Workshop

How Using Advanced Facilitation Techniques Helps You Read the Group

Advanced facilitation techniques can be invaluable tools for those leading group discussions, workshops, or team meetings.

By employing advanced facilitation techniques, facilitators can create a conducive environment that nurtures open dialogue, ensures group participation, and encourages collaboration.

What is Agile team facilitation?

During team facilitation, Agile coaches guide Agile teams effectively toward their goals in a collaborative and adaptive manner. This kind of facilitation is crucial in Agile environments where change is frequent, and teams need to self-organize and continuously improve.

Agile team facilitation is about ensuring that the Agile team operates smoothly, collaboratively, and effectively. A skilled facilitator will enable the team to perform at its best, adapt to challenges, and continuously improve.

The role of an Agile facilitator

The role of an Agile facilitator, often a Scrum Master or Agile Coach, involves guiding teams through Agile ceremonies, promoting open communication, and ensuring a collaborative environment. Facilitators play a crucial role in conflict resolution, helping teams navigate disagreements constructively.

In additon, facilitators foster a safe space where team members feel empowered to voice opinions and concerns, while also championing continuous improvement within the team’s practices.

The importance of adaptability

Adaptability is paramount for facilitators because group dynamics, individual needs, and objectives can shift during discussions or over time.

As the facilitator reads the group, they must be prepared to modify their approach or techniques in response to the group’s mood, energy, or concerns.

This flexibility ensures that the facilitation process remains effective, inclusive, and aligned with the group’s goals.

By being adaptable, facilitators can navigate unforeseen challenges, harness emerging opportunities, and maintain a conducive environment for meaningful collaboration and decision-making.

What does it take to ‘Read the Room’?

‘Reading the room’ involves gauging the emotional and social dynamics of a group setting, understanding unspoken cues, and being attuned to shifts in energy or engagement levels.

It requires keen observational skills to pick up on non-verbal communication, such as body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. A facilitator needs strong empathetic abilities to interpret and respond to these cues effectively.

Mastery of this skill ensures that discussions remain productive, participants feel understood, and potential conflicts or misalignments are addressed proactively.

What does it mean to read a group?

To ‘read a group’ in the context of facilitation means discerning the collective mood, dynamics, and underlying sentiments of a gathering of individuals.

It’s about recognizing both the overt and subtle cues that indicate the group’s comfort, engagement, and openness to discussion. A skilled facilitator taps into these insights to navigate conversations, address group needs, and foster a conducive environment for collaboration.

Successfully reading a group ensures that the facilitation process aligns with the evolving collective mindset, optimizing outcomes and ensuring participant satisfaction.

Common challenges in reading the group

Challenges in reading the group are aplenty. Here are nine of the most common challenges to be aware of.

Diverse Group Dynamics: In groups with diverse backgrounds, experiences, or perspectives, it can be challenging to find common ground and understand varying signals. Getting to know each group member is paramount for overcoming this challenge.
Dominant Voices: Vocal and assertive individuals can sometimes overshadow others and not allow everyone’s voice to be heard, making it hard to gauge the sentiments of quieter participants.
Subdued Feedback: Not all participants are forthcoming with feedback due to a variety of reasons, leading to potential blind spots for the facilitator.
Misinterpreting Non-Verbal Cues: Body language is open to interpretation by each facilitator, and a gesture or expression that means one thing in one culture or context might mean something different in another. This is where facilitation practice becomes crucial to growth as a facilitator.
Hidden Agendas or Conflicts: Underlying personal or professional tensions can influence group dynamics in ways that aren’t immediately obvious.
Virtual Challenges: In remote or virtual settings, it’s harder to pick up on many non-verbal cues, making the reading process more complex.
Personal Biases: Facilitators, being human, might bring in their biases or preconceptions, which can cloud their ability to read a group objectively.
Rapid Changes: A group’s mood or sentiment can change quickly, especially in reaction to new information or developments. Keeping pace with such shifts can be challenging.
Cultural and Language Barriers: Differences in communication styles, cultural norms, and language proficiency can make reading a group more intricate.

For facilitators to overcome these most common challenges, continuous self-awareness, continued training, peer and coaching feedback, and practice are essential.

Reading the people in your group

How does reading the people in your group differ from reading the group?

Reading the people in your group delves deeper into individual dynamics, requiring a focus on each person’s verbal and non-verbal cues. It’s about understanding individual motivations, concerns, and levels of engagement.

A facilitator must balance this individual insight with the broader group dynamics to ensure inclusive and effective sessions.

Recognizing and responding to individual needs can foster trust, ensuring that every member feels seen and valued within the collective.

