Facilitator Policies and Guidelines

UPDATED 2022. This statement is now included in the class syllabus, but, as we know, students don't always read the whole syllabus.  When your T-group talks about confidentiality, be aware that you cannot agree to anything that violates this policy. This statement includes information on facilitators' obligations to report certain disclosures to faculty. 

Importance of Confidentiality

One of the important ground rules for T-groups is confidentiality. Confidentiality helps create a safe environment in which you can grow and learn without fear of repercussions. While you may speak to others about your own experience and learning, you should not share what any other member of the group has said or done. The integrity of the learning environment in your T-group is built on the commitment of every member to the principle of group confidentiality. This is a commitment that I expect all of you to take seriously.

Limits on Confidentiality

Assuring your confidentiality is very important to us. To that end, your class assignments, journal entries, and what you say in T-group and in class will be kept as confidential as possible. That said, we have a few exceptions to the confidentiality we commit to, for safety and legal reasons:

1. I [faculty] meet with the facilitators each week to discuss progress in the T-groups, including the behavior of individuals. The goals of these discussions are to ensure the safety and optimal learning of all T-group members. The facilitators and I maintain strict confidentiality with regard to these discussions.

2. Your written work will be read by me and by a single reading coach. We ask that you include the names of group members you refer to in your writing so that we can follow what you are describing. Your written work is retained in the Canvas system until approximately 3 months after the end of the quarter, at which point your written work will be deleted from the system.

3. In certain situations, out of ethical, legal, or University policy concerns, and following consultation with you, we (your facilitators and/or I) may be compelled to provide information disclosed in T-group to the appropriate university agencies or personnel.  The same exceptions to confidentiality rules apply to disclosures made during T-group sessions, in class, and in written work, regardless of the norms you have established with your T-group. The following behaviors compel such action:

   1. If you pose a danger to yourself, someone else, or another’s property.

   2. If you disclose ongoing abuse or neglect of children, the elderly, or dependent adults by you or someone else.

   3. If you report an instance in which a Stanford community member committed sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, sexual assault, stalking, dating (or domestic) violence, or retaliation against you or another member of the Stanford community. The Federal Title IX law requires reporting even if you do not name the perpetrator.

   4. If you report other potentially illegal behavior with the same Stanford connections.

Be Thoughtful About the Impact of Your Conversations on Others

While our goal is to create a setting in which you can share whatever is up for you, we do want you to pause and consider the impact on others of certain conversations. The nature of T-groups is such that one person sharing can sometimes have an impact on other people; and one of the dilemmas of group life is managing the competing needs of each group member as well as people outside the room. Part of the facilitator’s role is to point out these circumstances, slow the group down or pause the conversation, and make sure everyone understands the impact of their choices in these conversations.

Minimize Conversations About People Not in the Room

We understand that your relationships with other members of your group extend outside the T-group and that in exploring these relationships in group you may inevitably end up discussing events and people outside the room. Whenever possible, avoid using the names and other identifiers of anyone outside the room who is known to the Stanford community (such as other students, faculty, staff, and SOs). 

Certain Conversations Can Create Witnesses

Please note that if you share information about an incident that may lead to a judicial proceeding, you are creating witnesses out of the other members of the group and any of them could be required to testify in that proceeding. In such a situation there is no ability to claim confidentiality. Compelled testimony not only undermines the confidentiality of the group, it can also have negative impacts on individuals in the group. As confidentiality is so important to the learning process, please be thoughtful about anything that could undermine that confidentiality.

UPDATED 2023. In the past, facilitators were required to stop conversations about outside events that might involve violations of law or University policy. This policy has changed and we now ask facilitators to slow down the conversation and help students be thoughtful about what they disclose. Review this page for guidelines and intervention suggestions.

Facilitator Authority and Responsibilities

While your primary role as a facilitator is to support the T-group learning process, you also have some responsibilities to the University in (1) reporting certain information, and (2) intervening in certain disclosures and conversations to help students make thoughtful choices about those disclosures and conversations. Faculty will support you in this by telling students that this is part of your role. The syllabus revisions also articulate this part of your role.

