The Punch List is a critical, confidential document used in the Right-Minded Teamwork (RMT) 12-Step Workshop Design Process (specifically synthesized in Step 7).
It summarizes the collective feedback gathered by the facilitator from one-on-one interviews with all team members. The list functions as the team’s own evidence, ensuring the workshop agenda focuses on addressing root causes and real issues rather than symptoms or arbitrary activities.
Creation and Purpose
The Punch List evolves in two stages:
- First Draft: Includes only the team leader’s initial perception of the issues.
- Second Draft (Final): Synthesized after the facilitator conducts surveys and confidential teammate interviews. The facilitator dedicates uninterrupted time to analyze all notes, looking for common themes and root causes—not just symptoms—to ensure the list reflects what the teammates collectively believe.
This inclusive process—allowing teammates to help design the list—primes them to offer solutions and accept responsibility during the workshop.
The Power of Questions
The Punch List’s primary distinction is that the topics are mostly written as questions. This approach serves several strategic purposes:
- Shifts Accountability: Posing topics as questions (e.g., “Is it okay to have an unresolved conflict if it affects productivity? If not, what Work Agreement will we make?”) encourages teammates to accept responsibility for the problem.
- Forces Alignment: It becomes nearly impossible for teammates to deny that an issue exists, thereby achieving alignment without the facilitator or leader having to explicitly seek “buy-in.”
- Leads Directly to Work Agreements: Each question is structured to lead the team directly to defining a Work Agreement (RMT Element #3) that resolves the underlying issue. The goal is for the team to address and eventually resolve all items on the Punch List through these agreements.
By using the Punch List, the facilitator ensures the team is ready to discuss, agree upon, and define Work Agreements that solve the conflicts and challenges they collectively identified.
Action
To learn more about the Punch List, go to RightMindedTeamwork.com or your favorite book retailer, and pick up your copy of:
Design a Right-Minded, Team-Building Workshop: 12 Steps to Create a Team That Works as One
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