Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 10:06:12 -0400
From: Richard Montgomery <rmonty@chemmgrs.com>
To: GRP-FACL@LISTSERV.ALBANY.EDU
Subject: Re: Emotional competence
Facilitators live or die on how participants perceive the results of a meeting.
We all agree on how important it is to set objectives prior to the meeting and
strive to meet them. But, have we ever put together the "Attributes of a Good
Meeting". I suspect that a short list of the common attributes of good meetings
could be built.
I'll start the list off with "Acheiving Synergy". It seems to me that the
meeting should produce results beyond the results achieved by individuals.
Bernie De Koven wrote:
> Odd how difficult it is to bring up "spiritual" issues in a profession which
> is, at its best, a spiritual pursuit.
>
> One of the favorite discussions spawned by my silly little Meeting Meter
> leads invariably to things of the spirit. Talking about the "true costs" of
> a meeting, I often find myself talking about the costs of a "bad" meeting.
> The costs to the organization as a whole. The costs to the individual. Maybe
> I'm using the word in a different light, but it seems to me that the
> greatest costs are to the spirit, to the individual spirit, to the spirit of
> the organization, to the team spirit.
>
> And then when we start talking about the benefits of a "good" meeting, our
> descriptions get even more spiritual. I find myself talking about what
> happens when we go beyond collaboration, into a state of what I've been
> calling "coliberation," where each person helps each to go beyond personal
> limits, where the team spirit frees us from the boundaries of our
> individuality.
>
> Spiritual stuff, it seems to me. The stuff of our very profession, it seems
> to me.
>
> Bernie
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Zenergy <Zenergy@xtra.co.nz>
> To: <GRP-FACL@LISTSERV.ALBANY.EDU>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 1999 6:36 PM
> Subject: Re: Emotional competence
>
> > Ned Ruete wrote
> > >
> > > We may never mention the spiritual stream or the soul in our sessions.
> > > But
> > > a big part of the reason I facilitate is that I think collaborative
> > > work,
> > > divergent thinking, dialogue, action research, all address problems
> > > too
> > > complex to be solved by rational analysis. In using these techniques,
> > > facilitation engages and strengthens the part of the psyche -- the
> > > soul --
> > > that can address other complex problems we face. Only a handful of
> > > poets
> > > and artists may recognize explicitly the connection between achieving
> > > exceptional content solutions and the spiritual stream, but it is
> > > there.
> > >
> > > Dale Hunter wrote:
> >
> > Thank you Ned. Well said. I hesitated to include spiritual and psychic
> > in my "and more" because I wondered how people in our discussion group
> > would handle this. I would like to share more about it though. How can
> > we do this safely?
> >
> > To unsubscribe send SIGNOFF GRP-FACL to LISTSERV@ALBANY.EDU
> >
>
> To unsubscribe send SIGNOFF GRP-FACL to LISTSERV@ALBANY.EDU
--
Dick Montgomery, General Manager
21st Century Cooperative
Midland, MI 48642
Our Mission - "Help You Increase Sales"
http://www.chemmgrs.com
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 20:45:45 +0100
From: Steve Spreckley <Steve.Spreckley@expro.shell.co.uk>
To: GRP-FACL@listserv.albany.edu
Subject: [GF] Measuring Meetings Effectiveness
Hi Folks...would appreciate some help.
As part of a major change process we plan to carry out an "audit" of
our meetings processes. Our starting premise is that meetings are a
microcosm of how we work...hence by reviewing and improving meeting
effectiveness we will get significant additional benefits (we are of
course also looking at a large number of process improvements etc).
We currently have meeting ground rules and have a reasonable discipline
in doing the normal after action reviews for most meetings, but my
question is do any of you have any thoughts or experiences of
improvement goals and performance indicators for improving meeting
performance that we can use to frame the project.
If anyone is interested in our thinking and proposed approach as always
I will be pleased to share.
