowledge about our contacts Who are all the people or organizations that could be involved in this project from the: public sector? private sector? not-for-profit sec- tor? people who are residents in the community? From your intuition, which of these people need to be in on the core decision making? Which people might be actively involved, but not be at the core? Which people may not be very active, but might be supportive? Which people simply need to be aware of the project? Which of these people would be helpful to get on board early on in the project? Whom do we know that can contact them? What might be the best approach for each person? Who will take responsibility for making the contact? Who will take responsiblity for contacting the others? How will we keep up-to-date on our progress? CLOSING I am glad we have so many potential allies for this project. Wouldn’t it be great if some of these folks eventually took on some leadership roles?

306 Creating a practical vision of the future RATIONAL AIM (S) Create a compelling, motivating long range practical vision of the future. EXPERIENTIAL AIM (S) People are getting clarity and building commitment toward something in the future. Let’s talk about the vision statement as it currently exists and see how it might be enhanced. Take some time to read it to yourself. What are some specific words of this vision statement that stood out for you? Pick some of those things. What would you actually see if it really were to come about? Give some of your own examples of what this might look like. What do you find most compel- ling about these examples and ideas. What is least compelling? What is missing? What do WE want to see going on in the next 3 to 5 years? What do WE hope to have in place in the next 3-5 years? What are the 5 or 6 most visionary and compelling ideas that have emerged that also hold the real breadth of our vision. How will you know when each vision element is in place? What will you see? How would other people know that this vision has been realized? What would they see? eg: Dynamic Waterfront Park. Don’t worry about how it will get done, only about what we want the future to look like. CLOSIng Now that we have a long range practical vision, our next step will be to analyze those underlying issues and constraints that are blocking us from moving ahead.

307 Issues, underlying obstacles, root causes and systemic blockages RATIONAL AIM (S) To articulate the underlying obstacles that must be dealt with to move ahead EXPERIENTIAL AIM (S) To experience the “aha” that comes with getting to the real core of the problem. what we need to say about what is blocking us from moving ahead. Let’s create a safe environment so that we can say. At this point we do not need to figure out what do to about those blockages, but only be clear about their nature and what holds them in place. We will figure out how to deal with them in a later conversation If the stated vision is to be realized, what are the issues, deterrents, blocks, irritants which get in our way? What are some irritating factors when you can’t seem to move ahead? Whom do we tend to blame and how useful or useless is this? What are some of those resources that we always seem to lack? What are other issues that come up again and again? Tell about a situation when you specifically experienced these problems. How did they block you? How do you experience this blockage? What does it make you want to do? How does it affect you? How do any of these specifically prevent us from really moving ahead? Which of these are simply excuses? In what ways do WE actually participate in keeping these blockages in place? What is actually going on that sustains this blockage? What is the real root cause that is preventing us from moving ahead? Based on all these discussions, what are the three or four main underlying obstacles that must be dealt with in order for us to move ahead? Try to state: Block, how it blocks, what it blocks eg. Our annual funding envelope system disccourages us from long range capital grants. CLOSING Now that we know what is blocking us from moving ahead, we will be able to create some strategies that will deal with these blocks so that our vision can start to become a reality.

308 Strategies and new approaches RATIONAL AIM (S) To create strategies that will move us forward toward our long range vision and deal with the blocks at the same time. EXPERIENTIAL AIM (S) To experience the commitment of developing strategies that will really work. Let’s spend some time talking about how we can be really strategic in using our resources to move ahead What are some of the key points of our long range vision. What are some of the issues and blockages that have been discussed. Let’s quickly brainstorm some of the various actions we could take that deal with the obstacles while moving us toward the vision What are actions you did not say out loud because you didn’t want to be branded as unrealistic? What actions were not mentioned because they seemed too obvious? What are some really innovative actions for dealing with the obstacles and moving ahead toward the vision? How would these actions go together to produce catalytic new directions? What is this new direction we must move in to resolve the contradictions and realize our vision? What is the focus of these actions? What new direction are we proposing? How is this a new direction / approach? What would you call this strategy? eg. formalizing our organizational structure. Let’s talk about the set of strategies we have just created. Which of the blocks are being dealt with? Which elements of our vision are they moving toward? Is there anything missing in this set of strategies? CLOSING Our next step will be to examine the strategies and build action plans for each of them

309 Learning from implementing an action plan RATIONAL AIM (S) To capture some of the hard won learnings from having been involved in implementation. EXPERIENTIAL AIM (S) Each person will feel acknowledged for the work that was done and be committed to You have put a lot of energy into implementing this strategy. Let’s talk about what we have learned, so that future implementation efforts can learn from us What victories did we have in this strat- egy “Promoting Tourism Initiatives”? Who worked on it? What steps did you take? What steps are left on this action plan? What were you especially pleased with? What problems did you encounter? How did you deal with them? What was the key to accomplishing this victory? What have you learned about this strategy by being involved in it? If you had to do it again what would you do differently? What will be vital in ensuring that we keep the momentum on this strategy? What could we do to get others involved? What steps do you want to report on in the big plenary? (if there is to be a plenary.) CLOSING Let’s capture these learnings and make them available to others

310 Human change conversation RATIONAL AIM (S) To explore various dimensions of how people have been affected as a result of the project. EXPERIENTIAL AIM (S) To recommit to the journey of development Individuals are personally affected by their engagement in community development. Let’s talk about those personal changes we have seen in ourselves and in others What parts of the project have you been involved in? Who were you working with? Who are some new people you have met? What are some things you saw in the community as a result of the project, even though you did not work on that part? What snip-its of conversations have you heard from other people as a result of the project? hat are some little things you now know about the project or community that you did not know before? What are some things that have been confirmed for you about this community? What has surprised or delighted you, or perhaps even made you angry? What has been the impact of this project? On you? On others? Why? What new patterns have you seen emerging? How is this project preparing people for the future? How are you different as a result of your work? How are others diffferent? What has been the one main benefit of this project to the community? How can we keep this alive? If a visitor came, how would you talk about this community? What is the one thing that everyone needs to know about this place? CLOSING This has been a great conversation.. Thank you for being so open about how this project has affected others and yourselves.

311 Action Planning RATIONAL AIM (S) To create some timelined action plans that individuals are committed to implementing. EXPERIENTIAL AIM (S) To create enough personal commitment to actually carry out the plans regardless of We have a set of strategies. Now we have to figure out how to get them done. We will create specific actions, timelines and assignments for each strategy. Look at Strategy A. Let’s brainstorm some of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) and some of the benefits and dangers of this strategy. What are some possible accomplishments we COULD accomplish, it we put our minds to it. Which of these possible accomplishment would break inertia and catalyze new momentum? Which of these possible accomplishments are realistic? Necessary? What is the one thing that we have to win on? What is the concrete victory we need for the next 6 months and one year for this strategy? What are all the specific things we will need to do to win on this concrete victory? Who, what, when, where, how will it get done? What sequence will we have to do them in? Who will take specific responsibility for ensuring that these specific things get done? Who will take overall responsibility? How will we establish a budget to handle the implementation? When shall this group meet next?CLOSING Who will take specific responsibility for ensuring that these specific things get done? Who will take overall responsibility? How will we establish a budget to handle the implementation? When shall this group meet next? Now that we have done this for Strategy A,we need to do it again for Strategy B, etc.