Benefits of advanced facilitation

Advanced facilitation offers numerous benefits that can significantly enhance the outcome of group interactions:

Enhanced Collaboration: Advanced techniques foster an environment where all participants feel valued, leading to more cohesive teamwork and richer discussions.
Efficient Decision-Making: With structured processes, groups can arrive at decisions faster and with greater consensus, reducing the likelihood of revisiting topics.
Inclusive Participation: Skilled facilitators can ensure that even quieter members have a voice, leading to a more comprehensive perspective.
Conflict Resolution: Advanced facilitation equips leaders with tools to address disagreements constructively, preventing disputes from derailing discussions.
Continuous Improvement: These techniques often include feedback loops, allowing groups to refine their approach over time for better results.
Enhanced Group Satisfaction: Participants often feel more fulfilled and engaged in sessions led by adept facilitators, which can boost morale and commitment to outcomes.
Greater Achievement of Objectives: With clear structures and skilled guidance, groups are more likely to stay on track and achieve their set goals.

What could go wrong when facilitating a group?

Facilitating a group can present various challenges and potential pitfalls. Here are some things that could go wrong, especially if the facilitator is not well-trained or inexperienced and the group is diverse:

Lack of Clarity: If the facilitator doesn’t provide clear objectives or structure, the group might become confused or lose direction, leading to unproductive sessions.
Dominance by Few: Without effective facilitation, certain individuals might dominate the conversation, preventing quieter members from sharing their perspectives and insights.
Escalation of Conflicts: Mismanaged disagreements can escalate, causing a rift in the group. A facilitator must be skilled in conflict resolution to prevent or address such situations.
Groupthink: If a facilitator doesn’t encourage diverse viewpoints, the group might conform to a single opinion without critical analysis, leading to groupthink.
Misunderstanding Group Dynamics: Failing to recognize and address underlying tensions, power imbalances, or interpersonal issues can hinder group progress and cohesion.
Lack of Engagement: If participants feel their contributions are undervalued or if the facilitation method is not engaging, it can lead to reduced participation and apathy.
Biased Facilitation: If a facilitator shows favoritism, disregards certain opinions, or is perceived as having an agenda, it can undermine the trust and objectivity of the process.

To mitigate these potential pitfalls, facilitators must be well-trained, neutral, adaptive, and attentive to group dynamics and individual needs.

Changes in group behavior

When a facilitator is at work, group behavior often undergoes noticeable shifts.

The group tends to become more structured and goal-oriented, as the facilitator provides direction and clarity.

Conversations become more productive and focused, with reduced chances of divergence or tangents.

Conflict is addressed in a constructive manner, preventing escalation and fostering understanding.

The presence of a skilled facilitator typically leads to enhanced communication, collaboration, and efficiency within the group.

Advanced facilitation has been renamed

TeamCatapult recently rebranded its “Advanced Facilitation Workshop” to “Making Behavioral Change Happen”.

The primary reason for the name change is to emphasize the workshop’s focus, which goes beyond just facilitating. Instead, it dives deep into the very core of how behavioral change occurs.

This concept stems from the belief in the impact of fluent communication and the transformative power of Structural Dynamics, a technology that aids in navigating interpersonal communication for better outcomes.

Understanding Behavioral Change

Behavioral change refers to the intentional alteration of one’s habits, thinking, or actions. This change is not just about shedding old habits but embracing new ones that align with personal goals. Achieving behavioral change requires self-awareness, persistence, and conscious effort, making it a complex yet achievable process.

Structural Dynamics and Advanced Facilitation

Structural Dynamics offers a methodology that facilitates better communication and prompts positive changes. David Kantor’s “4 Player Model of Communication” is a component of this framework, categorizing communication behaviors into roles like Mover, Follower, Opposer, and Bystander.

By understanding these roles, facilitators can ensure more effective communication during sessions.

About the Making Behavioral Change Happen Workshop

This workshop, though renamed, still provides the core elements of the previous advanced facilitation training. It aims to enhance self-awareness, helping facilitators discern group dynamics and guide them toward positive behavioral changes.

Participants will learn to identify communication challenges, deal with conflicts, understand the bMaps Behavioral Assessment Tool, and more.

Learn more about our workshop(s)

Our renamed Advanced Facilitation workshop continues to offer skills and knowledge for those looking to upscale their leadership through effective communication and facilitation techniques.

Our workshops are the perfect place for aspiring leaders to learn, practice, and grow!

How Will You Benefit From Earning a Certification in Agile Coaching?

Do you want certification in Agile coaching?

Let’s start with the first part of the question raised above. How will you benefit from earning a certificate in agile coaching – or any agile certification for that matter?

There are several clear and immediate benefits that go along with earning certification in agile, as agile certification has become a popular choice for professionals looking to enhance their skills and build stronger, more efficient teams.

A short history of Agile methodology

Agile methodology, in its simplest terms, is an approach to project management that values adaptability, collaboration, and customer satisfaction. Born from the need to find a more flexible and efficient way of creating software, agile was introduced in 2001 through the Agile Manifesto, a set of guiding principles written by seventeen software developers.

They sought a way to make software development teams overcome the rigidity and unpredictability associated with traditional project management, often known as the Waterfall method. Agile methodology provides a solution by using project management experience breaking projects into manageable ‘sprints’, allowing for constant feedback, adjustments, and rapid response to changes. This results in a more productive, dynamic, and collaborative work environment that promotes efficiency and high-quality outcomes.

