When I first engage with teams on leadership and or technical development challenges, I love to do a workshop with them.
I used to get quite structured in the activities we would do with them but over time I learned that I need to be more a listener and consumer of information, nee a facilitator of the workshop then worry about the structure.
There are times we finish a day or that people get worried that we aren’t going to get through everything and I tell them that is completely fine if we don’t, then we have achieved our goal for that day because we are talking, getting somewhere and getting everything out on the table — which is the goal.
I once had to explain this to a manager who asked how the session went with this team — when I told him the result he was confused I was so happy — my response was — “they are talking about the problem and getting to what is wrong — this is what we want.”
To this end, irrespective of what I’m doing the workshop on I always find myself asking and digging as deep as I can go on the following questions.
What’s the Problem You’re Trying to Solve?
This question never gets old and it’s my favorite one because it spawns so many other questions that get everyone talking.
