Participation Training: For Productive Meetings ACUI Online Learning Team

What is Participation Training? It is a consensus decision-making structure. Each group member takes personal responsibility for the group process and outcomes. A process that moves groups through seven normative conditions. A process that includes group self- assessment.

Why are we talking about it? People complain about meetings. Meetings take too much time and accomplish too little. Meetings get off track. People dynamics sometimes make meetings impossible. What else?

Basic Assumptions Everything that happens in the group is the equally shared responsibility of every group member. People can and should take responsibility. People can and should participate fully in their communities. Groups can and should set their own agendas, frame their own questions, and plan their own actions. People are active in the creation of their own truths.

Assumptions, Cont. People can and should actively seek and understand the truths of others. People can and should accept that others’ truths are as valid as their own. Truth is not static. Difference and conflict results from individuality of truth, contradictory needs and goals, strategies and tactics.

Yet More Assumptions… Working on your own growth is important, as is accepting others as they are, and helping their continual development. All meetings are communities, some may be long-lasting and influential. Membership in a group changes. Culture shapes beliefs and beliefs shape culture. Behavior is sometimes out of our awareness. Bringing it back is important to learning.

Pause a moment Think Do any feel wrong to you? Write Why do they feel wrong? Send

Sample Standards for Evaluating Groups Length of life Exclusive vs. Inclusive Clear norms or not Restrict, maintain or advance development Clear goals or not Success in achieving goals Interaction with other groups Contribution to larger community Service to members Service to subgroups Feedback Communication

Seven Normative Conditions For Highly Effective Teams

Shared Planning Based on 3 assumptions: A well-planned discussion is more likely to produce useful, constructive results. Planning is best if it involves all participants. Planning is best done separately from the actual discussion and should be documented.

What does it look like? Topic Goal List of tasks

Shared Decision Making Consensus is...  Finding a proposal acceptable enough that all members can support it; no member opposes it. Consensus is not...  A unanimous vote  A majority vote  A situation in which everyone totally satisfied.

How do you get consensus? 3 Conditions for Consensus: Everyone expresses their point of view. Everyone hears and understands the POV of others. Everyone expresses and defines their level of commitment to carry out the decision.

Continuum of Support I will do my share of the work, and then some; I will do my share of the work with minimum reminding; I will do my share of the work, but only if reminded regularly; I will do some of what I promised, but not all; I will do very little of what I promised; I will do nothing to help; I will interfere with the work of others; I will actively sabotage this project.

Shared Evaluation Symptoms of meetings with no shared evaluation:  Meetings are bad and never get better.  Discussions are repeated endlessly.  Dysfunctional members are never dealt with.  Members are allowed to remain silent or not participate.

EIAG Experience Identify Analyze Generalize

Shared Leadership Symptoms of no shared leadership: Do one or two people dominate the meeting? Are there leadership behaviors that don’t get done? Meetings seem too task oriented OR too touchy feely. Meetings never begin or end on time.

Leadership as a behavior  Information giving  Information seeking  Redirecting the group to task  Assessing progress Timekeeping Clarifying & Inquiry

Cont. Summarizing Consensus testing Comparison to standard Haromonizing Support Recognition & Praise

Cont. Catching and repairing leap frogging Humor Gatekeeping

Service Roles  Recorder  Time-keeper  Observer

Forming One Storming Two Norming Three

Performing Just the beginning…