What does agility look like in the workplace?

Agility in the workplace is embodied by a dynamic and adaptive way of managing tasks and projects. This is typically led by roles like the professional scrum master or the agile project manager, who facilitate the agile transformation within their teams.

As agile scrum masters, they guide agile project teams through the adoption and practice of an agile approach, leveraging their advanced Agile experience. Employee engagement is notably high in agile environments, as the approach fosters a working experience that values collaboration, innovation, and the collective progress of the team.

Managing tasks is fluid and flexible, allowing teams to quickly adapt, pivot and complete tasks effectively. Preparation is continuous and iterative, qualifying the team for the next sprint even as the current one progresses.

Agility in the workplace is a manifestation of an environment that’s flexible, adaptable, and focused on constant progress, all critical elements of the Agile experience.

The basic understanding of Agile and its methodologies

Agility in leadership often begins with a basic understanding of Agile methodologies, but mastering it typically involves going beyond the basics, with many leaders pursuing certification. Successfully completing Agile leadership certification provides them with the knowledge and skills to guide their teams effectively within an Agile framework.

Agile leadership is not only for project managers!

Agile leadership is essential not only for project managers, team leaders and teams but also extends to all managers and senior management. Embracing agility at all levels of leadership ensures a cohesive and agile team, nimble approach, and agile approaches to management that align with the core principles of Agile methodology.

What is agility in leadership?

Agility in leadership refers to a style of leadership where facilitation and collaboration are at the forefront. Agile leaders, often holding roles such as scrum master or agile project manager, embrace the principles of the Agile philosophy in their leadership approach.

They are prepared to pivot quickly, adapting to changing circumstances for the beneficial outcome of their teams and projects.

Are Scrum Masters Agile coaches?

While Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches both operate within the realm of agile, they are not the same. A Scrum Master primarily serves a single team, ensuring that the team follows the principles and practices of Scrum, one of many frameworks. Their role involves removing obstacles that hinder the agile team’s progress, facilitating communication, and promoting a conducive environment for efficient work.

On the other hand, an Agile Coach often works at a higher level, engaging with multiple teams and sometimes even with the entire organization. They help in the broader Agile transformation process, providing guidance, training, and support to people at different levels, including senior leadership. The Agile Coach role goes beyond the scope of Scrum to encompass a wider array of Agile methodologies.

In essence, while all Scrum Masters work within an Agile context, their role is more specialized and team-focused, and they are not necessarily equipped to handle the broader organizational responsibilities of an Agile Coach.

Investing your time and resources in Agile certification

Here are 5 reasons for investing time, effort, and resources in agile projects and other more agile practices and certifications too.

Enhanced Understanding of Agile Principles

First and foremost, an Agile certification equips you with a deep understanding of Agile principles and methodologies. This knowledge is not just theoretical – it’s also practical, giving you the skills to apply these principles in real-world scenarios. You’ll understand how to effectively manage workflow, enhance productivity, and respond to changes in a project quickly and efficiently. This immediate comprehension of Agile concepts can set you apart in your current role, opening the door for further professional growth.
Recognition and Credibility

Acquiring an Agile certification gives you instant credibility. This is a globally recognized qualification, signaling to colleagues and employers that you are committed to your professional development and have a solid grasp of Agile practices. It can position you as an expert in your field, even if you’re relatively new to Agile. The recognition that comes with a certificate can instantly elevate your status within your professional network.
Competitive Advantage

In an increasingly competitive job market, having an Agile certification can give you an edge. It serves as a testament to your skills, commitment, and understanding of Agile principles, making you an attractive candidate for employers seeking to implement or enhance Agile methodology in their organizations.

It’s a clear differentiator that can make you stand out from the crowd when it comes to job applications or promotions.
Improved Communication and Leadership Skills

Agile coaching certification in particular not only focuses on Agile methodologies but also includes training in communication and leadership. As an Agile coach, you’ll need to effectively facilitate communication among team members, resolve conflicts, and inspire others to work towards a common goal. These skills are universally valuable, and being certified can help to highlight these strengths in your professional role.
Networking Opportunities

Finally, earning your certification connects you with a community of Agile professionals. This global network can provide support, share insights, and even present job opportunities. You’ll find yourself immediately immersed in a group of like-minded individuals, allowing you to share experiences, ask questions, and learn from others who are also utilizing Agile methods.

Agile coaching; a path to proficiency in leadership

Agile leaders, current project managers, senior management, and those in leadership positions, must understand how gaining certification plays a critical role in an individual’s career path, acting as a stepping stone toward proficiency and expertise in agile transformation.

What are the benefits of agile certifications?

A well-developed certification program offers comprehensive training on the implementation of various Agile frameworks, fostering mastery of skills necessary for overseeing, guiding, and directing an Agile transformation successfully.

The best Agile certifications not only develop your implementation capabilities but also widen your leadership range, enabling you to handle diverse teams and projects with efficiency.

Acquiring an Agile certification enhances your proficiency in the Agile domain, aids in developing your expertise in scaled Agile concepts, agile framework,, and career opportunities, and elevates your career path to new heights of mastery.

