Form an Effective Group
Working together as a group can be difficult. Here are some strategies that might facilitate the process.
Simple processes like using a talking stick might make working through this process easier for some groups. A talking stick is an item that when held enables that person, only, to speak. if a different person wants to speak they must first be given the talking stick.
ACTIVITY Consensus Decision-Making (60 minutes)
Adapted from: LSF – Engaging Students in Sustainable Action Projects and TOOLS for Leadership and learning: Building a learning Organisation.
Students learn and practice the process for consensus decision-making. Working in groups, students discuss a scenario and come up with a solution/response that everyone can agree upon.
A decision made by consensus means:
Why Use Consensus Decision-Making?
By using consensus decision-making, the opinions of each person in the group are given equal value, which allows each individual to voice her or his opinion and have a sense of ownership over the final outcome. This is in contrast to majority decision-making (e.g. why not just vote?) because if the majority always wins, then the minority always loses! With the consensus model, group members work towards a decision or outcome that everyone can support. This is important because the more people that support a decision, for example on what kind of action project to do, the more likely they will participate in the project. This will likely contribute to the strength and success of the project as a whole.
Tips for Achieving Consensus
Practice: Consensus Decision-making
Group Challenge: Solve one of the following scenarios using consensus decision-making.
Steps to Consensus Building
1. The question or issue at hand is read aloud.
2. Clarifying questions: Create a four-column chart on big paper. The four columns should read as follows:
Questions
Who Might Know?
Who is Responsible for Finding Out?
Answers
The group brainstorms all of the questions they would like to know the answer to before they make this decision. The group does not suggest answers at this time.
3. The group reviews the questions. Group members offer answers where appropriate. Unanswered questions are assigned to group members to work out the answers. Date/Time (if applicable) is set for group to reconvene to move on to Step 4 once questions are answered.
4. Group Discussion. Information learned is shared with the group. Suggestions are given. Group works toward a response to the question/scenario that everyone is comfortable with.
5. Group Pulse: Go around the circle. Have everyone state where she/he stands on the issue.
6. Summarizing the Pulse: Ask one person in the group to summarize where the group stands on the issue. A great answer would sound like: “on the issue of _____ many people seem to feel that ______. However, one person feels that ______ another person feels that ______.”
7. Is there agreement? If yes, congratulations! If no, the group goes back to discussion mode (step 4). Is there a compromise that can be reached? Is there a new alternative that hasn’t yet been suggested that everyone might support?
8. Repeat steps 4 to 7 as necessary.
The Role of the Teacher
As a mentor, you have additional skills, knowledge and experience to bring to the group. We suggest that you:
ACTIVITY The Group’s 30 Minute Mission Statement (30 minutes)
Adapted from: TOOLS for Leadership and learning: Building a learning Organisation.
This process invites everyone in a group to develop a personal mission statement and contribute to the group’s mission statement. This helps every group member to gain a full understanding of the project you are working on.
While mission statements are important, they gain value only when they are understood by all members of a group. Each individual must be able to see the link between his or her work and the group’s overall mission.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Planning: Done at the beginning of the project to help everyone focus on the "big picture."
Doing: Use the template on the following page to enable each group member to compose a personal mission statement. Come together as a group to review all the personal statements, reach a consensus on the best ideas from each, and create a group mission statement for the project.
Following up: Every group member should sign the mission statement. Post it in a prominent location in the classroom and review it every to see if it is still relevant in light of the changes that affect your group.
WHAT RESOURCES DO I NEED?
Mission statement question (following), flip charts, and creativity.
GROUP MISSION STATEMENT TEMPLATE
Shared Vision and Values
WHO: (Your group’s name) ___________________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT: (Your Project) _______________________________________________________________________________________________
HOW: (Your aims, time-lines) __________________________________________________________________________________________
FOR: (Your group members, class, school community) _____________________________________________________________________
WHERE: (Your project scale: local, national, international) ___________________________________________________________________
WHY: (Who benefits from your work?) ___________________________________________________________________________________
ACTIVITY Group Charter (30 minutes)
Adapted from: Working Teams - Teams That Work, Milt McClaren and Peter Norman, 2008
Few forces area as powerful as shared vision... what is most important is that it is genuinely shared... and creates a common identity among diverse people. It's not what the vision is, but what the vision does." Peter Senge.
“If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea." Antoine-Marie-Roger de Saint-Exupery
The main purpose of this activity is to set the ground rules for how your group will work together. A Group Charter is a social contract, one that requires effort to live up to during the teams time together. Referring to the Group Charter might be one useful way of getting some team members back on task during team meetings.
Everyone needs to agree to this Group Charter, so everyone needs to be involved in creating it.
Step 1: Checking in
Check in with a word, phrase, or short statement about how you are feeling about working in this group.
Step 2: Personal Values
Share a personal value about what is important to you about group work and this Action Learning Group Project.
Step 3: Developing a Group Vision
From the value statements (above) can you craft them into a short group vision? Each group member takes this action. Then see if the group can come up with a common vision statement together. Once consensus has been reached over the vision post it for the other groups to see.
Step 4: Developing Ground Rules
These rules will dictate how each group member behaves, or is treated by all other group members. Developing these rules can be done in a similar way to the vision; each group member writes their own set of rules and then through consensus processes (which will likely involve negotiation and compromise) the group comes to a group decision and finalises (and then shares) the Ground Rules. An example might include: starting at the agreed time, beginning with an agenda, making decisions, turning off call phones...
Step 5: Group Name
Once the group has come up with an appropriate name a group slogan might also be useful. A group slogan is a short memorable phrase that describes what you are about.
Step 6: Group Charter
Complete documenting the Group Charter using these headings...
ACTIVITY Checking the Health of Your Group (20 minutes)
Adapted from: Working Teams - Teams That Work, Milt McClaren and Peter Norman, 2008
This activity can be used at the end of the Group Charter development session, and then regularly throughout the Action Learning Group Project. Use the following template individually and then check for agreement amongst the group. If there are disparate results it would be wise to discuss the details and revisit the Group Charter.
Rate your groups performance on the following dimensions (with 1 representing an area for improvement and 5 representing an area of effectiveness and strength).
Comment on the following
The biggest challenge we face as a Group is...
Our greatest strength as a Group is...
The one thing I'd most like to see the Group do is...