by clairesan | Sep 8, 2021 | Blog, Facilitation
Earlier this week I helped facilitate remote participation for a week-long course running face-to-face for the first time since March 2020. We didn’t actually need to action the plans we had prepared, but given many of us are preparing to offer hybrid events I thought it might be helpful to share our learning from the preparation we did.
I’m not an expert on the kit or technology involved, so these are going to be the reflections of a facilitator. Many of us are on a steep learning curve with the technological options and how to make them work well both in terms of hardware (microphones, cameras, devices) and software (Zoom, Mentimeter, Miro, Google Jam Boards etc etc). What I do know is having access to technical expertise is crucial, as is testing whatever equipment and software you plan to use so you feel confident about how it works and what it can (and can’t) do. So I did spend a slightly surreal hour or so sitting in a service kitchen pretending to be a remote participant so we could test microphones and Zoom configurations for the various scenarios we wanted to prepare for (as you can see in the picture above).
So what did we learn about facilitating hybrid events?
- Prepare well but expect glitches. Not everything can be rehearsed and not everything will work first time so it’s likely you might feel a bit nervous. Nerves don’t help, and so better we all accept things are unlikely to be perfect at the start. We invited the group to embrace this ethos and remember we were doing our best but this was new and we might not get it right first time.
- Test what it is possible to test. Practice and testing in situ was useful for building our confidence and ironing out glitches. Until we were in the space it was really hard to envisage exactly how we would do things. So making time to rehearse in the space we were using with the actual AV set up was critical for flushing out issues (like sound quality or microphone feedback).
- Check remote and access options integrate. If you have transcription services or induction loops etc in the session then it’s important to think through and test that these integrate with the remote technology and set up.
- Be clear what any contributors have planned. Will they need a Q&A section, do they want people to work in small groups and report back, are there are activities involving visuals or movement? Ideally ask your contributors for a schedule in advance that clearly indicates the format for their contribution. Hybrid events are probably new for them too and they might welcome some guidance (and support in real time) from facilitators about structuring their sessions to work well in a hybrid space. For those presenting online with an IRL audience they also need the facilitators to be their ‘eyes and ears’ in the room, so you need to communicate well.
- Plan for different potential scenarios and formats. We developed a table of possible scenarios and facilitation formats; e.g. 1) Q&Q with presenter remote, participants present; 2) several participants remote for small-group exercise. I expect we will refine and add to this resource as our experience develops.
- Have a back-up plan in case things don’t work. Sometimes there is an ideal solution (eg each remote participant joins a different break out group). But sometimes a simpler, less ideal, solution might be needed as a back up, for example all remote participants work in a small group together. Personally if I’ve not tried something before I like to have a trusted low-tech back up plan in my back pocket just in case…
- Keep it flexible and focus on one section at a time. For a multiday event we had a draft plan for the week but didn’t spend time preparing the whole week in detail. We took it a day at a time as we knew things would likely change at the last moment. Allowing time in the programme to adapt the set up if needed was helpful too. This did mean some very long days though…. so…
- Bring in extra capacity. My client brought me in as a dedicated remote facilitator, to work alongside the core facilitator team, and also invested in dedicated technical expertise to set up and operate the cameras and microphones. Chatting to my fellow facilitators we reckoned that once we’d run it through once in future a two-person facilitation team could absorb online and IRL facilitation between them. But having an extra pair of hands (and head to think the options through) made life a lot less stressful for a first-time running a hybrid event.
Having been a bit unclear initially about how well hybrid events could work now I’ve actually set one up and worked through the options for real it now feels much more possible.
However to do it well will cost more in the short-term, (in terms of technical set up and support) and is a new skillset for a facilitator to acquire; just as we’ve had to learn how to work online over the past 18 months.
by clairesan | Sep 7, 2021 | Blog, Facilitation, Training
Can’t wait to be back in the room with others at conferences and training events? Or are you hoping the professional events that have been moved online in the past 18 months will continue online?
Currently, due to the uncertainty of the pandemic, event organisers are having to make the difficult call whether to risk planning conferences and workshops ‘in real life’ (IRL). Some are experimenting with blended IRL/ online events – I’ve just been involved in one of these so more on than later.
But even when the pandemic is over, I doubt we will ever go back to all professional events and courses happening online.
Online events are often quicker and easier to organise and more accessible. The financial, time and environment costs are usually lower. So why would we consider going back to IRL courses, when can we justify the cost and when will IRL formats better achieve our objectives?