Thanks in advance
Steve Spreckley
Aberdeen
Scotland
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From jomay.verrier@CBH.COM.AU Wed Aug 08 22:08:25 2001
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 09:22:07 +0800
From: jomay.verrier@CBH.COM.AU
To: GRP-FACL@listserv.albany.edu
Subject: Re: [GF] Measuring Meetings Effectiveness
Hi Steve
Thanks for the info on cultural assessments - ours is going ahead with full
support.
For Meeting effectiveness, I use a process called POP - what is the PURPOSE of
the meeting - what OUTCOMES do we want to achieve in this meeting (worked out
up-front) - and what PROCESSES will we use in the meeting to achieve the
Outcomes. The meeting Process we use is very much determined by the Purpose and
the Outcomes (for example, if the Purpose is to make a group decision - our
agreed Process will be different than if the Purpose is to 'let people know what
is going on').
The measures of effectiveness come from asking the question at the end of the
meeting "Did we achieve our Outcomes?" If we didn't, we review our Process and
maybe our Purpose.
Sometimes the Purpose and Outcomes are very similar - but worth stating (if the
Purpose of the meeting is to share information with other participants, then the
Outcome would be that everyone leaves the meeting with a shared understanding).
Hope this helps
Cheers
Jomay Verrier
Steve Spreckley <Steve.Spreckley@expro.shell.co.uk> on 31/07/2001 03:45:45
Please respond to Steve.Spreckley@expro.shell.co.uk
To: GRP-FACL@listserv.albany.edu
cc: (bcc: Jomay Verrier/PTH/CBH)
Subject: [GF] Measuring Meetings Effectiveness
Hi Folks...would appreciate some help.
As part of a major change process we plan to carry out an "audit" of
our meetings processes. Our starting premise is that meetings are a
microcosm of how we work...hence by reviewing and improving meeting
effectiveness we will get significant additional benefits (we are of
course also looking at a large number of process improvements etc).
We currently have meeting ground rules and have a reasonable discipline
in doing the normal after action reviews for most meetings, but my
question is do any of you have any thoughts or experiences of
improvement goals and performance indicators for improving meeting
performance that we can use to frame the project.
If anyone is interested in our thinking and proposed approach as always
I will be pleased to share.
Thanks in advance
Steve Spreckley
Aberdeen
Scotland
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From kim@virtualteamworks.com Wed Aug 08 22:08:25 2001
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 05:31:04 -0700
From: kim@virtualteamworks.com
To: GRP-FACL@listserv.albany.edu
Subject: Re: [GF] Measuring Meetings Effectiveness
Steve Spreckley asked for "some help... [regarding] ...any thoughts or
experiences of improvement goals and performance indicators for improving
meeting performance."
Steve, and others who might be interested, we work with virtual teams and
so our work is with online meetings. Nevertheless, some of the basic
tenets are the same. I've attached a list of questions we encourage
virtual teams to ask about their meetings during evaluation. These may
assist others with face to face meetings.
For me, the single most objective and effective predictor of meeting
"performance" (this is a product/task related function rather than a
process/relationship one) is: WHAT IS THE RATIO OF TIME USED FOR
SYNCHRONOUS WORK VERSUS ASYNCHRONOUS WORK? We have someone unobtrusively
time the meeting and note when the team is doing work that relates to
their reasons for meeting (cocreation and collaboration) and when they
are doing work they could have done before the meeting (read disseminated
information). This ratio is a powerful way to see how much the team is
working and how much they are wasting.
Here is the list of twelve evaluation questions from Dr. Simon Priest's
latest book on Electronic Facilitation of Virtual Teams.
[ ] Was asynchronous info. sharing done in advance?
[ ] Was synchronous time used fully for collaboration?
[ ] Was a prioritized agenda created? Was it followed?
[ ] Were all invitees present? Why were some absent?
[ ] Were all on time? Were any latecomers disruptive?
[ ] Did the meeting start and/or finish as scheduled?
[ ] Did introductions or conclusions proceed smoothly?
