It came up in an Action Learning (AL) set when I brought an issue where delivery of my work depends on someone else who tends to get distracted or overwhelmed and therefore is not delivering their side of the bargain.  Despite some attempts to resolve the issue through one-to-one conversations, it became clear within the AL set that I need to resolve to sit down with all parties in one room so that we can all communicate and plan how to break through the impasse.  In this particular context, sensitivity to the needs of others is a key organisational value which sometimes gets in the way of running the business or at least makes it more complicated.

Another recent issue involved my facilitating a meeting between two work colleagues whose miscommunication over past weeks and months has led to tension and assuming the worst of motives behind simple actions or inactions.  It was uncomfortable for them to sit down together and talk it through, and not that easy for me to persuade them and risk coming over as a ‘headmaster’ figure.  But so worthwhile for their good, that of the team and ultimately for the organisation.

To add some science to the art, it is worth recognising that one definition of communication is “a two-way process in which there is an exchange and progression of thoughts, feelings or ideas (energy) towards a mutually accepted goal or direction (information)”.

You need a sender, a message, a channel and a receiver.  Berlo developed this from previous work into the SMCR model.  Of course, if it is a two-way process rather than a monologue, then the participants take turns in being the sender and receiver and the chances of miscommunication increase dramatically.

Now my homework (again from the AL set) is to read some of Marshall Rosenberg‘s writing on non-violent communication.  Hopefully that will help me and others to become finer artists in the sometimes lost art of communication.

Why do we bother asking questions?  Broadly there are two categories of questions: those that seek information or data gathering; and those that aim to discover and explore.

The first encourages convergence – how? what? why?  Coming towards conclusions.

Discovery and investigation tends to be more divergent, going off into unknown territory – what if…? how about…? why not…?

Nancy Kline in ‘Time to Think‘ discusses the incisive question.  The questions that can challenge obvious or hidden limiting assumptions.  If that wasn’t the case, what would you do then?  If you could work better as a team, how would that feel?

There is also a tendency in many workplaces to focus on the problems and what’s going wrong. We ask questions to solve the immediate crisis.  We know when that’s solved (or not), another problem will soon arise, or has already.  So we can lurch from crisis to crisis, for ever fire-fighting.

But what if we made time to ask other questions, to explore other possibilities?  Might we discover new ways of doing and being?  And what if we invested time to listen more to each other.  It’s an investment, not a waste of time.  The answer is often within us.  We’re just too busy or frantic to discover it.

In the workshop we reviewed the TGROOW model as a framework to ask questions and listen to each other:-

• Topic – clarify what we’re discussing
• Goal – what would make a good outcome?
• Reality – discover and agree what we are facing right now
• Obstacles – what are we aware of that we have to find a way through?
• Options – exploring possibilities and alternatives
• Way forward – creating an action plan together

Questions are good.  It’s how we ask them that matters – and how we listen to the answers.

It is sometimes easier to refer to problems as issues, challenges or even opportunities.  If we do see a problem as an insurmountable obstacle, then it can defeat us before we even attempt to tackle it.  My initial reaction to some problems is often ‘no’ , it can’t be done.  But then the trouble-shooter in me looks again to identify possible flaws – ways over, round or through the problem.

This last week has been half-term and leaving the computer and office behind, we went to our son’s house to check out the new patio doors and design the patio area.  We had just two days to remove several tonnes of turf and earth.  And we needed a skip.  Amazingly a skip was delivered an hour after a phone call on Saturday morning and by Monday afternoon it was full, the patio area was levelled and the landscape gardeners had agreed the design and a quote to do the work.  While we could remove tonnes of soil, we didn’t have the experience and skill to build the walls and lay the stone slabs – certainly not before the winter frosts set in.

A problem, at least in Action Learning vocabulary, is a significant issue with no obvious solution.  Conversely a puzzle may be very complicated but has one unique solution.  Problems are worth clarifying, discussing and inviting others to inquire into, so that as the problem-holder, you can decide what you can do about it.  Sometimes that will mean action on your part, sometimes calling in other expertise and resources.

Moving the soil was a puzzle.  There was one solution and really only one way of doing it – by spade and wheelbarrow.  Laying the patio had various solutions, ranging from DIY to bringing in the experts.  Add the question of design and which stone to use and we had a problem to tackle.

So if something is a problem, let’s call it that by name.  Then look at the various options to tackle it – head on, or sideways; on our own or with others’ help; now or later.

The benefit of using a consultant in business is that they can focus on a specific problem and help you identify how it can be resolved.  External people are less distracted by all your other issues, often puzzles, and more removed from the organisational politics that may stifle resolution.

Happy problem-solving!

One year ago we formed an independent company. So what have we learnt in those twelve months? It’s certainly been an adventure in learning new things, meeting new people and organisations, rising to new challenges. As well as new, it’s also provided opportunities to consolidate what I knew and adapt that knowledge for a different setting. Enjoying the freedom of not being in an organisational institution with apparently endless meetings and long-winded systems of decision-making.

The first year has not been without its downside. Coming to terms with the up and down swing of not knowing where the next opportunity will come from. Of the tentative nature of business plans, however well thought through. Taking deliberate steps to avoid the ‘loneliness of the sole entrepreneur’.

I am looking forward to working with one client organisation in facilitating Action Learning. So many organisations and indeed individuals are so busy that they don’t have – should be, make – time to reflect on what’s going on. If we all stopped for a moment and thought – on our own, as a team, as an organisation – then so often the answer we seek is already within us. For some strange reason we devalue time and space for reflection, it’s not seen as real work.

If I can help people make time for such reflection, then I’m sure great adventures lie ahead!

A new client through an associate relationship has approached me to discuss and probably facilitate action learning in their organisation. To me it links with Appreciative Inquiry in the sense of making space and time for reflection. The idea behind Action Learning is that people learn best by taking a real example from the workplace, articulating the issue with a trusted small group, in confidence, and then working together to consider potential solutions. Next time, to have the opportunity and in fact the discipline to report back on the results and so monitor and evaluate the process. It is very much learner-centred learning – for which there is plenty of empirical evidence of its effectiveness.

Action Learning also links with Nancy Kline’s model of ‘Time to Think’ where a group meeting is structured to give participants a voice and chance to be heard and to reflect in the group setting. So often we – all of us – are so busy doing that we don’t make (have?) time to reflect. If we did, how often would we take a different route or other decision?

I’m taking the opportunity to train as an Action Learning Facilitator in a month or so. I think it will add to my skills portfolio as well as form part of my Continuing Professional Development which is something else that can so easily be disregarded in the busi-ness of working life.

What actions do you need to learn from and reflect on?