Safety questions aside, I’ve been having lots of conversations recently with clients and fellow facilitators about when it’s best to work together IRL and when online is a better option.
Below I’ve jotted down a few suggestions about what works well online and what I’ve found works better IRL:
When would you ideally do things f2f?
- Early in relationships or projects. If there are new members of a team then the informal opportunities afforded by IRL can support the ‘getting to know you’ stage.
- Peer-learning and networking: when making new or deepening existing connections is important then the informal spaces of IRL events are hard to recreate online.
- Sensitive or personal topics: training sessions which involve developing self-awareness or sharing of personal stories. When participants need to feel high levels of trust in the group and psychological safety then IRL spaces can be more productive.
- ‘Tricky’ situations: if participants might not be very enthusiastic (ie mandatory training) or have reservations about the event. Being physically in the room together enables trainers/ facilitators to better observe body language as well as affording opportunities for more informal 1-2-1 engagement.
When can online work particularly well?
- Shorter courses: the ‘cost’ of travelling to a half-day session makes less sense than travelling to longer sessions. Content which can be delivered in 2-3 hours works really well online, assuming it is well designed.
- Regular sessions: if a group already works regularly together then it can be easy to work well online. A board of Trustees might consider having its annual strategy awayday IRL but its regular quarterly meetings online, for example.
- Geographically diverse teams/ groups: online sessions have made bringing together teams and ad hoc groups for conversations easy. In the past few months I’ve facilitated a number of events with international participants which would never have been possible IRL.
- Highly structured peer-learning, e.g. Action Learning sets, existing networks. My own long-standing AL set moved seamlessly online in March 2020. Many other AL sets had worked online long before CV19. Working online can keep the time and financial cost of participation low: often the biggest barriers to participation in the past.
- Technical content – some content lends itself better to online delivery than other topics. Technical information, theories, case studies can all work well online.
It’s not black and white. Lots of sessions can work well in either format, but there are definitely some things which are easier to do IRL and others which seem to work equally well if not better online.
These are just my observations – I’d love to hear other perspectives so do get in touch to share your own views and experiences…
by clairesan | Jul 23, 2021 | Blog, Training
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Our emphasis in on practical, simple and effective tools that can be used immediately in the workplace. Courses are accompanied by a course workbook including background information and further resources.
Isabel is an experienced performance coach, focussed on getting positive results for clients. She specialises in leadership development, cultural change, and enabling positive team dynamics. She works with a portfolio of coaching and leadership programmes and has supported cultural exchange and team development work across a range of high profile organisations. She is a fellow of the prestigious Clore Leadership Programme and is employed by The Clore Leadership Programme to help support fellows in developing as transformational leaders.
Claire helps individuals learn to change via coaching, facilitation and training focused on creating high performance. She has over 25 years’ experience in the creative, education and cultural sectors and currently designs and delivers training on developing teams, creating change and leadership for Clore Leadership Programme, HEY Confident Futures, engage’s Extend leadership programme and Leeds Arts University.
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How to be a great team leader – 31 March, 9:30-4:30, online
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by clairesan | Jul 21, 2021 | Blog, Collaboration
When working as a coach or facilitator I always ‘contract’ with people before we start work together: we agree boundaries, expectations and ways of working.
‘Contracting’ is the technical term for these conversations, but I prefer to think of it as ‘setting things up for success’ and it typically involves:
- agreeing honestly and as clearly as possible what is expected from one another
- the purpose and boundaries for the work
- identifying what behaviours will enable you both to perform at your best and anything that would be unhelpful, and,
- how you’ll review how it’s going so you can adjust accordingly.
We contract before we start work together, but also check-in how things are going periodically.
Before we start…
The kinds of questions we might use at the start of a project or assignment include:
- What do we want to achieve?
- How will we know we have been successful?
- What are our respective roles? What can we offer and for what do we accept responsibility?
- What requests do we have of one another in terms of how we work?
- How will we know whether things are on track?
- How do we want to handle things if it’s not working well for either of us?
- What obstacles might get in the way of us working together? How can we avoid this happening?
Are we still on track?
Review questions can be as simple as:
- What do we notice about how we are working together?
- What is working and what is not working?
- Is there anything you want more or less of from me?
- What do we want to change to make this relationship have more impact?
Taking 5-10 minutes to include some of these questions in our meetings with others can help ensure we get off to the most productive start with new projects, or review and realign those already underway.
by clairesan | Jul 12, 2021 | Blog, Momentum
Unfortunately, despite being fully vaccinated, I caught COVID 19 recently. And whilst the acute symptoms lasted only a week I’ve been left feeling very tired – as often happens after a nasty virus. Much as I’d love to return immediately to my usual level of activity, I realise that it’s important to take time to recover properly.
