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Working TogetherA one-day workshop for Woodcraft Folk leaders

1 | W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r

to go fast,

go alone.

to go far,

go together.’

african proverb

Rationale

How can group leaders, helpers and other adult members in the Woodcraft Folk work together in a more effective way? We are very good at helping children to learn the skills of co-operation but sometimes struggle to reflect these in the interactions between adults in the movement. This workshop will cover both the attitudes and the skills needed to work together not only co-operatively but also collaboratively.

What’s the difference? Well, co-operative groups, particularly in learning situations, are often defined as ones where tasks are divided up and everybody gets on with there own bits of the work then comes back with their piece of the jigsaw to contribute to the whole. It can be a relatively passive process of ‘not getting in someone else’s way’ or obstructing their efforts. Collaboration, on the other hand, literally means to work alongside someone – to do the work together. It implies a more active involvement and a strong wish to help each other succeed.

The fundamental difference between collaboration and co-operation is the level of formality in the relationships between agencies or stakeholders. Collaboration involves agencies (people) coming together and fundamentally changing their individual approaches to a goal to allow for the sharing of resources and responsibilities. Cooperation is an informal arrangement in which the individual agencies or stakeholders maintain their separate mandates and responsibilities, but do some work together to meet a common goal.

So whilst we can operate on the basis of co-operation between our members, we can achieve far more and far better results if we can inculcate collaborative attitudes.

W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r | 2

Aims

The aims of the workshop are to: Raise awareness of the contextual, cultural, and structural issues that must be addressed in order to maximise participation,

inclusion, and equity in collective decision making processes. Equip participants with the awareness and skills to address these issues. Promote positive, democratic, and inclusive approaches to collective decision making within the organisation.

Learning outcomes

After attending the workshop participants will be able to: Describe, giving examples, a range of structural, contextual, and cultural barriers and impediments to effective and inclusive

group decision-making processes. Explain at least five techniques to improve collective decision-making processes. Analyse a collective decision making scenario, identifying inherent structural and cultural issues, and suggesting ways in

which these could be overcome. Identify personal characteristics (in self and others) which contribute positively and negatively to the collective decision

making process. Produce a short personal action plan to improve their own effectiveness in collective decision making processes.


Workshop agenda

10:00 Session 1 Introduction and scene setting

11:00 break

11:15 Session 2 Creating a collaborative context

12:15 break

12:30 Session 3 Creating collaborative structures

13:00 lunch

13:45 Session 3 continued

14:15 Session 4 Effective communication

15:15 break

15:30 Session 5 Collaborative attitudes and embracing diversity

16:30 Session6 Personal action planning and evaluation

17:00 depart.


Session 1 – Introduction and scene setting

Time Content Activity Resources Evaluation

5 1 Introductions and housekeeping

Allocate people to groups of 4.

10 2 Icebreaker/warm up If this is the answer what was the question?

Answer: A banana

Rally Robin

Participants split into pairs and take it in turns to suggest possible questions (sensible or crazy!) with the answer: A banana

After 5 or 6 minutes, invite each person to share their favourite question.

Drawing of a banana on flip chart

How did people feel about having to strictly take turns?

10 3 Overview of the workshop Facilitator explains the aim and learning outcomes, including the ‘co-operative learning’ methodology which will hopefully also develop awareness of ways of ensuring everyone shares in producing successful outcomes for the whole group.

Intro will also cover the concept of ‘collaboration’ as distinct from co-operation, and the key ingredients of successful

PPT with aims and learning outcomes

Check understanding. Any questions?



collaboration.

30 4 Bridge Building Split participants into groups of five or six. Two people should not be in the groups, but play the role of observers.

Each group gets material (paper and tape) which they will use to build a bridge. The bridge needs to be strong enough to hold three oranges! They have 15 minutesThe observers should take note of the following:

How do the groups work together? Who takes which roles (leader, builder,

giving ideas...)? Did they ‘co-operate’ successfully?

Debriefing: First ask the participants to reflect on their experienced during the activity:

Were you satisfied with the work in your group?

What role did you take? Were you happy in this role? How were decisions made?

Next, ask the observers to comment on their observations.

Newspaper, masking tape, oranges.

PPT slide with debriefing questions

Instruction cards for observers


Time Content Activity Resources EvaluationFinally encourage a general discussion around the following points:

What would be a co-operative way to take decisions?

What roles and responsibilities needed to be divided to accomplish the task?

How can you find out about skills in the group?

How can you set rules for their group? Take notes on a flip chart sheet of the points arising from this discussion.