Are Agile certifications worth it?

Agile Certifications are indeed worth considering if you aspire to take your professional skills to the next level. The training courses involved in these certifications impart a wide range of new skills that contribute to your mastery of Agile methodologies.

By working towards and achieving these certifications, individuals gain the confidence deep knowledge needed to apply Agile principles and practices effectively in various work environments.

Certifications validate your knowledge and qualifications, providing tangible proof of your understanding and capabilities in Agile frameworks.

Agile certifications build your skill set

Whether you’re an emerging leader looking to get a foothold in your industry or an established manager wishing to expand your responsibilities, Agile Certifications can equip you with the tools and techniques you need to lead with efficiency and adaptability.

Leadership capabilities are another major gain. These certifications are designed to cultivate essential leadership traits such as strategic thinking, team collaboration, and effective communication.

They mold you into a new kind of leader, one who can navigate change, inspire innovation, and drive productivity in an Agile environment.

As you grow your skillset through these training course certifications, you contribute to your ongoing professional development. Learning doesn’t stop at the end of the first training course or certification course – implementing the newly acquired skills and knowledge into your everyday work provides an avenue for continuous learning and improvement.

We believe Agile certifications are a valuable investment for those who wish to become proficient in Agile methodologies, advance their careers, and effectively take on greater responsibilities in the ever-evolving world of work.

What is the most popular Agile certification?

Scrum is the most popular certified agile project management name and framework according to the Scrum Alliance. Sixty-one percent (62%) of respondents in 75 countries reported using it. This is most likely why Scrum certification is one of the most widely used and used certified agile project certifications.

Other popular Agile certifications

In addition to Scrum Master certifications, there are several other popular certifications that professionals can consider to enhance their skills and expertise in Agile methodology:

Certified Agile Leadership (CAL): This certification, offered by Scrum Alliance, focuses on developing leadership skills within the Agile context. It prepares leaders to facilitate the Agile transformation in their organizations and cultivate an Agile mindset among their teams.
SAFe® Agilist (SA): The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is a popular choice for large organizations working with multiple teams. SAFe Agilist certification provides an understanding of how to apply Agile, Lean, and Product Development Flow principles at the enterprise level.
Professional Agile Leadership (PAL I): Offered by Scrum.org, this certification is designed for managers and leaders who want to extend their professional agility, promoting improved response to change and better stakeholder satisfaction.
ICAgile Certified Professional (ICP): This is a foundational course for professionals beginning their journey into Agile. It covers Agile history, mindset, and methodologies, providing a solid start for further Agile studies.
Project Management Institute – Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP): This certification by PMI is globally recognized and demonstrates a practitioner’s ability to understand and apply Agile principles and practices.

Each of these certifications offers unique benefits and focus areas, making them suitable for different career paths within the Agile field. It’s advisable for professionals to carefully evaluate the requirements, curriculum, and potential benefits of each certification to determine the most suitable one for their individual career objectives.

What certifications and workshops does TeamCatapult offer?

Whether you are just starting out in your career, or are a master at your craft we have just the right resources to help you along the way to help you become the leader you were meant to be all along!

We offer three distinct journeys.

How do you currently self-identify?

Facilitator/Scrum master
Agile Coach
Leader/Executive

Agile certification for those in an upcoming leadership role

Path 1 – Lead Collaboration & Change in Agile Teams

International Consortium in Agile (ICAgile) certifications:

Path 2 – Specialized Skill Development

Virtual Facilitation Masterclass
Facilitating Engaging Retrospectives Workshop

Path 3 – Lead Through Conflict and Change

International Coaching Federation (ICF) certification:

Making Behavioral Change Happen Workshop

In partnership with Dialogix:

Changing Behavior in High Stakes Workshop

Certification in Agile coaching

Coaching is a powerful form of leadership — and a cornerstone competency when you’re ready to be leading teams to harness the full potential of an agile mindset.

TeamCatapultt offers Agile Coaching Certification through ICAgile certified professional certification exam.

Our Agile Coaching workshop enables you to build the expertise and consciousness required to inspire and bolster your teams and groups. Revolutionize your leadership with impactful coaching by earning a certificate in agile coaching!

How Agile coaches like you grow after certification!

After achieving your certificate in agile coaching, you embark on a journey of continued growth and development. Leveraging your newly acquired knowledge and skills, you drive the agile transformation within your organization, facilitating the efficient operation of Agile project teams.

As your working experience in Agile environments expands, you continually improve your expertise, qualifying you to handle more advanced and complex Agile projects.

The certification acts as a springboard, preparing you to master more challenging roles and responsibilities. You continue to practice the Agile philosophy, adapting it in different contexts and honing your skills in managing tasks and projects.

Employee engagement becomes your primary focus as you work on enhancing the collaborative nature of your teams.

Your growth after certification is a journey of ongoing learning, refining your mastery over the Agile approach, and staying adaptable in the face of change.

