In any structured gathering, which may include a retreat, full-day workshops, series of work sessions and/or meetings, the energy and mindsets of teams and/or participants can shift slightly or dramatically. As a facilitative leader, capturing these changes is crucial for ensuring success of the gatherings, but most importantly in showing true care for the people. Creating the conditions for authentic collaboration is at the heart of what facilitative leaders try to do for teams, and finding ways to tune into their thoughts, feelings and mindsets is ongoing and necessary.
A couple weeks ago, I was modeling facilitative leadership techniques as a facilitator of a two-day workshop for a school district, which is working to adjust instructional resources to better align with their new strategic plan. During our time together, there were many positive moments with high energy and excitement being present throughout the different learning experiences and collaborative activities. On the second day, a school district artifact was brought into the mix with the intention of the workshop participants taking it apart and putting it back together based on the new success criteria that they helped to co-construct on the first day. This collaborative activity started with all participants approaching the work with enthusiasm, engagement and a willingness to get to work right away; however, I could feel the temperature in the room start to change, and I don’t mean the actual temperature. (I will give full credit to John C. Maxwell later in this article for his use of the metaphor.)
The Why, When, What and How of Two-Part Statement Prompts
As I walked around the room and listened to the different small group discussions, I could see and hear the participants go from excitement to concern. As they were analyzing the school district artifact, conversations related to how it was used in the past brought about some unresolved feelings that derailed the opportunity to learn from the past in order to make changes for the future. As an experienced facilitative leader and facilitator, I knew what I needed to do to help the workshop participants as well as not lose the amazing momentum we gained together on the first day. It was time for a two-part statement prompt.
With the necessary resources of any facilitator, I asked the participants to grab nearby sticky notes and markers that were located in the center of their tables. I shared what I noticed when walking around the room and explained that I wanted to check in on them. I asked the participants to take one sticky note and finish the following two-part statement prompt: “Yesterday, I felt…; today, I feel…” Then, I let everyone take a needed break which allowed me to go into analysis mode. As participants were exiting the room to take their break, they handed me their individual sticky notes with no name, just their completed two-part statement prompt. I quickly started to analyze the temperature in the room by grouping the sticky notes into similar categories. To my surprise, not all of the sticky notes showed signs of the temperature in the room going down, some went up! Although, there was definitely evidence of the temperature in the room going down for a number of the participants which offered clear signs of what I needed to do next.
With this valuable information, I was able to make adjustments to the agenda for the rest of the day. These adjustments included time for the participants to safely share how the school district artifact sparked some unexpected reactions and where certain feelings might have originated. Additionally, we were still able to move forward toward the overall objectives and outcomes of the two-day workshop but with some new prompts, learning experiences and collaborative activities that allowed the participants to safely use the feelings that were provoked to positively influence rebuilding the artifact, which will better meet the needs of educators and aligns with the new strategic plan.
Examples of Two-Part Statement Prompts
In sharing this story, I want to highlight the use of two-part statement prompts that facilitative leaders can intentionally use to check on their teams in the same way facilitators check in with participants to see how they are feeling, identify new learning and skills acquired as well as observe any shifts in mindset. Here’s how I incorporate these prompts to help create and maintain participant-centered learning experiences and a collaborative activities:
Check In on Emotions and Energy Levels: Two-part statements like "Yesterday, I felt…; today, I feel..." help to immediately sense any positive or negative shifts in energy. This allows me to address concerns or capitalize on positive momentum in real-time and/or between the days of multi-day workshops and ongoing team meetings.
Capture New Learning: Prompts such as "I used to think…, but now I know..." help participants articulate their learning and growth. This not only reinforces the new knowledge and/or skills they gained, but it also provides me with feedback on the effectiveness of the workshop content, ongoing professional learning opportunities, etc.
Observe Mindset Shifts: Statements like "I entered the room feeling…; I am leaving the room feeling..." highlight changes in participants' perspectives and attitudes. Recognizing these shifts enables me to validate their experiences and adapt my approach to better support their journey.
Integrity and Compassion in Action
As I was in the airport getting ready to fly home from my time with this school district, I found and bought John C. Maxwell’s book The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication. As I looked through it, I noticed a chapter titled “The Law of the Thermostat” which I read in record time because it resonated with me and the experience I just had the last two days. Even though the chapter is referencing how to read the room as a presenter, it also applies to facilitators and facilitative leaders. It was this chapter of the book that helped me to articulate the process I used via reading the room and changing the temperature with two-part statement prompts as a way to monitor and adjust rather than continue to stay the original course. One of my favorite quotes from this chapter includes: “People won’t like you as a communicator because they understand you; they will like you because they feel understood.”
The insights gained from the use of two-part statement prompts guide my next moves as a facilitative leader and facilitator which help me to create an environment where everyone feels heard and valued. Whether it’s adjusting the agenda, introducing new activities or addressing emerging issues, I ensure that I am meeting participants' needs with integrity and compassion while striving to achieve the intended objectives and outcomes.
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