[ ] Did the discussion stay focused? Always on track?
[ ] Did everyone have an opportunity to contribute?
[ ] Were the meeting objectives totally accomplished?
[ ] Did technical problems arise? Were they solved?
[ ] Were proper etiquette or online protocols followed?
Good luck with your improvement project.
Kimberley Ann Klint, PhD
Vice-President of Operations
CBO, virtualTEAMWORKS.com
kim@virtualteamworks.com http://www.virtualteamworks.com
We build virtual teams, develop global leaders, and train electronic
facilitators
using internet experiential learning and online communication
technologies.
From alanklink@comcast.net Tue Jul 08 13:43:15 2003
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 12:25:56 -0700
From: Alan Kitty <alanklink@comcast.net>
To: GRP-FACL@listserv.albany.edu
Subject: Re: [GF] Participant's self-evaluation
Kathleen
Once upon a time, I routinely asked participants for their opinions
about my efforts in post workshop surveys. I thought this feedback might
be a good way to improve my effectiveness. Recently, I stopped asking.
Responses about their perceptions, assumptions, notions, expectations,
and the effects of the meeting on those things tell me all I need to
know about how well the experience worked for them. It also tells me
quite a bit about how I can help them the next time around. So, I'm
always interested in new, or better ideas.
But in my opinion, my efforts always need improvement - right on the
spot. During a meeting, I constantly check for any indications that
something needs tweaking. Then I ask to verify my sense that this is so;
and drill down until I understand exactly what the situation is. I may
not have an instant remedy; but I will the next time!
AKitty
I'm interested in what others may have done in asking participants to
evaluate their own efforts.
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 15:55:48 -0400
From: Alan Kitty <alanklink@comcast.net>
To: GRP-FACL@listserv.albany.edu
Subject: Re: [GF] Participant's self-evaluation
Ned wrote
I like to go a few steps farther when I get the chance. I have found
that
participants in facilitated, participative often don't recognize what
actually happened -- why they got the results they did. I am a fan of
treating the meeting as a learning experience, and completing the
experiential learning cycle by processing the learning (very much like a
ToP
ORID discussion):
What just happened? Reconstruction
Why did it go like that? Interpretation
What else might work that way? Generalization
When and where are you going to try this? Application
Ned-
This type of structure is great. I work with a lot of senior executives;
and I believe they are interested in understanding as much as possible
about these dynamics. They may choose not to fish, but if they
appreciate how it's done, they are more likely to be able and willing to
spread the gospel throughout their organizations.
Akitty
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 14:06:06 -0700
From: Bill Harris <bill_harris@FACILITATEDSYSTEMS.COM>
To: GRP-FACL@listserv.albany.edu
Subject: Re: [GF] Participant's self-evaluation
"Goldhammer, Lynn A. LCDR" wrote:
> knew? So, I've decided to start tracking the things that people tell me at
> these facilitated events: one big list of all input received, but also
> broken down by client so while one client might want to spend a lot of time
> talking about a lot of possible issues to address, another might find that
> frustrating when they ID something up front and want to get moving on it. I
> hope that this approach might better help me meet the personality of each
> group that I have follow-on work with.
Hi, Lynn. Good suggestion; you're formalizing your action
learning/action research process.
I've found a local Wiki to be a great way to capture that sort of
information; I use the Emacs Wiki
(http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/EmacsWikiMode). I can then
publish it to local Web pages and create a process manual/tickler file
for myself.
Lotus Agenda (http://home.neo.rr.com/pim/agendadl.htm) is another good,
free tool for that purpose -- arguably even better, at least for
capturing and organizing information in an ad hoc manner.
At the risk of overly plugging Bob Williams and my own stuff, I also use
something like http://facilitatedsystems.com/llogs.html or a similar,
simpler form that Shankar Sankaran of Southern Cross University
developed for such purposes.