REPORTING

Federal/State law and University policies require that certain events be reported. You must report to the instructor of your section if a student in your group (or in a journal you are reading) reports any of the following:

• Anything that suggests the student is a danger to themselves, someone else, or another’s property.

• Ongoing abuse or neglect of children, the elderly, or dependent adults by the student or someone else.

• Any sexual harassment or assault that happens on campus, as part of a Stanford program, or where both parties are currently affiliated with Stanford. The Federal Title IX law requires reporting even if the student does not name the perpetrator.

• Other potentially illegal behavior with the same Stanford connections.

Once you report to the instructor, your responsibility ends; the instructor has the responsibility of reporting to the appropriate authority (such as the police, the Title IX Office, or the Office of the General Counsel). When in doubt, speak with the instructor.

 SLOWING DOWN, PAUSING, OR INTERVENING IN CONVERSATIONS

 Most of the time students are in charge of deciding what they talk about in T-group.

• As the saying goes, almost anything can be grist for the mill.

• There is learning in the struggle to figure out what kinds of conversations are useful in a T-group.

• Students have free speech rights on campus and in the classroom, and we have to have good reason for restricting those rights.

Principles for Intervening in Student Conversations

On rare occasions, there are principles or University guidelines that require us to gently intervene:

1. Minimize Talking About People Not in the Room.  While we try to keep conversations in the “here and now”, sometimes events involving students outside the room are relevant to the conversation. The general principle for these situations is that students should, whenever possible, avoid using the names and any other identifiers of specific people who are not in the room, particularly of people who are part of or known to the Stanford community (i.e., other students, faculty, staff, SOs).

2. Remind Students of Your Reporting Obligations. The syllabus lists events or behavior that we are obligated to report (as noted in the section on Reporting above). We don’t expect students will remember everything in the syllabus, so if you think a student is about to describe something you have to report, gently remind them of your obligations so they can make an informed choice about what to share.

   1. Sample statements:  

      1. "I want to slow down for just a moment so I can support you in making an informed choice about what happens next."

      2. "I’m wondering if you’re going to bring up a topic that may result in me having to report it, so I want to take a moment to remind you that there are limits on the confidentiality I can offer."

      3. "I am telling you this so you are in control of what happens next. My role is to support you and avoid having unpleasant, unwanted, or unexpected actions follow on from your share."

      4. "I am a mandated reporter, so if you share this information or identify a person, I am required to report it to the instructor who will be required to report it to the Title IX office (or other relevant authorities). Even if you don’t name the other person, I am still required to report it."

3. Protect The Integrity of the Group re: Confidentiality.  When a student describes behavior that might be adjudicated, it creates witnesses of everyone in the room. In most circumstances potential witnesses could not claim confidentiality and would be required to testify. This undermines the confidentiality of the T-group.

   1. It is part of the facilitator role to let students know about the consequences of these conversations and create enough space for students to be thoughtful about how far to go in such conversations. If the event ends up in a judicial proceeding, any member of the group may be forced to testify, resulting in a breach of group confidentiality, and potentially undermining safety in the group.

   2. Sample Statement: 
      By sharing this situation you are creating witnesses to the event. If the situation were to be adjudicated, none of us in this room could claim these conversations are confidential. Given how important confidentiality is to the learning in T-group, this discussion and the loss of confidentiality could undermine the safety some members feel in group. For some group members the prospect of being asked to serve as witnesses in an adjudication process might be worrying.

      1. Note that the speaker might just want to be better known or get emotional support, but other students might be activated enough to want to take action. This may be a time to redirect everyone away from action or advocacy and towards reflecting on their feelings.

REMINDER OF BEST PRACTICES FOR INTERVENING

We understand that these guidelines may cause anxiety, but while some specifics may be new, the basics are always the place to start.

Read the Room and Use Your Skills

Read the room and use all your skills as you would with anything else that happens in the group.