An invite to learn more about the ‘Coaching Agility From Within‘ Cohort

If you are an agile coach ready to learn more, implement more, and grow in your leadership and facilitation skills, you need to check out our cohort.

Our cohort is designed for agile coaches like you who are ready for that next step; mastery in agile coaching. They are ready to grow. They are ready to put in the work, and they are ready to lead! Are you? Join us!

Why Mute is Killing the Virtual Meeting and How to Change It!

You’re logging into your twelfth online meeting of the week. You promptly turn off your video and mute yourself to silence your family members and pets walking behind you.

The meeting begins, most people aren’t even on video and everyone is muted. Suddenly, you hear Sally slurping her morning yogurt. You chat a message to Sally — “please mute yourself.” Then you roll your eyes and go back to the email you were trying to write while the meeting moves on.

Later, someone poses a question and asks for your response. There’s a few seconds of dead air until you realize you’re still on mute—always a risk when you’re caught off guard while multitasking. Just as you toggle your mic on, someone says, “We can’t hear you, you’re on mute.” You roll your eyes again, grateful your video’s off.

Does this sound familiar? Sadly, this is how the majority of people in the business world are interacting with one another. It’s no wonder that mute is killing the virtual meeting. Let’s see how we can change it!

The Dreaded Virtual Meeting

In a 2021 survey of 40 managers, they were asked about the biggest challenges they face in their current work. The recurring themes:

Navigating change
Navigating communication breakdowns that negatively impact team health
Creating transparency within a remote team
Fostering creative virtual environments for online work
Helping teams get the best out of their work-from-home experience
Building trust and relationships remotely

All of these challenges start and end with how we hold online meetings. So how do we fix the problems and get more out of the virtual workplace?

There are two factors creating the conditions for all the ways a meeting can fall flat: the mute button and turning off your video. These two actions combined can suck the relationship and connection right out of a meeting.

Where’s The Connection in Online Connection?

Believe it or not, virtual meetings themselves are no worse than in-person meetings.

In 2017, Leslie Perlow noted in Harvard Business Review found that 71% of the managers surveyed found meetings unproductive and inefficient; 62% said meetings miss opportunities to bring the team closer together.

Meeting virtually on a much broader scale has not changed much. Multi-tasking and feeling stuck in conflict are common complaints, whether you’re meeting online or in person. The pandemic has shone a spotlight on these kinds of meeting dysfunctions because we’re collectively talking about it more.

Although online collaboration tools have seen a surge in use these past two years, they don’t necessarily make online work easier—they just make it possible. And there is definitely an overhead cost. In my experience, it takes upward of 30% more time to plan, design, and get everyone set up for success in an online meeting than if we were just walking into the same physical room and sitting down.

In the office, we take for granted that you can invite people to a meeting, give them the location, and expect that they will get themselves there.

Online, you have to give everyone access and past firewalls, help them navigate the technology, and familiarize them with the features—just to get them into your virtual room.

Virtual Meeting Fatigue

Moreover, going from Zoom meeting to Zoom meeting is just as fatiguing as going from meeting to meeting in a physical office space—and we don’t even get the exercise of walking between rooms! And then there is the spouse or child or pet who needs something from you in the middle of your five-minute break. In effect, virtual meetings suffer from the same inherent issues as in-person meetings, but cumulatively lead to an even higher degree of brain fry.

In this context, it’s easy to understand why we’re tempted to turn off our mic and video—but this single act is dooming our meetings from the start.

Because the one thing we are missing most in virtual space is connection.

Having No Skin in the ‘Virtual Meeting’ Game

Mute and video off are the equivalent of coming into an auditorium and sitting in the very back row with a piece of cardboard in front of your face. You have a full view of what’s happening, but no skin in the game. You are an observer, not a participant, and you are signaling to the group that you are not interested in being an active contributor.

When we have one foot in and one foot out, we separate ourselves from what’s really happening. It becomes much easier to criticize the conversation rather than to contribute to it.

Virtual work isn’t the same as face to face, but it does not have to be miserable. You can create a space where people feel connected, heard, and valued—and where their input is genuinely appreciated. Then they’ll look forward to meetings!

When there is real connection, the virtual space can be even better than being in the room for some types of output. In principle, online meetings can lead to better results, more diversity of opinion, and more innovative ideas. Detailed work, large amounts of information, and decision making all lend themselves to online spaces—provided you are using an online collaboration tool that gives everyone equal visibility to the information.

So, how do we get there?

Mute Off and Video On: Tips for Building Trust and Engagement

Affective trust is the strongest and longest-lasting form of trust. It is built gradually as people get to know one another, and it’s crucial for effective and engaged teamwork—whether you’re meeting in person or online. It also takes active facilitation—someone who will help architect the right environment and help the team set new social norms that they agree to collectively uphold.

To have the greatest impact on making your virtual meetings more engaging, fun, and productive, start with these two norms:

Mute Button – “For Emergency Use Only”

There is no greater way to catalyze better team connection than by asking people to be in a quiet place so they can be OFF Mute.