5 5 Summary of session “We’ve already identified lots of things which can go wrong in collective decision making processes, and the task we have just undertaken was quite trivial. During the rest of the day we are going to explore how these, and other, issues can be avoided or overcome.”


Session 2 – Creating a collaborative context


5 6 Warm-up Sing: “Who are these Folk?” Songsheets, guitar

5 7 Establishing common, understood, starting points for collaboration

We tend to make big assumptions that others share the same motivations and interests as ourselves – that we are all ‘singing from the same songbook’ – as Woodcraft Folk members. We rarely bother to explore the validity of these assumptions in any detail.

PPT slide:Creating a collaborative context:

Agreeing common, understood starting points; clearly defined objectives (which are suitable for collaboration); realistic expectations; and removing inappropriate external pressures

10 8 Common starting points (1)

Three part interview

Each group to assign the numbers 1 to 4 to its members.

In pairs (within the groups) A will interview B for 2 minutes on the subject: “Why are you involved in the Woodcraft Folk?” (for general groups) or “What do you think is the most important aspect of the Woodcraft Folk’s work?” (General Council members/National committee members/officers).

PPT slide with question:

Why are you involved in the Woodcraft Folk? Or

What do you think is the most

Is numbered person prepared to feedback? Has each group agreed on a ‘surprising thing’ to



Swap – B interview A.

Report back to the group of 4.

Each group should agree on the most surprising thing to emerge from the interviews.

Facilitator chooses a random number between 1 and 4 and the person with this number reports back to the whole group.

important aspect of the Woodcraft Folk’s work?

feedback?

5 9 Common starting points (2)

Recorded Rally Robin

In pairs, taking turns, write down things we can do to ensure that we all understand each others starting points.

Stick your list on the wall for others to review in the break.

Paper and pens

Lists produced

10 10 Clearly defining objectives

Educationalists and psychologists have, over the last 40 years, developed theories about the value of the ability or tendency to set goals as a factor in learning success.

It is clear that the same applies to group success and good collaboration relies heavily on clearly defined goals and objectives.

SMART targets help avoid ‘mission drift’ which can lead to conflict and people feeling excluded.

PPT slide:SMART goals:

Specific: State exactly what you want to accomplish (Who, What, Where, Why)Measurable: How will you demonstrate and evaluate the extent to which the goal has been met?

Achievable: Based on

Feedback of specific goals developed.



Ask if anyone in the group is familiar with SMART goals and what context they have used them in.

Explain the acronym with the help of the powerpoint slide.

Divide the group into pairs.

Ask each pair to choose one of the following vague goals and turn it into a SMART goal:

Vague: Get in shape for the summer.Vague: Own a home.

Possible answers:Specific: Join a hot yoga studio and practice 4 times a week over the next 3 months.Specific: Put 50% of income into savings account for the next 12 months and talk to a mortgage broker.

the present restrictions such as your schedule, workload, and knowledge, do you believe you can attain the objective you set? If not, then set a different goal, one that is attainable for you in the present. Realistic: a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. Timely: One or more target dates, the ‘by when’ to guide your goal to completion (including deadlines, dates, and frequency).

10 11 SMART consequences

Now give out the SMART goal handouts. Ask each pair to discuss and agree on a general objective or goals for a Woodcraft Folk District (or General Council).

They should write the goal at the top of the sheet and then pass it clockwise to the next pair who will make the goal ‘Specific’. Repeat until the sheets have been completed.

Smart goal handouts

Pens



Pass the sheets back to the original owners of the objective. They should review the re-formulated goal. Is it SMARTer than the original?

10 12 Realistic expectations

In considering whether our SMART objectives are achievable we should have thought about whether we have the resources, skills, and experience to accomplish them. As individuals we are not, however, always realistic in our expectations of ourselves or others.

Pair share

Tell your partner about something you have been involved in which did not ‘live up to expectations’. What do you think were the reasons for this? Was it because of:

Lack of clarity about the task Timescale – (too long or too short) Lack of commitment from people involved External pressures Inadequate resources Lack of appropriate skills

Review the SMART target you developed in the last exercise and identify any potentially unrealistic expectations.

Make suggestions about what can be done to mitigate

PPT slide:Realistic expectations:

Lack of clarity about the task

Timescale – (too long or too short)

Lack of commitment from people involved

External pressures

Inadequate resources

Lack of appropriate skills

Feedback



these.

If there is sufficient time, allow all pairs to feedback. If not, just select one or two.

5 13 Inappropriate external pressures

What sort of things can interfere with the context for good collaboration? How can we plan to avoid of reduce these?