• When making any of the suggested interventions, start with empathy, listening for feelings, and connection, as these tend to lower activation, slow things down, and give students more space to be aware of the choices they are making.

• Let students know the intervention is part of supporting them and the group. For example:

  • "I am doing this to protect you and give you choice about what happens regarding what you are about to share."

  • "I have a responsibility to you and to the group."

  • "I would be remiss if I didn’t stop you and let you know the potential repercussions of this conversation."

• When needed, slow things down, inquire after feelings, ask students to say what they’ve heard including the feelings they’ve heard. 

• If you feel worried, say so, as in, I’m feeling anxious about where this conversation is going. "How are others feeling right now?"
  "I’m uncomfortable that we are talking in this way about someone who is not in the room. How are others feeling?"

As noted in the items above on confidentiality, facilitators have an obligation to report student disclosures of sexual harassment or sexual assault (as well as other potentially illegal behavior). The obligation is to report such disclosures to the course instructor. While facilitators are not expected to be experts on the subject, you may find it useful to be aware of following:

• Stanford's SHARE (Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Education) Title IX Office is the University’s central resource for addressing and preventing sexual harassment and violence issues experienced by all Stanford community members. This website includes information on reporting and investigation, as well as support resources.

• Stanford Administrative guide on Sexual Harassment

The University "strongly discourages" consensual sexual or romantic relationships between teachers and students.  For the facilitator program, we prohibit such relationships between facilitators and students at any time before the student graduates.  Additionally, expressing sexual or romantic attraction to a student in your T-group is a violation of our policy.

If you have experience as a T-group facilitator at Stanford GSB, please follow the guidelines below in describing your experience.

Following are some of the ways you can accurately represent your connection to the program. These suggestions are intended to avoid misleading descriptions that could potentially (and have) put our program in jeopardy with the Graduate School of Business:

• It is OK to say that you have completed the Interpersonal Dynamics Facilitation Training Program. It is not ok to say that you have been certified to lead T-groups, since we offer no certification.

• It is OK to say that you “have been a small group facilitator for the course.”

• It is not OK to say that you are/have been faculty, staff, lecturer, guest faculty, adjunct professor, or teacher at the GSB (unless you have in fact been hired as such for OB374).

• It is not OK to say that you “teach at the GSB,” “teach Interpersonal Dynamics,” “have delivered the course”, or are a “course instructor” at the GSB (unless you have in fact been hired as a lecturer to teach OB374).

Sorry to have to be so precise, but the well-being of our program rides on our doing so. Thanks for honoring these guidelines. If you find any of this confusing or are in need of clarification, don’t hesitate to check with any of the Interpersonal Dynamics faculty.

Because of our role as authority figures in the T-groups and the input we provide to grading, business relationships with students are prohibited at any time prior to the student's graduation.

Subject to appropriate disclosure and conflict of interest requirements, faculty and other teaching staff may engage in external relationships with former students. Such relationships are not inappropriate and are potentially beneficial to all involved. Aside from possible mutual financial gain, alumni benefit from the faculty member's knowledge, and faculty gain insight into the problems of management. The Dean’s Office recommends that students wait until after graduation to raise money for and to spend time operating their entrepreneurial activities, but we cannot prevent them from these activities. A conflict of interest may arise if the anticipation of such relationships affects behavior prior to graduation. 

To avoid such conflicts, all instructors (including tenure line faculty, lecturers, advisors, mentors and those serving in similar roles), staff, and administrators should refrain from entering private business relationships with any student while enrolled at the GSB, and should not take any action that creates the expectation or appearance that such a relationship exists or will exist in the future. A private business relationship includes but is not limited to investments, co-investments, board positions, financial arrangements, equity arrangements or any other position or agreement that involves direct or indirect, present or future compensation or profit for the instructor or administrator. 

Furthermore: 

1. All students in a class must be treated equally in terms of access to the instructor and evaluation 

2. No relationship can be implied or undertaken until the student has graduated