Why? Because hearing people laugh at a joke, sigh, or quickly ask a follow-up question creates connection. It provides instant feedback to the speaker so they feel acknowledged and heard. A collective, shared soundscape is often missing in virtual meetings—and it’s the cornerstone of building affective trust and better teamwork.

Tips to make it work:

Normalize the noises

The dog barking in the background or the car passing by are part of daily life. Normalize these noises! Make it okay that they happen, as long as they are not continuous or overly disruptive. Use mute only if they do become distracting—and then rejoin the conversation when you can.

Embrace collisions

When everyone is off mute, you will sometimes “collide” with one another—when two or more people speak at the same time. When collisions happen, just give it a moment for the speakers to sort out who will go first. Collisions not only empower the group to be responsible to each other, they increase the overall energy in the virtual room.

Video On – All In, or All Out

In a study by Forbes and Zoom, at least 81% of executives said they found that virtual meeting aka video conferencing could strengthen relationships, increase understanding, improve the quality of communication, improve team effectiveness, boost engagement, and promote deeper empathy and cooperation.

When it comes to building engagement and trust, it’s critical to be able to see one another. It’s the only way we can read the virtual room. When you pose a question and just get silence, video provides behavioral indicators about what’s happening for people. One team member might be addressing a child who needs something, another might be looking up or down in a thoughtful way. With video on, the team will have a better sense of how much space to leave one another for thinking, and no one will be sitting there wondering if they’re all alone.

Tips to make it work:

Be fully in or fully out

We waste a lot of time by only showing up partially. When there is an imbalance in participation, it impacts everyone and lowers the quality of the group’s experience and conversation. Just like with in-person meetings, video on means you can see when team members are not responding. To avoid this, create a group norm to either be fully in or fully out. If you make a conscious decision to be fully out, get the summary notes after the meeting.

Just say ‘no’ to multitasking

Oftentimes, video off is used by team members who are trying to multitask during virtual meeting time—they just don’t want to be obvious about it. But the truth is, we can’t multitask, no matter what we may think. What we can do is “task switch.” And when we do, our tasks end up taking 40% longer to complete—and we’ve disconnected from the group conversation. If you need to write that email, you should skip the meeting and write the email.

To reap the benefits of a “video off” meeting culture, create a group norm that prioritizes presence and design meetings that encourage active engagement.

Preparing to Lead Behavior Change During a Virtual Meeting

Introducing new norms to your team can be challenging. Be prepared for people to push back, and take time to listen to everyone’s concerns. People have been trained that it’s rude to be off mute, and they don’t want to eat their lunch on video in front of everyone.

After you have really listened to the concerns, ask people if they would be willing to try it for one week knowing that it has the potential to make a positive and productive impact on the team. After the week, you can revisit the new norms and see how people feel.

This isn’t about making people do something they don’t want to do. It’s about making requests of people to try something new. It might be uncomfortable for people at first, but the result is better outcomes for the collective—better conversations, more voices being heard, higher productivity, and more positive engagement. Almost no teams will want to go back to the way they were working.

When meeting virtually, we can’t always avoid an unstable internet connection, but building team connection can be as easy as keeping your sound and your video on.

How Advanced Facilitators Gain Self-Mastery and Can Read Group Dynamics

Are You Ready To Become an Advanced Facilitator?

In my book The Art and Science of Facilitation, I explain the five cornerstones of the Agile team Facilitation Stance.

The cornerstones of the Agile Team Facilitation Stance include:

These aforementioned cornerstones are important for all facilitators, but especially helpful for those at the beginning of their facilitation journey.

The links above will guide you through several resources to get you started. You might also need some tools – we have a wonderful free Facilitation Planning Toolkit for you!

Once you have a clear understanding of these principles, what’s the next step?

Next Step: Advanced Facilitation

Advanced Facilitation is about increasing your self-awareness so you can read the room, name the hidden dynamics beneath the surface, and effectively help groups modify their behaviors to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Is this you?

☆ You might be ready for a more personal journey to deepen your skills as a facilitator, agile coach, or leader of collaboration.

☆ You might be ready to build your own capacity to lead and work collaboratively in order to help others do the same.

Self-awareness and the ability to confidently read the group are key characteristics of leadership range. Are you ready to further develop your leadership skills?

About Gaining Self-Mastery

“Self-mastery is being in control of the internal thought processes that guide your emotions, habits, and behaviors.”

~ Thai Nguyen

That means turning within yourself.

Practicing mindfulness and self-awareness along with journaling and auditing yourself can help you gain self-mastery. Sometimes self-mastery includes knowing when to hit the “pause” button to self-assess.

About Reading Group Dynamics

How we communicate with one another either propels a group forward or holds it back.

Models and frameworks for communication, behavior and group dynamics help us make sense of what’s happening in the room and allow us to focus on something other than our own ego or personal agenda.

Having a deep understanding of the theory and science behind group dynamics will also inform how you guide the meeting.

Before you enter a room, have a model or models that provide you with a basis for understanding how groups and teams interact and perform.