Bill
--
Bill Harris 3217 102nd Place SE
Facilitated Systems Everett, WA 98208 USA
http://facilitatedsystems.com/ phone: +1 425 337-5541
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 16:08:25 -0500
From: "Marsh, Brice" <Brice.Marsh@MSFC.NASA.GOV>
To: GRP-FACL@listserv.albany.edu
Subject: Re: [GF] Participant's self-evaluation
This is offered for what it's worth ... it may or may not fit your
circumstances:
This is intended as a collaborative technique for participants to assign
personal values to the take-aways from a group session.
We often invite the participants to identify "golden nuggets" or
gemstones/goodies that have potential value as take-aways to be used "back
at the ranch". Using a form of electronic facilitation with GroupSystems,
each participate is urged to "point and click" on their individual golden
nuggets folder to electronically jot down any item that they want to make
sure they do not forget. They are encouraged to do this anytime during each
segment of the collaborative session, even while a presenter is speaking.
This approach works equally well for a single segment session of 1 hour or
multi-day sessions consisting of a number of unrelated subject matter
topics.
At the end of the session, we consolidate all the golden nuggets, either by
topic or for the entire session, and allow the participants to engage in an
electronic polling activity where they quickly prioritize and pick the "best
of the best" golden nuggets. (Of course, their individual set of private
notes remain unchanged). Thus, we can produce a hard copy of the final group
report of the goodies regarded as most valuable by the entire group; and we
can email each participant's set of private notes so that it is waiting for
them when they return to "the ranch".
Many folks have reported that the take-away hard copy report and the email
of their private notes both serve as vivid reminders of the value of the
session. Some have indicated they have incorporated portions from these
items in their trip reports to their superiors upon return to the "real
world".
In summary ... we use this electronic method to capture goodies real-time
since each person has a dedicated laptop during the session; and then to
consolidate and prioritize a "best of the best" golden nuggets.
This is merely a convenient collaborative "process", but the participants
still retain control of "content".
We also do a quick electronic session evaluation before we adjourn and the
"golden nuggets" technique usually gets high marks as a "most valuable" part
of the session.
Not every meeting owner is willing to allow folks to engage in this exercise
for fear it will consume too much time. However, those that do quickly
realize that it is actually a very productive investment of time and effort.
Brice Marsh
Computer Sciences Corporation
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 17:04:32 -0700
From: Bill Underwood <bill_u@HOTMAIL.COM>
To: GRP-FACL@listserv.albany.edu
Subject: Re: [GF] Participant's self-evaluation
Bill Harris wrote:
Hi, Lynn. Good suggestion; you're formalizing your action
> learning/action research process.
>
> I've found a local Wiki to be a great way to capture that sort of
> information; I use the Emacs Wiki
> (http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/EmacsWikiMode). I can then
> publish it to local Web pages and create a process manual/tickler file
> for myself.
>
> Lotus Agenda (http://home.neo.rr.com/pim/agendadl.htm) is another good,
> free tool for that purpose -- arguably even better, at least for
> capturing and organizing information in an ad hoc manner.
>
> At the risk of overly plugging Bob Williams and my own stuff, I also use
> something like http://facilitatedsystems.com/llogs.html or a similar,
> simpler form that Shankar Sankaran of Southern Cross University
> developed for such purposes.
Just to add to the good online collaboration tools, but not necessarily
free, I have had great results with www.groupmindexpress.com
Bill
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 06:50:51 -0500
From: Esther Derby <derby@estherderby.com>
To: GRP-FACL@listserv.albany.edu
Subject: [GF] Temperature Reading
Dale Emery's post on "participant's self-evaluation" thread:
For ongoing efforts or lengthy meetings, I like Virginia Satir's
"Temperature Reading." It can take about an hour, so it's less helpful
for evaluating short meetings. Here is a brief description:
http://www.dhemery.com/articles/temperature_reading.html
I sometimes use the Temperature Reading form for morning news at
multi-day gatherings... I run it for about 10 minutes. TR gets the new
information out, makes space for people to appreciate each other and
sets a nice tone for the day.