Whilst I am generally manage to attend to the bigger tasks to keep myself healthy, like fitting in a long run once a week, I’m not always so good at the smaller things that are just as important. But taking care of your health involves doing lots of little things on a regular basis – sticking to ‘good’ habits and avoiding ‘bad’ ones. Some of the habits I’m trying to stick to currently to recover from the virus include:
- Getting early nights – going to bed by 10pm
- Eating well – including drinking ‘recovery shakes
- Doing 15 mins stretching and conditioning daily
- Practising 15 mins daily reflection – what went well/ less well and what I want to do differently.
Creating new habits is a topic that crops up often in coaching conversations and I recommend James Clear’s Atomic Habits as a useful resource. As this brilliant book outlines, there are two main reasons why habits are helpful:
- Firstly, goals or one-off achievements are often the main focus of our work in organisations or via coaching. But habits help us to focus on the building-blocks of discipline that underpin success – the daily tasks or behaviours which are just as important to creating success.
- Secondly, the more of our daily tasks become habitual then the more ‘headspace’ that leaves for other things. Through repetition if we can reinforce our positive behaviours so they become automatic, we can focus instead other activities that require more effort and attention.
Clear suggests there are 4 main ways we can help ourselves get into a good habit:
- Make it obvious
- Make it (more) attractive
- Make it easy
- Make it satisfying
It’s a great book, and I’d encourage you to read the whole thing – but as a taster for coachees I created a ‘crib sheet’ which includes some of the top tips that help us stick to the good habits. And I’ve used some of these techniques to help me stay on track over the next few weeks with these habits.
Getting early nights – going to bed by 10pm
First up, make it obvious. It’s important to be specific and simple – 10pm is more useful than ‘early’. There’s no ambiguity if there’s a specific time. Reminders are another way to make it obvious – personally I find a reminder on my phone 30 mins before I need to do something useful.
Eating well – including drinking ‘recovery’ shakes with my breakfast
These are not tasty! I’ve made it easier by setting up the equipment to make them (a blender and the ingredients) in the kitchen. It’s obvious because I’ve left that stuff next to the kettle – the first thing I do each day is make a pint of tea so I am reminded then to make the shake. And I’ve made it more attractive by buying some frozen fruit I can add to the mix to disguise the taste.
Doing 15 mins stretching daily
This is something I find very hard to stick to, as here’s no obvious reward to doing these activities. Do them and they help avoid you getting injured, but if you skip them there’s no immediate bad consequence.
One of my favourite tips from this book is about making it obvious via habit ‘stacking’ – scheduling a new habit to be directly before/ after something you always do to help you remember to do it. So I do these 15 minutes of exercise after breakfast each morning, in the same room, at the same time, and I have the equipment I need (a yoga mat and resistance band) ready on hand – making it easy. It’s basically all about taking any thought or effort out of it – so nothing gets in the way.
Practising 15 mins daily reflection – what went well/ less well and what I want to do differently.
Again, I know I should do this but I often struggle to do this regularly. I’ve found being unwell and needing to slow down tough mentally. Making time for reflection will help make sure I’m not overdoing it and also help my motivation, especially if I use these coaching-style reflection questions.
Making it obvious by sticking to a regular time slot helps, so I’ve identified 30 mins each evening when it’s normally quiet. And I’ve set myself a reminder on my smart phone to make it even more obvious. Plus whereas before I was taking notes on my laptop I’m now using a note-taking app to jot down my thoughts to make it easy. So far I’m managing about 50% of the time – which is a start!
And – finally – as an overall reminder of these healthy habits as well as having a ‘to do’ list each week, I now have a simple checklist of the daily/ weekly regular tasks (or habits) which is next to my desk and which I tick off. There’s a simple satisfaction to ticking things off and feeling like you’ve accomplished a small step. And the list also serves as a visual cue or reminder to do these things, once again, making it obvious.
As Clear concludes, creating habitscan be hard because a lot of these behaviours are not satisfying in the short-term. When cause-effect are disconnected we are less inclined towards changing our behaviour. With ‘good behaviours’ the effort or inconvenience is short-term, whereas and the payback days or weeks, or even years, later.
But at least we can give ourselves a helping hand by using these 4 simple tips from behavioural psychology to make these habits more likely to take root.
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