The core model we at TeamCatapult use is Structural Dynamics, encompassing Daivd Kantor’s theory of face-to-face communication. Because they are structurally based, Structural Dynamics are visible in the room and, with practice, you will be able to see the structure of the interactions of the group!

Advanced Facilitation – The Workshop

In the TeamCatapult Advanced Facilitation Workshop, we cover:

Understand what it means to ‘read the room‘ and reveal the hidden dynamics
How to recognize your impact on others
Seeing and working with conflict; diagnose and change stuck dynamics
Giving teams a language for skillfully holding tough conversations
The Kantor Behavioral Baseline Profile and Structural Dynamics
Understanding your Kantor Baseline Behavioral Profile and how to apply it in day-to-day interactions
Working with group behavior using an implicit mental model and an explicit model for intervention
Recognizing the content, style, and structure of a group’s behavior

Our multi-day advanced training will take you on a personal journey to deepen your leadership practice as facilitator, coach, or team leader.

Become adept at identifying and overcoming communication challenges

Use real-world experience to work with group dynamics at a much deeper level
Uncover your own behavioral model for working with difficult dynamics
Learn to help teams modify their behavior for enhanced dialogue and collaborative performance
Discover how to name structural patterns and make intentional choices to change them
Identify the behaviors that challenge you most as a facilitator in order to better serve your team

Unlock The Wisdom Within!

For those with previous facilitation training and demonstrable knowledge of basic facilitation skills, Advanced Facilitation will help you become more adept at identifying communication challenges in groups so you can help them unlock the wisdom that resides within.

How To Lead in a Connected but Separate Space

What Can Make Online Learning Challenging?

By: Marsha Acker, Antoinette Coetzee, Kay Harper, and Kari McLeod

As we’ve been having conversations with many of you over the past few weeks, we thought we would share and normalize some of the concerns that we’ve heard from you regarding online learning. We understand that you might naturally be feeling hesitant about an online experience. After all, there is no lack of online options these days!

We at TeamCatapult love connecting with people in a room. We care deeply about creating a space for deep learning through experiences, reflections, and conversations. We feel a connection with our class participants, the teams we coach, and the working session participants we facilitate. We take the time to get to know others.

TeamCatapult has been teaching a workshop called “Virtual Facilitation Masterclass” for the past four years. We co-created this course with Rachel Smith, an expert in Virtual Work and Remote Online learning and in partnership with The Grove, pioneers of visual and virtual collaboration, to help fill a gap we saw as the workplace included more remote and distributed teams. Experienced, in-the-room facilitators were wondering, “How do I translate that into leading engaging collaboration in a virtual environment?”

With the public health measures in place to stall the Coronavirus and COVID-19 Pandemic, we have decided to pivot and present all our courses in a virtual setting for the foreseeable future. Which means we will apply the same advanced techniques we teach in the Virtual Facilitation Masterclass to bring our attendees the very best virtual experience in all our workshops.

Fact: Online Learning Will Not Be The Same As in the Room

That is right! Online and in-person learning experiences are different.

However, difference does not necessarily mean less-than. First and foremost, you can’t simply “copy-paste” a course designed with the intention of in-person training into an online format.

Virtual space creates different energy–energy that takes a mindset and skill to design and facilitate. The key is that successful virtual leaders examine the intent of what they are trying to accomplish and aren’t merely fixated on porting in-the-room techniques to an online medium.

The protocols when working online are different and take some getting used to, but once you have gone through the initial learning curve, the rewards extend way beyond the workshop.

Fact: We Cannot Bring Our Entire Physical Being to an Online Workshop

When we meet one another in person there are a lot of physical cues that help us create connection. In the type of classes we teach at TeamCatapult, we need connection to grow, and that grows into trust, in order to create the optimum conditions for transformational learning. One of the concerns we’ve heard is that people just don’t like “online;” they feel disconnected from others.

We cannot bring our entire physical being to an online workshop. Well, not yet, anyway! Yet we all have experiences of building connections with people we have never met in person–someone you’ve only exchanged emails or letters with, the characters we see in movies, or our favorite celebrity chef or musical artist. In some cases the connection may be one-way, but it grows because we get to know the person, understand and resonate with them.

Creating connection virtually is one of the things that we are called to do especially now that so much of our work is online via email, Slack, Zoom, Mural, and the like. And from connection, we need to build trust.

There are three stages of building trust in remote teams, all of which can be applied to online learning: swift trust, cognitive trust, and affective trust.

Trust builds differently with remote teams than in-person teams. We use our virtual team facilitation experience to build trust with participants, the same way we teach you to do so.

We start with a brief check-in, not just at the start of the day, but after breaks and lunch. We establish spaces where people can connect informally. In our training, we do this through asking people to Zoom in before class starts and we set up Slack channels that aren’t directly related to the course. As our participants start to connect, we make sure to bring their brief social exchanges into their working sessions. We divide these working sessions into whole-group, small-group, and paired discussions. That’s right! Effective remote meetings and trainings have participants doing things with one another. This too builds trust.