I've also been using TR for team update meetings with a team I've been
meeting with for a couple of years. I get all the information I want
from a work-status meeting, but it comes out in a different way and in a
different tone.
Esther Derby
Esther Derby Associates, Inc.
Technical Editor for STQE
Writer, Consultant, Facilitator: Insights you can use...
612-724-8114 voice; 612-724-8115 fax
=====================================
Weblog: www.estherderby.com/weblog/blogger.html
Think of the best facilitator you have ever observed.
Why was he or she the best? (3 reasons)
Think of the worst facilitator you have ever observed.
Why was he or she the worst? (3 reasons)
How do you see yourself as facilitator? (3 strengths, 3 weaknesses)
What would you most like to get from this workshop? (3 things)
From jan.haverkamp@ecn.cz Mon Sep 15 09:20:48 2003
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 08:59:19 +100
From: Jan Haverkamp <jan.haverkamp@ecn.cz>
To: GRP-FACL@listserv.albany.edu
Subject: Re: [GF] Evaluation/Measurement
Dear Sue and others,
> I am wondering what your best practice is regarding measuring the
> effectiveness of facilitated projects and events.
I used to do quite extensive evaluations after facilitated
processes - large question lists, pie-charts to be filled in by
participants, etcetera.
My experience (and that of a few of my collegues at the time)
was that it took an awfull lot of time and energy from the group to
deliver the data - it took even more time for us to process the
data - and the outcomes were for over 95% that everything was
fine... On top of that it creates high expectations considering
changes in minor details that - because of their limited influence
on the process - do not deserve so much attention.
Basically, evaluations on process (i am not talking here of
productivity evaluations or other stuff), are there to find out the
5% that really should get attention - the 5% from which you can
learn. Plus to give you positive feedback - to keep up motivation.
I therefore cut down evaluation to a minimum, using mostly a
combination of go-around (to give people the possibility at the
end of any session to let off steam - a short question to avoid
very long sessions (what were for you the two most remarkable
and the two most disappointing moments? If you need
characterise this workshop / training / event with a colour / animal
/ object from this room, how would you characterise it and why?)
- seldomly very striking things in the negative come up there) and
an anonymously written one - often in one or another form on
three to five positives and negatives. One i like to use very much
is what we call a Snoopy sheet, where participants can fill in
emotions in Snoopy balloons. There are always three or four
remarks that really force you to sit down and think a while.
Another favorite of mine is the "hands and feet on paper" form:
make a drawing of your hands and feet on a large sheet of
paper, write at the left fingers things that could be improved, on
your right things that were great, left foot threats you see, right
foot opportunities (yes - it is a SWOT analysis used as
evaltuation :-) ). The Snoopy is used when i want anonymous
feedback, the hands and feet when i expect interaction synergy
and people are not inclined to keep their opinions for
themselves...
You can find the Snoopy sheet on:
http://www.zhaba.cz/materials/misc/snoopy.html
This combination costs a minimum of time, and leaves the group
with a relatively positive feeling.
Greetings,
jan haverkamp
|
| Jan Haverkamp via jan.haverkamp@ecn.cz
|
| Nad Borislavkou 58
| CZ - 160 00 Praha 6
| Czech Republic
|
| tel./fax (home): +420.2.3536 1734
| tel.(office): +420.2.2431 9776
| mobile: +420.603 569 243
|
| e-mail: jan.haverkamp@ecn.cz
|
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From sschuman@CSC.ALBANY.EDU Mon Sep 15 09:56:12 2003
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 09:16:05 -0400
From: Sandor P Schuman <sschuman@CSC.ALBANY.EDU>
To: GRP-FACL@listserv.albany.edu
Subject: Re: [GF] Evaluation/Measurement
You can find an article on "Evaluating the Strengths and
Weaknesses of Group Decision-Making Processes" by BBradley Wright
and John Rohrbaugh in _Group Facilitation: A Research and
Applications Journal_, Number 1, Winter 1999, pages 5-13.
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