Active Reviewing for Leaders

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~ 2 ~ ACTIVE REVIEWING FOR LEADERS

~ 2.1 ~ Experience-based learning for leaders
~ 2.2 ~ 10 Strategies for creating more leadership experiences
~ 2.3 ~ 10 Ways of reviewing leadership experience
~ 2.4 ~ Extras: stories, sources and links

If using experience-based learning to developing leaders, then

one essential ingredient is experience in a leadership role.

I have been astonished to find that some experience-based

programmes for developing leaders provide very little experience

of leadership. Even on a multi-day programme, participants may

only get one opportunity to be a leader. And what learning can be

reliably generalise from this one opportunity? What are the

chances that such a participant will return to work as a more

effective leader? Even worse, what if a participant does not

perform well on their only opportunity to lead? What will that do

for their development as a leader. (In the example I am thinking

of, the trainee leader who messed up their one chance did not

even receive any feedback!)

If you want to use the full power of experiential learning for

developing leaders you need to provide plenty of opportunities

for leadership experience. The challenge is to create a programme

that produces a variety of leadership experiences for each and

every person taking part in programme. I have described some

solutions to this challenge in my article on 'Maximising

Leadership Opportunities on Leadership Training Programmes' at:

<http://reviewing.co.uk/articles/leadership-training.htm>

The 10 strategies are summarised below...

~ 10 strategies for creating more leadership opportunities

1. Dividing a group into two subgroups

2. Using co-leaders rather than solo leaders

3. Using three or more leaders for each project - either passing

the baton at different stages of the project or each leader

having a special responsibility throughout the project.

4. Working in pairs - taking it in turns to be lead partner

5. Leading reviews (why not? - see No. 9 in the next list)

6. Reviewing experiences of leadership that have already happened

7. Using mini-leadership projects of less than five minutes.

8. Creating a leadership challenge in which each individual has

the opportunity to step up and try out a different leadership

strategy.

9. Exploring the definition of leadership in a way that makes

people realise that everything they do and say in a group

influences others whether or not they are an assigned leader.

10. Making links between leadership and the transfer of learning

and setting up transfer as a leadership challenge.

Use just some of these 10 strategies and every participant should

have a variety of leadership experiences on which to reflect or

receive feedback. Each strategy is described in more detail at:

<http://reviewing.co.uk/articles/leadership-training.htm>

If you are able to create plenty of opportunities for each person

to experience a variety of leadership roles, then you will also

be able to make good use of these ...

~ 10 ways of reviewing leadership experiences

1) Feedback using the Active Reviewing Cycle
2) SEQ: Style, Effect, Questions
3) Storyline
4) Horseshoe Spectrum
5) Sim Survey
6) Warm Seat
7) Moving Stones
8) Action Replay of Critical Incidents
9) Participants leading a review
10) Reviewing tools for leaders

1) Feedback using the Active Reviewing Cycle

There is little point in providing feedback if people are

resistant to receiving feedback. Resistance is usually less when

feedback is more factual. Resistance is most likely to exist when

a person is being judged or is being given advice. You can use

the cycle to work out (or discuss) the kind of feedback that will

be most useful and effective. Resistance also tends to be less

when the receiver of feedback is in control of the process. For a

full explanation including links to specific techniques see:

<http://reviewing.co.uk/learning-cycle/feedback-methods.htm>

2) SEQ: Style, Effect, Questions

SEQ is one of many alternative ways in to giving feedback. A

particular strength of SEQ is that it tends to focus on what many

people want to hear: what they were like, what effect they had,

and how well they communicated - plus an opportunity to ask their

own questions to the group. It is particularly suitable for

providing feedback for leaders, as well as providing a useful

framework for you to receive feedback on your facilitation. You

will find a full description in the success section of the Active

Reviewing Guide.

<http://reviewing.co.uk/success/success7.htm#seq>

3) Storyline

Part of being a leader is influencing the feelings of others

(feelings that will lead to effective action). So it is useful

for leaders to find out the extent to which their efforts to

motivate did motivate, whether their actions inspired confidence,

whether people felt noticed / respected / involved / appreciated.

Each person creates a storyline (using pen and paper or a rope)

based on one of these themes. For example, a motivation line

would show how an individual's motivation changed during the

period of their leadership. One person's storyline may show that

their motivation moved from high to low, whereas another's may

show the opposite. Or each person's storyline may show much the

same story. Peaks and troughs in a storyline may not have been a

direct consequence of what the leader said or did, but the leader

can obtain useful feedback by asking questions about cause and

effect. Also, the leader can create their own storyline and show

it to the group (or to a partner) to talk through their own ups

and downs and how these affected (or were affected by) their

leadership role.

