9. Leader & Facilitator Finalize Agenda and Workshop Plan
In Step 9 of our 12-step course in how to design a Right-Minded Team Building Workshop, you’ll learn how to:
- Update all materials, finalize plan & distribute agenda
- Plan how to prevent potential problems and how to intervene if they arise
Update Materials and Distribute Agenda to Teammates
Here’s where you’ll finalize, edit, and update all materials, which should include:
- Outcomes and Agenda
- Punch List
- Teammate Preparation Instructions
- Logistics: dates, place, start/end time
The ideal way to distribute these materials is in a full team meeting. If that is not possible, email them at least one week prior to the workshop.
Be kindly insistent that teammates ask clarifying questions before the workshop if any of their preparation responsibilities are not clear.
Plan Preventions and Interventions
Ask the leader:
“What could possibly go wrong in the workshop?”
“How can we prevent those wrongs from happening?”
“How will we intervene if those wrongs do happen?”
This conversation often starts in Step 2, but you will need to finalize it now.
There are two types of barriers, or “wrongs”:
- process barriers and
- people barriers.
These barriers can be minor nuisances or major problems. That means you’ll want to create and implement the right level of prevention and you want to be able to address the major barriers that will likely happen.
Examples of process barriers:
- An interdependent virtual team is divided by four-time zones.
- Because of shift work, not all teammates can be present at the workshop.
- Too many layers of management approval slow down processing.
Examples of people barriers:
- Language and/or cultural differences
- A teammate who is negative about team building
- Toxic and ongoing unresolved conflict between teammates
Most workshops have 3–5 barriers. You and the leader will need to discuss and create a prevention and intervention plan for each barrier.
Prevention Plan Example
Inclusion and a Pre-Workshop Agreement with the negative teammate is your prevention plan.
Inclusion means you will genuinely and thoroughly interview that negative teammate. You’ll make certain the teammate knows that their workshop design ideas are making their way into the agenda.
Include a reminder that all teammates, including them, need to believe the final workshop outcomes are worthwhile and that you are committed to making that happen.
After the team leader approves the final agenda, go to the negative teammate and walk through the agenda with them. Ensure that they embrace the benefits of the outcome. Ask, “Do you agree that if we accomplished these workshop outcomes, the team building will have been worth it?”
When the teammate says yes, even if the response is not very convincing, say something like, “Great. It’s important you believe that. I’m counting on you to do everything you can to make certain we have a good workshop. Can I count on you?”
Now you’ve made a pre-workshop agreement. Can you see how inclusion and pre-agreement make up a solid prevention plan?
Intervention Plan Example
Of course, the next question to consider is this:
How will you intervene if this teammate becomes negative during the workshop?
Using PCA and Ground Rules make up your intervention plan.
PCA means: Present, Clarify, and Agree. PCA is a facilitator tool you should use at the beginning of every team-building workshop.
Here’s how it works:
Present: Kick off the meeting by presenting the workshop outcomes and ground rules.
Clarify: Ask teammates if they have any clarifying questions.
- When you ask, be certain to pause; don’t say anything for a short while.
- Occasionally, someone asks a simple question or offers a new ground rule like…it’s ok to disagree but it’s not ok to be disrespectful or negative. But typically, there no questions because you have distributed the agenda ahead of time and you have discussed it with people like your negative teammate.
- While you are being silent, look into everyone’s eyes. Do you see acceptance?
Agree: If you do see acceptance, say something like,
“OK. It looks like everyone understands the outcomes and agrees to abide by the ground rules. Does everyone agree to do their part today?”
Everyone says yes. Now, when the teammate becomes negative, you can intervene by reminding them of the outcomes and ground rules.
Learning how to create and implement preventions and interventions is not hard, and like other team-building skills, you will get better and better at it the more you practice.
And while you’re in the Resouces section, look at another useful tool – the Meeting Plan Checklist. It’s a simple 2-page planer that includes a
- meeting plan guide
- sample agenda and
- report of improvement
OK, the workshop day is just around the corner. In the next lesson, Step 10, we’ll discuss some important design ideas.
Can’t Wait? Links to All 12 Lessons
Over 2 Hours of Audio Instruction from Dan Hogan, Certified Master Facilitator.
These lessons will continue to arrive in your email.
Introduction – How to Design a Right-Minded Team Building Workshop |
Step 1 – Start with the End in Mind. Leader Defines Purpose |
Step 2 – Leader Meets Facilitator. Shares Purpose & Outcomes |
Step 3 – What the Leader Wants May Not Be What the Team Needs. Facilitator Uncovers Root Causes |
Step 4 – Facilitator Presents First Draft Team Building Plan to the Leader |
Step 5 – Leader Announces Workshop and Prepares Teammates |
Step 6 – Facilitator Conducts 9 or 20 Question Right-Minded Teamwork Survey |
Step 7 – Facilitator Interviews All Teammates |
Step 8 – Facilitator Presents Second Draft Plan to Leader |
Step 9 – Leader & Facilitator Finalize Agenda and Workshop Plan |
Step 10 – Achieve Workshop Outcomes |
Step 11 – Track & Report Progress for the Next 90 Days |
Step 12 – Leader & Facilitator Begin Designing the Second Workshop |