Don’t just do something, stand there!/Facilitate

Don’t just do something, stand there! is based on ten foundational principles. Leading Meetings, or simply facilitate flourishes on the first six principles:

1. whole system in the room

   Get the whole system in the room to understand everyone’s stakes, faster decision-making, and greater personal responsibility, as it:

   • guides you to identify the whole system that matters, matching people and tasks, and managing the agenda while at the same time giving people enough time to express themselves; and
   • provides ideas on what to do if you can’t get the whole system, e.g. 3 × 3 rule.

2. relax
   • relax to control what you can and let go what you cannot, as it:

   • helps you to stay away from micro-managing meetings
   • allows you to still exercise control where it is important; and
   • lets people self-manage when it is better for them to do so.

3. whole elephant

   Explore the whole elephant to lay the groundwork for people to open up to each other, as it:

   • advocates using our ancient wisdom and systems thinking
   • refers to the poem Six Blind Men and the Elephant; and
   • urges you to use a variety of techniques to explore the ‘whole’ during meetings.

4. people take responsibility

   Let people take responsibility to encourage participants to own their own meetings, outcomes, and future, as it:

   • provides ideas on how to get people who are participating to adopt small group self-management roles to have a group take responsibility for themselves.
   • urges you to be patient, let people hold on to their hidden agendas, and help them to self-manage and encourage dialogue.

5. common ground

   Find common ground to increase cooperation and fast action on matters of shared concern, as it:

   • relates to principles that were expounded in the earlier book Discovering Common Ground edited by Marvin Weisbord, to hold off problem solving and conflict resolution and start a dialogue to find common ground.

6. allies experience differences

   Master allies experience differences to set up conditions under which every person can be independent of group pressure, as it:

   • provides ideas to take advantage of alliances that form naturally during meetings to help them become functional subgroups and to experience their differences.

The other four principles help you Change or Managing Yourself.

Topics covered:

• retrospective prime directive
• focus on focus off
• whole system in the room
• are in
• responsibility chart
• match people to the task
• meeting length proportional to agenda
• time to express yourself
• differentiate to integrate
• 3 × 3 rule
• relax
• facilitator boundaries
• unity of purpose
• spectrum of views
• allies experience differences
• group report to the whole
• ample time
• healthy space
• working agreement
• whole elephant

Sources

• HBR » Amy Gallo » The Condensed Guide to Running Meetings