<http://reviewing.co.uk/learning-cycle/happy-chart.htm>

4) Horseshoe Spectrum

This an instant survey method in which the leader can get quick

responses from the whole group in answer to their questions for

feedback. Questions might be:

* How do you rate my overall performance as a leader?

* Do you think I should have been more directive or more

responsive?

* How well did I handle the time pressure / the conflict / the

unexpected?

* Was I too task-focused or too team-focused?

Questions can be derived from any leadership or communication

models that have been introduced as part of the course.

Questions can also emerge from other questions. For example, an

initial question about overall performance can bring out other

factors that can, in turn, be explored on the spectrum.

Questions can also be generated from a group brainstorm at the

outset - providing a handy menu from which each participant can

choose the question they most want to ask.

<http://reviewing.co.uk/articles/ropes.htm>

5) Sim Survey

As for Horseshoe, each participant has questions on which they

want feedback. Limit each person to the one or two questions they

really want to ask. Each person then carries out their own survey

throughout the whole group, reflects on this feedback and reports

back to the group on what they have learned and/or on what they

want to try doing differently in future. This process can only

work after everyone in the group has had at least one leadership

opportunity. Everyone should announce their questions before the

survey begins. This serves the dual purpose of giving people

advance warning of questions they will be asked as well as

providing a quality check (and the opportunity to change

questions).

<http://reviewing.co.uk/archives/art/9_4.htm#SIMULTANEOUS_SURVEY>

6) Warm Seat

Warm Seat works best towards the end of a leadership programme

where everyone has witnessed each other in 2 or 3 different

leadership roles. For a group of 10 people, Warm Seat takes 100

minutes. The Warm Seat generates ideas for action points for the

seated person. Unlike the 'hot seat' where individuals are put on

the spot and face questions from others, the 'warm seat' is a

comfortable seat from which the seated person asks the questions.

The most important feature of this reviewing method is that the

seated person is in control: if they feel 'too hot', 'too cold'

or in any way uncomfortable, they leave the seat to stop whatever

is being said. Sim Survey (No.5 above) is quicker, but Warm Seat

is more open and allows people to adjust what they say in

relation to what others have said. Sim Survey used 40% of the way

into a programme is good preparation for Warm Seat used 80% into

a programme.

<http://reviewing.co.uk/feedback.htm#warmseat>

7) Moving Stones

Each person, including the leader, makes an arrangement of stones

or other objects showing their view of how they worked together

and of the leader's role in relation to the group. (Each stone

represents a person.) The leader views all arrangements asking

questions for clarification (if needed) and then voices their

conclusions and what they might try differently. This final stage

is important not only because it leads to action but also because

it is an opportunity to check whether any 'messages' from the

stones have been misinterpreted.

<http://www.activelearningmanual.com>

8) Action Replay of Critical Incidents

In some leadership tasks there may be one or two moments of

special interest - such as a moment where a poor decision was

made, or where a critical turning point was the key to success.

Much can be learned from restaging critical events and

interviewing people to find out what they were thinking or

feeling at the time. Restaging (much like reconstructions of the

scene of a crime) brings back people's feelings and memories from

the original incident and makes for a more interesting and

focused review.

<http://www.activelearningmanual.com>

9) Participants leading a review

What kind of reviewing can participants be asked to lead? Maybe

their organisation has a protocol for reviewing such as 'After

Action Review'. If so, they can simply practise the review style

required or preferred by their organisation. But do not assume

that participants are only capable of leading discussions: there

are many other reviewing techniques that participants can quickly

learn and apply. For example, most people developing their

leadership skills should be able to rise to the challenge of

directing an action replay - whether or not you are able to

provide them with a film director's chair! If participants do

take lead (or shared) responsibility in a review, ensure they

have the opportunity to self-assess and to receive feedback.

10) Reviewing tools for leaders

Taking part in a leadership programme is one step in a lifelong

journey of developing leadership skills. Participants can benefit

from thinking about how they will learn from future experiences

as a leader. How will they reflect? How will they obtain

feedback? Will they keep a diary? Will they hire a coach? Will

they re-use or adapt any of the reviewing methods or principles

that they have experienced during this leadership programme? If

time is short, perhaps you will present them with a ready-made

reviewing toolkit to help them with their future development as a

leader? But with more time you can talk through the options as a

group and encourage each person to adopt a strategy that best

fits their preferred learning style and that is also realistic to

sustain in their current workplace. An individualised plan for

future learning from experience as a leader is one of the most

powerful tools people can take away - because it helps to ensure

continuing development as a leader.

