Keeping on track

It did take a few reminders about time limitation before he picked up on it, but keeping the group to time is one of the key facilitator tasks.

And how did he take it?

He understood that we were time challenged. It’s harder getting him not to talk about things that are not on the agenda.

I’ve always found a good way is to recap about the issue in hand, and then get them to clarify how those comments are added to that topic of conversation. Or… to reflect those comments back to the group, and then open it out for a debate.

I can see that would work well.

The hardest person to deal with by far, though, is Michelle. And not by what she says but how she affects the rest of the group, especially Mark and Louise.

Michelle is definitely challenging, and perhaps with good reason. She needs answers and the way this group works, she has to wait a long time for them.

Yeah, you just don’t know where you are with Michelle. I mean, she says she agrees with something, but then everything in her manner, tone and attitude says the complete opposite.

I think she’s just frustrated with the lack of progress the group has made. She doesn’t suffer fools gladly. She dislikes the flippant comments and the lack of commitment from some of the others.

Yeah. I mean, it is easier to understand, but how do I manage her behaviour so that she doesn’t upset the rest of the group?

You have to be subtle but firm. When we had our meeting earlier in the year, a situation developed because Mark wouldn’t sign off on the desk plans without discussing it with his department first and Michelle had gone to an awful lot of trouble to make sure it was fair for everyone involved…