Rally Robin

Each partner takes it in turn to suggest an ‘external pressure’. Their partner must respond with a suggestion for what could be done about this.

Record these on the worksheet and post these on the wall for others to read in the break.

External pressures recording sheet

Lists on worsksheets


Session 3a – Creating collaborative structures


5 14 Energizer Play 4-Up.

Debrief the game with a short discussion about how it relates to the idea of creating a collaborative context.

Emphasise that the game demonstrates the co-operative value of self-responsibility which is closely linked to the concept of accountability. It requires every to participate, to concentrate on what is happening, and to ensure that their actions fit closely with those of other people in order to achieve the objective.

none Participants contributions to the discussion

15 15 Collaborative structures

Play the Results Driven Structure game:

Half of the group is sightless. (Ask them close their eyes or provide blindfolds). The sighted half is without speech but each person can make a unique noise (e.g. one person may snap their fingers, another may clap, another may thump their cheek, another may whistle, etc.). A structure is built quickly by the facilitator in the middle of the room. The speechless members may study it for up to one minute and then the facilitator will disassemble the structure and place the pieces around the room. The sightless team

Lego or building bricks.

Blindfolds

Debriefing questions on PPT slide:

What was this like in your life/job/organizati



members may touch the building materials and may speak. The speechless team members may see and make noises, but may not touch the sightless persons nor the building materials. The team is to reassemble the structure as it was originally built by the facilitator.

Discuss:

What was this like in your life/job/organization? How did it feel to be without sight/speech? How did the team reach the solution? Who took the lead and what did they do that

was most effective?

A results-driven structure means that group norms are designed with the group's goal in mind. The team process is matched to the overall logical demands of the work. The second most important factor after a clear, unifying goal, is that the structure of the ‘team’ must be appropriate to achieving the desired results.

Some of the components of a results-driven structure are:

Clear roles and responsibilities Effective communication Monitoring performance and providing

feedback

on? How did it feel to

be without sight/speech?

How did the team reach the solution?

Who took the lead and what did they do that was most effective?



Fact-based judgements

10 16 Information Rally Robin

With a partner, think of as many ways as possible for gathering the necessary information to make good decisions.

Write each one of a post-it note and stick these up on the wall for others to review during the lunch break

Post-it notes

pens


Session 3b – Creating collaborative structures


15 17 Roles and accountabilities

Most of you who are in work will have a job description which sets out what you are responsible for, what you are expected to achieve, who you are accountable to. But we are rarely as clear about defining responsibilities in our voluntary work. This can lead to ambiguity about roles.

In pairs, write a role description for the role on the card you are given.

Function cards:

District treasurerNational Council memberRegional committee chairElfin Group leaderRegional DF committee repKP

Quality of role descriptions

10 18 Time management Think back to the bridge building activity at the start of the day. Do you think your group used the time you had effectively? With the benefit of hindsight, allocate time to each of the following tasks:

Finding out what skills people in the team have Agreeing on a shared understanding of the

problem Sharing ideas on how to solve it Evaluating the ideas and reaching agreement on

the best one to use. Allocating tasks to members of the group

Worksheet for time allocation



Constructing the bridge

Session 4 – Effective communicationTime Content Activity Resources Evaluation

15 19 Dialogue or debate There is a clear difference between collaborative and competitive dialogue (Copeland, 2005). While competitive dialogue has a place in our world – we all need to be persuasive at times – collaborative dialogue is often more productive. People engaged in collaborative dialogue see one another as learning partners instead of opponents– members of the same team exploring topics together. They value one another’s contributions even when they disagree.

In a 2011 debate sponsored by CNN, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry – two presidential candidates – got into an argument with one another about what America should do about immigrants who come to our country illegally. Watch their exchange (http://bit.ly/romneyperrycnn). While watching, check off each of the terms in the checklist in the workbook (p??) that accurately describes the candidates’ conversation behaviors.

With a partner, discuss the ‘reflection questions’ on the

Projector, laptop and speakers to play video.

Worksheet,pens


http://bit.ly/romneyperrycnn

Time Content Activity Resources Evaluationworksheet

5 20 Listening skills (1) Good listeners

Ask all members of the group to write down the names of three people they consider to be good listeners. Then ask the group if anyone has written down the name of a person they don’t like. They very rarely do.

Next, ask if they either like, love or respect the three people they have named. The answer is usually yes.

Follow this by asking them what they think they have to do, to be liked, loved or respected by others. They see the point that they need to be good listeners.