Your stories of your successful application of these or related

ideas are always very welcome - whether or not they are offered

for publication. Please write to: <roger@reviewing.co.uk>

For more sources, links and research-based findings about

feedback see my recently updated page at:

<http://reviewing.co.uk/feedback.htm#moreinfo>

~ 5 ~ DYNAMIC DEBREIFING: SEQUENCING IN DEBRIEFING

Dynamic Debriefing is the title of the chapter I wrote for Mel

Silberman's 'Handbook of Experiential Learning' (2007).

The first four instalments were:

1: What is Dynamic Debriefing?

<http://reviewing.co.uk/archives/art/9_1.htm>

2 The Role of the Facilitator

<http://reviewing.co.uk/archives/art/9_2.htm>

3. Models of Debriefing

<http://reviewing.co.uk/archives/art/9_3.htm>

4. The Experience of Debriefing

<http://reviewing.co.uk/archives/art/9_4.htm>

Here is Part 5: [which is also available in Russian Russia

]

SEQUENCING IN DEBRIEFING

Several sequences have already been described in the preceding

text (Borton, 1970; Greenaway, 2002; Priest and Gass, 1999;

Thiagarajan and Thiagarajan, 1999) so they will not be repeated

here. This section is an exploration of principles and issues

associated with sequencing within a debrief.

>> Finding a starting point

You can start a debrief with the experience and let issues or

topics emerge, or you can start a debrief by using a topic as a

lens through which to select and view an experience. If starting

a debrief with the story (or stories) of what happened, you can

use techniques such as Action Replay (described later) that rerun

the experience pausing to investigate key moments. There is no

law of debriefing that says you should give equal attention to

everything that happened or that you should give equal time to

each stage of a learning sequence. It is in everyone's interest

that you focus on what matters most, even if this is not apparent

until the debrief is under way. At other times a debrief will

start with a question that leads people to draw on whichever

experiences best answer the question. This might, for example, be

a search for teamwork highs or lows in the exercise just

completed, or in a recent period at work. Or you can simply ask

the group to list issues, questions or topics they wish to

explore. You can then introduce debriefing methods that will help

them to explore their enquiries in ways that take them back into

the experience. Wherever they begin, they are probably entering a

learning cycle which, strictly speaking, has no start or finish

point.

>> The role of debriefing in experiential learning

Experiential learning is often presented in the form of a cycle

in which an 'experience' is followed by a sequence of different

processes until the next 'experience', after which the sequence

is repeated until the next 'experience', and so it continues.

Debriefing can assist any part of the learning sequence that

comes after the 'experience' - from sharing feelings through to

transfer planning. With so many potential directions to take in a

debrief, a poorly sequenced debrief can become dissatisfying and

chaotic.

>> Poorly sequenced debriefs can result in:

* clich�d conversations with no questioning or learning

* meandering discussion going wherever the most dominant people

happen to take it

* paralysis by analysis with learning stagnating at the

investigation stage

* post-mortems producing a distorted negative bias that drains

energy

* jumping to false conclusions by missing out significant stages

* future planning that is not well grounded in what was learned

from experience

* chaos and conflict with people being out of sequence with each

other (while one person is talking about the future, another is

still 'in the exercise', another is speaking their mind, another

is excited about a personal insight...)

Sequencing is not the only answer to the above problems, but

having an understanding of sequencing can certainly help identify

the problem and indicate solutions worth trying.

>> There is no best sequence for debriefing

There is no single 'correct' or 'best' sequence to follow. There

are many different theories, each promoting a particular

sequence, and there is no standard 'best practice' that can be

routinely applied to all opportunities for experiential learning.

Facilitators should be familiar with a variety of useful

debriefing sequences, as well as having a variety of debriefing

tools that enable learners to fully engage with any sequence that

is adopted.

>> Decisions about sequencing

* What should be included in the sequence?

* In what order should these items be included?

* What should be the pace of the sequence?

* Should the sequence be followed once or several times during

the debrief?

* How strictly should the sequencing be adhered to?

* How dynamic should the process be?

* Who should make these decisions (and how is this decision

made)?

>> What to include in a sequence

It may not be realistic to include all of the features listed

below in every debrief, but over a series of debriefs it would

usually be important to include all of these aspects:

* clarification and/or negotiation about the process and purpose

of the debrief (which changes from one debrief to the next)

* past, future and present perspectives

* plus, minus and interesting perspectives (suitably balanced)

* individual and group perspectives (both 'I' and 'we'

statements)

* feedback to everyone and to individuals ('you' statements)

* opportunities for all learning style preferences to be included

and engaged (both for the sake of inclusiveness and to extend

everyone's learning skills)

* support and challenge in a spirit of inquiry

* opportunities for connection and transfer to the wider world

* a debrief of the debrief! (so that everyone can contribute to

improving the experience and quality of their debriefing

sessions)

>> Begin at the very beginning?

