This follows the interaction between a Facilitator and a Task Leader after they had discussed how to plan and run a strategic workshop with the team.
The aim of this blog is to show how despite the limitations on team meetings in person, we can still attend and run interactive events/workshops online using collaborative tools. The advantages of face to face meetings are compensated for by the fact that people don’t have to:
- Spend time travelling to a venue (sometimes this involves air travel across continents or car/train journeys across the country)
- Spend time away from home/their office – we can work in situ
- Put ourselves at risk of catching Covid.
We re-join the Task Leader and Facilitator on the day, ready to Task Lead and Facilitate the workshop. The Agenda Process has been adapted by the Facilitator to work ‘in the cloud’ using an online team meeting app (e.g. Microsoft Teams/Zoom) and an online collaborative software app.
Event/Session/Workshop Title: Understanding the Key Drivers and our Stakeholders
Before the day
| Objectives/Task/Activities | Degree of uncertainty | Format /Process (Tools and Techniques) | Total Time | Preparation and who |
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Objective:
To explore the Impact of the Key Drivers Before the day explain the Key Drivers. |
Complexity | Manager to complete this table (Appendix 1) explaining each Key Driver: the context, the meaning, significance, and the timescale. | Manager to prepare this and send it out at least five days before the workshop with instructions for everyone to read it. | |
| To determine the impact of the Key Drivers on our strategic focus. | Complexity | Give each person in the management team three Key Drivers and ask them to explore the Impact of the Key Drivers on the Strategic Focus and how it relates to each of the various stakeholders (A, B, C, D etc). | Key Drivers to be pre-allocated to team members (see above). Each Key Driver to be allocated to three people (so that they each look at them), using the Key Drivers Impact Form. | |
| Share the agenda for the online Workshops and send out the invite to the meeting app. | Complexity | Send agenda process to every Team Member. |
Ask for any comments, suggestions (to be returned three days before event).
Set up the subgroup Breakout Rooms in preparation for the meeting and the Templates (see Appendices). |
On the day:
| Objectives/Task/Activities | Degree of uncertainty | Format /Process (Tools and Techniques) | Total Time | Preparation and who |
| Explain the purpose of the online workshop. | Certainty |
Welcome everyone to the online session.
Brief presentation by manager sharing expectations for the day and the model: Understanding Implications Application (UIA) = Ownership and Empowerment (O+E) and how this will be used in this workshop. |
5 mins | |
| Determine the impact of the Key Drivers on the Strategic Focus. | Complexity |
Step 1: Introduction (2 minutes)
Team breaks into the subgroups allocated the Key Drivers and subgroup (of three) is allocated a Mural breakout room. One member is nominated as ‘facilitator’ to oversee the process. |
2 mins |
See Appendix 2 – Template and How the Mural is developed.
Person who will be the ‘scribe’ is informed before the day and they are briefed all together by the Team Manager as to the Process and their role. |
| Complexity |
Step 2: Breakout
(15 minutes) - All Group members ‘post’ their own individual ideas on the digital Impact Form (using different colour digital ‘stickies’).
(5 minutes) - All Everyone reads the information and asks questions of each other and make comments. (17 mins) – All to one Any member of the group then moves a stickie to cluster with another and explains what their rationale is for that clustering. This continues until all the stickies have been reviewed and clustered (even if they end up in a cluster of one).
(8 minutes) – One to all Someone/ anyone offers a ‘title’ for any of the clusters (even if there is only one stickie in a cluster) and this is added once the group agrees. There needs to be agreement about the clusters and the titles.
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45 mins
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Note: The Manager has pre-prepared each room with a template of the Impact Form and added three different coloured blank stickies (about ten of each colour).
Every time someone moves a stickie they must give the reason why it ‘fits’ with another stickie or should be included in a previously created cluster. Note: The group should allow the ‘anyone’ else to be the ‘someone’ each time to avoid one person dominating the process.
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| Complexity |
Step 3: Coffee Break (8 minutes)
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8 mins
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Note: Each subgroup notes key impacts that they can see from theirs and the other subgroups Key Drivers.
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| Complexity |
Step 4: Reform and share results
(15 minutes per subgroup) – One to all Subgroups ‘move’ from the Main Meeting Room into the first subgroup’s room by ‘invite’ and one person from each group presents their data and other two comment as needed.
Each subsequent subgroup in turn invites the others to their room and presents their Impact Form. The Manager should make specific comment about any differences in views (as these can be significant and important). |
45 mins
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Note: The Team Manager is noting key impacts in order to populate the Stakeholder Map
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Coffee Break (10 minutes)
Team Manager uses the time to finalise the Stakeholder Map on a pre-prepared template.
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10 mins | Note: The Team Manager will have pre-prepared the template of the Stakeholder Map with Stakeholders. Then add the key points from the team members presentations (see ‘Facilitation – Build your expertise‘ manual) as the groups share their findings. | ||
| Summarise the Key Impacts from the Key Drivers. |
Step 1: Confirm Impact of Key Drivers (8 minutes)
The Team Manager summarises the Impacts for each of the Key Drivers and how this affects:
Step 2: Stakeholder Map (7 minutes) The Team Manager ‘shares screen’ and the Stakeholder Map and how the various Key Drivers impact on the Clients (A, B, C and D) to how this creates a perspective in relation to each stakeholder and the impact of the Key Drivers on each one. |
15 mins | ||
| Define the Objective of the next online Workshop and the process. |
Step 1: Next steps
Team Manager explains the purpose of the next workshop which will be: Application. Exploring how this affects the Strategic Focus and the action that the organisation will need to take to accommodate the Key Drivers and mitigate their impact in relation to the stakeholders. |
5 mins | ||
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Total time: | 2 hrs 15 mins |
Tony Mann
Tony Mann is the Facilitation Chief Examiner. He developed the Process Iceberg™ facilitation methodology which has gained widespread acceptance across a wide range of sectors in the business, commercial, not for profit and public sectors. In his professional career he has worked in a number of countries across the world, applying his facilitation methods to a wide scope of issues including decision making, strategic planning, project planning, workforce engagement and problem solving.
