Worksheet3 Generative discussion
Generative discussion | 3.4
the second core group meeting: part one
The point of this meeting is to move the cluster towards finding a focus. At this stage it is unlikely that there will be one stand-out issue which is the obvious candidate for its attentions. This is also the first meeting in which the members of the group will be doing actual work together. Since some of them may not know each other well (or at all), working together is probably the most important way of building the trust and team ethos which are essential to successful collaboration.
take your time
Both of these processes take time, and one of the key lessons from the Collaborate 2 project was that it was essential not to rush this exploratory phase. One group summed it up as follows:
“Keep it flexible – there’s an evolution of thoughts and ideas – things will emerge and develop”.
The aim is to have an exploratory conversation which generates ideas, rather than an agenda-focused “business” meeting. One of the pilot groups discovered its main theme – training – during a break between formal sessions as the result of a conversation (actually, a moaning session!) about a recent round of Supporting People inspections, and new requirements which were being introduced on policies, procedures and staff development.
Managing this sort of generative discussion is difficult. People who have a very structured approach to business discussions can find it difficult to adjust to a form of discussion in which the emphasis is on treating ideas with a degree of playfulness, looking at issues from a number of different perspectives, and re-cycling back to items which have previously been discussed to re-examine them in the light of issues which have arisen later in the discussion. At the same time, it can be very difficult to lead such a freewheeling process towards some concrete conclusions about what should happen next.
facilitation helps
It would probably help if one of the cluster members were prepared to act as facilitator for this session. At this stage of the process, each of the members of the cluster will probably have a mental list of the items which they would like the cluster to focus on. It helps if there is someone whose job it is to move the group away from this mindset towards discovering one or more items from which they would all benefit.
Facilitation is very much a question of personal style, but we hope that the checklist below may help:
- Use the data from the surveys to kick off discussions – “Are there any patterns which seem to emerge from this?” – but remind people that the data is only a starting point for discussion – it’s not a decision-making tool, and it’s not a straitjacket – if there are areas which people want to discuss which weren’t covered in the survey, give them an airing;
- Look at areas where you have common tasks that could perhaps be shared, such as training or development of policies and procedures, or where you are trying to influence a common stakeholder;
- If you feel discussion is moving to a conclusion before all the realistic possibilities have been explored, pull it back with questions such as “Are we missing something here? What about . . .” or “Does anybody see things differently . . .”;
- If you feel things are drifting off track or getting caught up in minutiae, try to pull the discussion back with questions like “How does this link into the overall vision we have for this project?”;
- Once your group has covered the issues raised by the survey data, and any other points which members have brought to the table, use the box below listing some of the areas other clusters decided to focus on as a prompt sheet to see if it generates any further ideas. Don’t introduce this too early in the discussion – it might tempt the group to pick from a pre-arranged menu rather than having a proper discussion; remember that the purpose of the discussion is to build relationships as well as helping the group interrogate their own situation.
- If there are areas which are of high importance to one or two members, but not to the others, allocate some time to a group discussion of how they might approach these and whether there is anything which any of the members could do to help outside the clustering process, so that they don’t go away feeling that the group didn’t address their concerns;
- Get them to map out possible sources of external help which you might be able to tap into, and any links which any of your members have with them; there is a list of possible sources in Worksheet 4. It is also worth checking if there are any government initiatives running which might be relevant. If there are particular opportunities available, this might be a factor when you come to choose which areas to focus on, but it’s important to avoid the discussion being driven by opportunity rather than a careful analysis of shared needs.