I continue to be impressed by the wisdom of groups. I marvel at how much insight you can get out of just listening, asking questions, and thinking in a group. It can shed a completely different light on an issue, help understand different perspectives and make you feel supported. Yet all it requires is some coordination and facilitation to get the right group of people together and working on each other’s issues. I have experienced this so many times in group coaching sessions, co-development groups and other small group work. By bringing your issue to the group and letting its members ask questions, share insights, and offer ideas, you can see the whole issue in a different light. It also helps to build trusting relationships with colleagues and creates a support network within the organization. Blessedly, the resource is available just there, in your own organization, or within your network. There are however a few conditions to make it work:
1. Adequate group size. This will depend on the expected outcome and the setting. For coaching, smaller groups of 3 – 4 people often work best to create the necessary trust. As for problem-solving/joint generation of solutions, slightly bigger groups (up to 8 people) work better to optimize the diversity of ideas. If the group is too small, its members may run out of ideas and steam, and if it is too big, making time and space for everyone’s questions and ideas will become an issue.
2. Group composition. It is good to have people at similar levels (no more than 1 – 2 hierarchical levels of difference), or with a shared interest so that they can relate to each other’s challenges. Picking members from different parts of the organization is also important, to foster diversity and different perspectives.
3. Facilitation. In the beginning it is important that the group has a facilitator to get the process started. The role of the facilitator is to provide structure and to assist and preserve the process, to make sure the discussion remains constructive and everyone is respected. This frees the group to focus on listening, asking questions, and sharing ideas, without having to worry about the process. Whatever format the group interaction takes, everyone must feel safe and no one should feel judged. As the members of the group go through a few sessions and get to know each other, they can also start working on their own, once they master the process and are able to keep the discussion constructive and non-judgmental.
4. Confidentiality. This may seem obvious, but it is the essential foundation of any group coaching or group consulting, and it needs to be explicitly stated every time.
5. Commitment. The members of the group need to be committed to the group work, and fully present while they are working together. Setting ground rules which include this can help to anticipate future obstacles.
Once all of this works, the process can really bring a lot to each member of the group as well as the organization. I have seen members of development/coaching groups develop a real support network where they happily celebrate each other’s successes and offer help when difficulties arise. I have seen people be struck by the insights the group’s questions bring, which enabled them to think much more broadly about their issue and uncover possible solutions. I have also experienced the empathy and understanding a group can offer for someone going through difficult times, and the unconditional support it provides.
So how can we harness the potential of this available and valuable resource? The first thing to do is to try it. You really have to experience it yourself to see the magic work. You also need someone to take the initiative – to identify the group members, coordinate agendas and locations, and make it happen. And you need to be able to take the time for it. Depending on the format, the sessions can take up to a day, but once the groups have established trust and learned the process, they sometimes can also use it in a small group for a “quick fix”. I vividly remember a trio who developed a habit of sharing a peer consulting lunch. Whenever needed, they got together for lunch and used a structured group consulting process to brainstorm on one member’s issue. They had started using the process after going through a leadership development program. As a result, they were bringing issues to their managers – or, when they did, they already had a tested idea in mind. Everyone involved was impressed by the benefits of adopting such a process in their everyday work life. Not to mention the shared support they all now enjoyed, feeling much less lonely with their issues.
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