KIM V WALKER

A very long time ago, in a classroom far away, a trainer from ICA Canada took a small group of students through an exercise involving these four questions.

The room was set up with several objects arranged in the centre, with the students seated around the display. A variety of things were tucked into the folds of a large sheet that covered boxes of different heights. In other words, we were all looking at different things from different vantage points.

This was my second introduction to group facilitation.¹ Based on ICA’s Focused Conversation Method, the questions took us through a progression of thinking:

1. Objective – observations of factual information

2. Reflective – subjective reactions, feelings and associations

3. Interpretive – analysis

4. Decisional – resolution, agreement

¹ My first lesson was group dynamics.

ICA’s method is useful for a variety of purposes. But the most important lesson I learned from the exercise was this:

Group members do not necessarily progress through these steps in an orderly fashion from 1 to 4. More often than not, people will jump straight to the decision (this is what we need to do) or begin to analyze the situation (this is what I think) before everyone has agreed to what they are seeing or experiencing. Individuals will also frequently assume everyone sees what they see and will come to the same conclusions.

However, people will inevitably see things differently and bring different perspectives to the table. And it’s those differences that are of fundamental importance.

A skilled facilitator is invaluable for helping a group separate and work through their thought processes. To clearly understand ‘what’s on the table’ and ‘where each individual is coming from’ can significantly reduce latent effects of miscommunication and misunderstanding, missing information and potentially unrealized solutions.