In our online workshops, we guide you to growing your mindset and acquiring the skills to build connection and trust in your teams, which you then take what you’ve learned back to your organizations. You will help your teams, not just while they are working from home because of Coronavirus, but in the future when work is bound to look different than it did two months ago.

Fact: Facilitation and Coaching Skills Can Be Learned Online

We hold two beliefs about the concern whether skills like facilitation and coaching can be learned online.

First, we cannot train others in something that we have not achieved some level of mastery. For that reason, all of our faculty are certified professional coaches, and trained or certified facilitators, and have their own practice of facilitation and coaching with teams. The deep experience of our faculty is what allows each of us to pivot easily in the moment, work with what shows up in a group, and have leadership range in how we co-create and lead an engaging learning environment.

Our second belief about this concern is that no one can teach you facilitation and coaching simply by providing a course. We can provide key principles. We can help you understand your own mindset and beliefs about these competencies. But, you will only truly learn them by doing them. So practice, practice, practice is a fundamental component to our curriculum. In our virtual classes, you will have the opportunity to practice facilitation and coaching in a safe learning space, and give and get feedback. We set you up for success in growing your mindset and practicing these skills for when you return to work the following day or week. The same opportunities we provide in our in-person classes, with an added benefit of getting to practice with remote collaboration tools! What better time to practice these skills virtually when you will be using them virtually for work.

Fact: Online Learning With TeamCatapult Does Not Mean You Sit and Stare at a Screen for 8 Hours Straight!

Virtual work is more taxing than we think it’s going to be. How can it be so tiring just sitting in a chair, looking at a computer screen, typing, and talking on Zoom calls?

We promise: TeamCatapult virtual classes will not have you sitting for the entire class.

We build in more frequent and longer breaks than you may be used to in both in-person and virtual training.
You’ll have time to go for a walk at lunch and prepare a real meal.
You’ll be able to check-in with kids doing homework and pet your dog during our breaks.

In our ICAgile Facilitation and Coaching classes, we’ll even have you up and moving around a few times during the class. All of this is designed to give your brain and body a break. Not only will you have more energy for the class, these longer breaks create the time and space that allows what you’ve learned to settle and stick.

The Benefits of Online Learning!

While online learning certainly is not the same as learning in the room, there are numerous ways online learning might be a better fit for you than learning in the room.

Learning and Teaching Online Will Be a Must-Have Skill Moving Forward

As leaders and managers our way of working is changing.

What will your leadership and management style look like in a year from now? None of us knows the answer to that, but what we do know is that our way of working will change. There is a strong possibility that for the foreseeable future we will not be gathering in a room with 15-20 people to learn and collaborate together.

The same will be true for your teams.

How will you lead in a remote world? How will you connect with people? How will you engage a remote team?

The experience you need to make these changes can be learned in our classes and then be applied to your own team.

Introverts Unite; Online Learning Was Made For You!

Our world of work and learning is highly biased towards those with a preference for extroversion. Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, writes about how brainstorming, meetings, learning and work all have a bias towards extroversion (click here for a short article).

In our online programs we certainly do ask people to come prepared to speak, listen, contribute and “play-in.” The experience is different than it is in-person though. We often put participants in small break-out groups where the discussion is in a quiet and private space. You don’t hear the conversation from other groups in the room, which lessens distraction and increases your opportunity to focus and engage.

In a room with others it’s easy to be distracted by what other people are doing or not doing. Online you can turn off your camera and mute your microphone and truly have a quiet moment. We have also designed even more reflective exercises in our online classes, giving everyone the quiet space to reflect and take notes.

Getting to Know the Whole Person

We could jump for joy over this benefit! For decades we’ve watched leaders struggle with this concept of “my work self” and “my home self” and that somehow those are different. It’s almost like there’s a belief that one can put on a work suit (armor?) and go off to work and then come home and be a completely different person. This is a false duality because we are whole human beings. The more we try to suppress one side of ourselves at work, the less joyful, authentic and real we feel. It’s been our experience that this is the source of many interpersonal conflicts at work.

What we’ve seen in our online learning spaces is that the whole person is coming to our courses–mainly because we don’t have a choice!

We see people wearing sweatshirts rather than dress shirts, sitting at kitchen tables (or in their closet just to find a quiet place), being interrupted by determined and loving pets, and laughing as kids go streaking through the background in diapers or coming in for a quick hug.

While all of those things could be viewed as distractions, we incorporate them and make them okay. These are all opportunities to get to know one another more deeply.

We know that trust builds more quickly when we know people more personally. When the right conditions are present and people are willing to fully show up, our online learning experience creates deeper connections between people than in the room.

The Future of TeamCatapult Workshops

Just like you, with the Coronavirus and COVID-19 Pandemic, we’re continuing to experiment, innovate and challenge our own learning edges. We’ve moved most of our workshops online, but we haven’t done it at the expense of lessening the learning or the experience for participants!

As we continue to sense and respond to the pandemic, we will keep your learning experience at the core of our experimentation and innovation.

We hope you’ll join us as we chart a path towards the future of leading in a connected, but separate space.