Introduction

If you've ever found yourself in a workshop that has derailed or hit a snag, our virtual workshop on "When Things Go Off the Rails" is your compass back to success. Join us to master the art of getting your design thinking workshops back on track...or at least off a cliff!!

In this session, participants shared stories about how things have gone off the rails in the context of a facilitative process and working with groups. Going off the rails means things did not go as planned and the situation is potentially dire.

The inspiration for this comes from thinking about complex problems, testing out ideas, and thinking about rapidly prototyping solutions together in the spirit of making life and the planet healthier and better for all. This is on the grand scale.

On the micro-scale, as facilitators, designers, teachers, and solution designers we typically have a plan on how to work with others. That plan rarely survives contact with reality.

The Three Cats

In an MG-Taylor model, they talk about the three cats.

1. One is the idea of the “cat”

2. The second is the handmade or person-made version of a schematic of a cat

3. Finally, there is the lived experience of the cat.

The point of the model is that there is the ideal, the prototype, and the lived design or experience. These are three very different things. As humans, we gravitate toward one of those three versions of the cat and believe “That’s it, that's what a cat is” and we don’t see it from the other perspectives.

When we think about things going wrong it is important to remember that it is all a part of reality. Each person has a different perspective. What is considered “going wrong” for you may be going right for someone else.

Storytelling

Participants went into breakout rooms to tell stories and discuss their personal experiences of when things had gone off the rails during a facilitator process.

When this happened to Peter, he would go down a set of questions to process what happened.

About 20 years ago Peter was working in Miami with a large multinational company on creating a strategy for what was to happen in the next 3-5 years. This day also happened to be September 11th, 2001 when a national tragedy occurred that had global ramifications.

As the facilitation team, they had to figure out what to do next. It was up to them to figure out what everyone needed individually, what the client team needed to do, and what the facilitation team needed to do.

They made the decision to keep the meeting going. This is an extreme example due to the fact that there was an unexpected event.

But no matter the reasoning behind why we go off the rails, it is our job as facilitators to respond.

How we might design better?

Participants went into breakout rooms to discuss the following (guided by the directions):

How can we be better solution designers and collaborators to prevent certain dynamics or issues from derailing the process?

Designing well can help prevent things from going off the rails.

What can we do to design and prevent these issues from arising? What are the interventions that are helpful at the moment?

The Debrief

Trust our processes, believe in our experiences, and even though you’ve prepared, everything is not going to go as planned.

Create prevention. At the beginning of a session, name behaviors and rules of agreement. Name the behaviors that occurred when things were aligning. Form an opportunity to see common humanity in a room.

Deezer playlist. Music can shift the emotion in a room and can help guide the participants. For example, plugging the song “Imagine” into Deezer and it will generate a list of songs that have a similar message or tone.

Changing the pace in the room. Changing the energy, changing our posture, and the way they see us. Making space and acknowledging that exploring different topics breeds uncertainty, lack of control, and other sources of fear and anxiety. As facilitators, we are here to hold that uncertainty.

Building trust with sponsors and your team can help build trust for when something goes off the rails.

Use sensitive language and have a level of empathy.

How to structure conversations

Designing for the objectives. What are the goals and what are the sticky bits that are in the room?

Facilitation is not a part of the process, it is the process. It is the strategy. Facilitation is being able to facilitate the leadership team to be aware and help them understand their role at different points of the process.

It is important to educate the client on how things function and show them the roles and the importance those roles play- including the role of process facilitation. Without it, we cannot guarantee success.

What are the design constraints? Time, budget, people, geography, materials. Within these design constraints, how might we address them to build the most successful intervention?

Lack of diverse perspectives: how do we address that?

Building the right sponsor team is key. Make sure that they are diverse. At the end of the conversation ask the group “Is there anyone that we should involve in this conversation next time and why?”

If you realize that there is someone missing while leading a team, name it instead of ignoring it.