Facilitating Project Team

Summary

This script discusses techniques for effectively managing a business re-engineering project, focusing on three key methods: focus group interviews, facilitated meetings, and workshops. It emphasizes the facilitator's role in uniting the group, fostering consensus, and leveraging technical and political skills. The script outlines eight guidelines for success, including starting a team, facilitating assertively, documenting outcomes, maintaining focus, prioritizing process over personalities, securing middle management's commitment, practicing empowerment, and managing biases to ensure a successful re-engineering project.

Takeaways

• 📘 Three fundamental techniques for managing a business re-engineering project are focus group interviews, facilitated meetings, and facilitated workshops.
• 🛠 The role of the re-engineering project facilitator is to make group decision-making easier by eliminating barriers to agreement and fostering consensus.
• 👥 The facilitator must unite the group, focus discussion, mobilize to resolution, and model behavior for the team and organization.
• 🔧 Facilitators need technical skills for re-engineering, political skills to sell ideas, and the ability to inspire and gain commitment from the organization.
• 🏆 Eight guidelines for successful re-engineering projects include starting a team, facilitating like Attila the Hun, making outcomes real by documentation, and maintaining focus.
• 💡 Starting a team is crucial for fostering collaboration and involves creating and leading discussions for team members to apply their learning.
• 🌟 Facilitating like Attila the Hun implies being skillful in consensus-building, enforcing success factors, and gaining credibility without making unnecessary enemies.
• 📝 Making it real by writing down outcomes, documenting consensus, and establishing communication helps avoid misinterpretation and ensures clarity.
• 🎯 Focusing is key; the facilitator must keep the team within the project scope and ensure commitment and accountability to prevent topic wandering.
• 🤝 Putting process above personalities helps the team value each other's strengths, work effectively together, and provide constructive feedback without blame.
• 🔑 The committed fanatic represents the importance of middle management's dedication to change, which can be a challenge due to perceived loss of power or prestige.
• 📚 Practicing what you preach involves demonstrating empowerment, working in open teams, involving staff in decision-making, and problem-solving to foster a valued team environment.
• 🧐 Managing team bias is essential to prevent it from shooting down ideas and stopping people from listening, thus maintaining an open and effective re-engineering project.

Q & A

What are the three techniques discussed in the script for managing a business re-engineering project effectively?

The three techniques discussed are the focus group interview, the facilitated meeting, and the facilitated workshop.

What is the primary role of a facilitator in a re-engineering project?

The facilitator's role is to make group decision-making easier by eliminating barriers to agreement, uniting the group, focusing the discussion, mobilizing the group to resolution and action, and modeling the behavior for the team and organization.

What are the key skills a facilitator must possess according to the script?

A facilitator must have technical skills for re-engineering, political skills to sell ideas and inspire others, and the ability to gain commitment from the entire organization.

What does the script suggest as the first guideline for a successful re-engineering project?

The first guideline is starting a team, which involves fostering teams that work well together and creating an environment where team members can apply what they learn.

Who is Attila the Hun, and what can facilitators learn from his leadership style?

Attila the Hun was the ruler of the Huns and the leader of the Hunnic Empire. Facilitators can learn from his skill in bringing people to consensus, enforcing critical success factors, winning respect, and gaining credibility in an uncompromising but pleasant manner.

Why is documenting and communicating outcomes important in a re-engineering project?

Documenting and communicating outcomes is crucial to avoid misinterpretation and failures. It ensures that all team members are on the same page and that the project stays on track.

What does the script emphasize as the fourth guideline for successful re-engineering?

The fourth guideline is to focus, focus, and focus, which means the facilitator must keep the project team working within the approved project scope and ensure discussions remain on topic.

What is the significance of putting process above personalities in a re-engineering project?

Putting process above personalities helps team members value each other's strengths, work effectively as a team, and exchange positive and constructive feedback without blame or excuse making, thus avoiding team conflict.

What is the role of a 'committed fanatic' in the context of a re-engineering project?

A 'committed fanatic' refers to a project director or team member who is fanatically committed to change, especially important in tackling middle management resistance due to unclear roles or perceived loss of power, prestige, or control.

How does practicing what you preach contribute to the success of a re-engineering project?

Practicing what you preach involves demonstrating how empowerment works, working in open teams, and involving staff in decision-making and problem-solving, making them feel valued and part of the team, which contributes to the project's success.

What is the importance of managing team biases in a re-engineering project?

Managing team biases is important because biases can shoot down ideas and stop people from listening. The facilitator must help team members recognize and control their biases to better manage the team and the re-engineering project.