1. Peer Consultation: A Vehicle for Building Capacity and Support
Facilitated by Martha Isobel Lask
National Children’s Alliance Leadership Conference 2009
“Peer Consultation changed our culture”
Participant in a Peer Consultation Program in a large child care agency

2. Introduction What we will cover:
Overview of Peer Consultation/Coaching
Key Skills
Practice and Demo
Description of the Model
Application to Your Situations

3. A Shift in Thinking ~ A Different Way of Helping
Slowing down the helping process……to speed up to a great result:
Helping to gain clarity about an issue through reflection and questioning
Making sure we consider both facts and feelings
Helping to build capacity to find lasting solutions instead of giving quick answers

4. Why Peer Consultation and Coaching?
Executive Directors are isolated
Organizations are undergoing continual change:
New regulations
Increased competition
More diversity
New technology
Scarce funding
Complex problems require gaining problem clarity and non- traditional approaches

5. Why Peer Consultation and Coaching?
Need forums for continuous improvement and support
Peer Consultation/Coaching:
empowers everyone to use skills
provides continuous improvement and support,
Brings many good heads together
Peer Consultation/Coaching is being used now in many places

6. The Leadership Exchange & Coaching Program (LEC)

7. Benefits of Peer Consultation/Coaching
Get help on real stuff
Learn different approaches & skills
Individual growth
Apply learning from previous sessions
Build interpersonal relationships & trust by working on tasks and challenges
Bring these methods to other meetings and forums

8. Quotes from Participants
Inside a child care agency
“Once we learned it as a technique and as a strategy, it’s been embedded in what we do regularly.”
LEC
“Absolutely I like having the LEC peer network… “Our peer consulting group is very supportive. I would feel very comfortable calling anyone to ask for advice and resources. And I can take this peer consultation model into
different venues.”

9. Quotes from Participants
LEC
“We’re not just asked to present our issues, but how do we feel about it …to acknowledge our feelings, not just bury them, and then figure out how to get from point A to point B.“

10. Key Elements/Skills Witnessing Questioning Activate Compassion
Deep Listening
Suspend Judgment
Questioning

11. Witnessing If the goal is: We have to create a trusting environment
To help identify the real issue,
Examine feelings, and
Identify a next step towards resolution….,
We have to create a trusting environment

12. Witnessing We do this by:
Activating our compassion
Listening deeply
Suspending judgment
Then we ask questions to promote discovery and insight

13. Individual Exercise
Think of a time or a few times when, in speaking about an issue of importance to you,
You felt accepted and not judged
You were helped by the person’s perspective
You felt that the person really cared, but did not “tell, solve, or interpret”
You felt validated
What did that person(s) do or say that helped?

14. Good questions are critical to help clarify an issue
Questioning
If you’re listening deeply, with compassion, the questions will occur to you
Good questions are critical to help clarify an issue
We ask questions to which we cannot possibility know the answer, such as “What are your hopes for that meeting?”

15. Questioning Types of Questions
Investigative ….WHAT
Discovery….SO WHAT
Empowering….NOW WHAT
Begin with 1 or 2 investigative questions
Move to discovery questions to help the person explore the issue more deeply
Move to empowering questions to challenge the person to identify a next step

16. Questioning in Pairs Pair up with someone next to you
In this quick activity focus is on Discovery Q’s
Goal: Help your partner reflect on their experience and learn as much as they can about it.

17. Questioning: One round…4 minute interview
Speaker: Talk about something you are proud of having accomplished
Questioner: Ask your partner Discovery Questions to help them learn something about the strengths they bring to their work

18. Questioning Debrief Speaker – did you learn something new?
What are some good questions that were asked?

19. Demonstration - Set Up
Would someone volunteer to be consulted to live?
Examples of issues
How do I involve resistant partners?
How do I handle a staff person who is not performing?
I have a fabulous MDT – how do I continue to engage them?

20. Demonstration - Instructions to Group
As you are listening…..What compassionate responses occur to you?
As you are listening…..What questions occur to you?
We’ll stop action for witness response & questions

21. Demonstration Consult/Coach (5 min)
Stop action for witness response and questions (10 min)
Resume Consultation (5 min)

22. Demonstration Debrief
What did you notice?
What questions do you have?

23. The Peer Consultation Process
In your handouts:
Purpose
Consultation Process
Issue presentation Template
Witness Response
Questioning
Group Member Roles
Structured Agenda
Cautions: Do’s and Don’ts
Application to Your Local Community
Sources & Contacts

24. Application in Your Local Situation
How might you use this in your community?
Inside your CAC with staff
With other Executive Directors in your community
Within your MDT
Within your Board of Directors
With other CAC Directors
Other?

25. Ingredients for success
Use Witnessing and Questioning
Follow the process; use the structure
Create confidentiality agreements
Commit to the group and the process
Keep regularity/consistency
Don’t rush to problem-solve

26. Wrap-up
What questions do you have?

27. Final Thoughts Thank you for attending!
Final Thoughts
Thank you for attending!
For more information about LEC, visit

28. Sources
This Peer Consultation Model was developed by Martha Lask and is based in part on the work of:
Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD. “Authenticity Circles.” Authenticity Consulting, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Parker Palmer, “Circles of Trust.” sponsored by the Center for Courage and Renewal, Bainbridge Island, Washington.
Perrone-Ambrose Associates, Inc.”Coaching Methodology.” Chicago, Illinois.
Martha Lask and Peter Norlin. “The Witness Stance.” Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
 Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. “The Critical Response Process.” Washington DC.

29. Martha Lask Consulting
Contact Martha Lask:
Visit web site:
Additional materials available
Contents of this presentation © copyright 2009 by Martha Isobel Lask