Beware of assuming that a debrief begins at the start of the

'official' debriefing session. Some important informal or

independent reflection may have already taken place. For example,

if participants have already spent time independently on stage

one and stage two (of your particular sequence), they may be

ready to dive into stage three at the start of your debriefing

session. Also, the more that participants get into the habit of

debriefing, the greater the chances that they will be doing

debriefing (formally or informally) during the training

exercises. So even if you start your debrief immediately after a

training exercise, you may still discover that the learning

process is already well under way. The best starting point is not

always stage one. It is always worth checking where people are at

- and there can be wide variation in any group.

>> Whose agenda? Whose cycle? Whose pace?

One decision you need to make is whether the whole debrief is to

be structured as an agenda (possibly equivalent to one tour of a

learning cycle), or whether the goal (or goals) of the debrief

would be better achieved by participants making several journeys

round a learning cycle. A related issue is whether each

participant is travelling around their own unique learning cycle

- and if so, do they each travel at their own pace or in unison

with others? If working with a group, your answer to the above

questions will necessarily be a compromise. This is because

experiential learning theory is about how individual learners

learn, rather than about how facilitators work with learning

groups. But there are clever ways of making this compromise. If

you keep the whole group together all of the time it is practical

and convenient if everyone moves at the same time at the same

pace. But if you include individual and paired work, this gives

more opportunity for individuals to move at their own pace, and

the group session can be used for finding out where each person

has got to. In this approach, debriefing happens in ones and twos

and the whole group is used for sharing information rather than

for moving round the cycle. The 'clever' compromise is to move

between the two approaches. Many debriefing methods described

later in this chapter have this compromise built in.

>> How important is the original experience when debriefing?

The more stages there are in a sequence, the more layers of

separation there can be from the original experience. For

example, Wight (1991) describes an eight stage experiential

learning cycle, with from three to five topics per stage. That

moment of action and experiencing is receding into the distance

as each new stage adds at least one more filter. This distancing

can be beneficial. But even if it is beneficial, the chances are

that a multistage debrief does not feel 'experiential' when the

original experience is no longer central to the debrief. This

does not necessarily mean that it is 'better' to keep referring

back to the experience at every stage of a debriefing cycle,

because it is usually also important for each new stage to refer

back to the previous stage of the sequence. This is yet another

situation where the facilitator needs to play things both ways.

In this case, the facilitator needs to work with what's coming

out from previous stages as well as referring back to the

original experience. There are many debriefing methods which help

to achieve this balance by 'bringing' the experience into the

debrief, for example - through video replay, re-enactment,

creating a storyboard, map or lists that provide a visual record

of the experience. If the switch from 'experiencing' to

'debriefing' is too sudden and abrupt, there is a risk that the

learning will be poorly grounded and detached from the

experience. The challenge is to maintain some interplay between

experience and reflection throughout the debrief - unless it was

your intention to use the experience simply as an energiser to

precede a discussion rather than as a significant source of

learning and development.

>> Follow a sequence or just move together in any order?

There is at least one interesting midway position between

following a predetermined sequence and free-flow. You can avoid

the potential chaos of free-flow by at least ensuring that

everyone is on the same page at the same time - whatever the

order in which the 'pages' are being visited. A good example of

this solution comes from Edward de Bono who realised that there

can be a lot of wasted energy in free-flowing meetings that

become chaotic and argumentative. He introduced his 'Six Thinking

Hats' model to help people conduct meetings in a more orderly and

effective way. (de Bono, 1985) 'Six Thinking Hats' does not

require people to follow any particular sequence, but it does

require that when a particular coloured hat is showing people may

only contribute according to the rule associated with that

colour. For example, when the yellow (sunshine) colour is

showing, only positive comments are allowed. There are also hats

for critical views (black), creative thinking (green), facts and

figures (white), feelings and intuition (red), and a blue hat for

commenting on the thinking process itself. Of course, some free-

flowing meetings can be highly effective, so a facilitator needs

the judgement to know when free-flow is best, when a structure is

best, and which structure is best. In other words, the

facilitator always needs a 'blue hat' which allows them to

clarify, when necessary, what kinds of contribution are most

welcome at any particular point in the debrief.

NEXT: The next instalment of 'Dynamic Debriefing' provides more

examples of debriefing methods.

ACTIVE Reviewing Tips for dynamic experiential learning

Active Reviewing for Leaders

ACTIVE Reviewing Tips
for dynamic experiential learning