Worksheet,

pens

10 21 Listening skills (2) Give the group a topic to discuss. At various points the trainer says “stop”, at which point the next delegate in line must continue the previous delegate’s sentence, starting with their last few words.

Once the group gets the hang of this, instead of following the pattern of delegate one to two to three to four etc, the trainer names who has to continue the next part of the statement. This forces all delegates to listen closely to what everyone is saying instead of just the person before them.

None

10 22 Listening skills (3) Witness statement Witness statement –



Read out a witness statement from a realistic but fictitious crime, in the role of witness rather than police officer.

At the end, ask the group who tuned into the facts (i.e remembered the details), who picked up on the feelings (e.g distress, anger, anxiety etc) and who focused on intent (what was unsaid, motives etc).

The exercise shows that many of us have a preferred “frequency” that we listen on.

In pairs, discuss what you would say to or ask the witness if they were interviewing them after the crime. Then point out whether this is a fact, feeling or intent comment/question.

The aim is to demonstrate that listening is not just about active listening and recall, but about getting the whole message.

Bryan Adams

15 23 Seeing things differently

Zoom

One important aspect of effective communication is the recognition that we don’t have all the answers, can learn from others. Being open to changing our views revising our thinking is critical.

Hand out one picture to each participant, making sure a continuous sequence is being used. Explain that they can only look at their own pictures and must keep the picture hidden from others. Each picture contains important

Zoom cards



information that will help them solve the problem of putting them into order. The ultimate goal is for the group to place the pictures in sequential order without looking at one another’s pictures. The participants can talk to each.

Session 5 – Collaborative attitudes and embracing diversity


5 24 Energizer Zigzag circle

Everyone stands in a circle and tightly holds hands. Every second person “falls” backwards while the other players “fall” forwards. Then, players switch directions. The feet remain in a standing position and don’t move. Goal: Trust that the decision works.

None

10 25 Trust and respect Trust comes from people knowing that you do what you say you will do, and that if you say you can do something you can do it.

Respect comes from people observing your behaviour and seeing that you don’t always compromise on your personal values, the things that you believe in. If you believe in something, you are not afraid to say what you believe in, and you act in ways that show what you believe in.

Worksheet to make notes

Quality of examples



Rally Robin: With a partner, share examples of behaviour which has led you to trust or respect someone.

Chose one example of each for your pair to share with the whole group.

10 26 Shared leadership In a group of 4, look at the ‘Geese’ handout.

Agree on 3 lessons about leadership which can be learnt from the behaviour of the geese.

Share these lessons with the whole group.

Geese handout. Feedback

10 27 Conflict resolution(1) Pretending that conflicts never arise within teams and amongst groups of people working together is short-sighted. Of course, the potential for conflict can be greatly reduced by having all the key principles of good collaborative team-work in place: a common goal, results-driven structure, shared leadership, enough time and information etc. But there will still be times when the group has to deal with conflict.

With a partner, look at the grid of ‘Conflict resolution styles’ on p.?? of the workbook. Decide where you think your own position in the grid would be, and discuss with your partner what characteristics you have that made you choose that position. For example, you might have

Conflict resolution styles handout


Time Content Activity Resources Evaluationdecided you are a teddy bear because you are unassertive and play down your rights.

5 28 Conflict resolution (2) In groups of 4, put the Group Conflict Resolution Strategy cards into the correct order.

Feedback the order to the whole group.

Group Conflict Resolution Strategy cards

Ability to explain chosen order

10 29 Conflict resolution (3) Look at the 2 Donkeys cartoon on p?? of the workbook.

In pairs, work out a strategy – a series of actions you would take – to help the donkeys get fed more quickly.

In your group of 4, compare the strategies both pairs have come up with. Are there similarities? What are the differences? What are the pros and cons of each strategy?

As a group of 4, agree on the best strategy – you can combine elements from both if you want to.

Share the strategies each group have come up with.

2 Donkeys handout

Ideas shared in feedback

30 25 Embracing diversity We claim to respect diversity and empower everyone to make a contribution. But it is easy for less ‘powerful’ voices not to be heard.

Rally Robin

In pairs, make a list of techniques for ensuring that everyone’s ideas and opinions are elicited, encourage,

Embracing diversity worksheet

Ideas shared in feedback



and welcomed.

Feed back your favourite 2 ideas to the rest of the group.


Session 6 – Personal action planning and evaluation


10 31 Personal Action Plans

Complete the worksheet. This is entirely private and confidential – you don’t have to share it with anyone – so try to be honest with yourself, and realistic too.

Worksheet.

10 32 Parting messages Write your name at the top of the ‘Parting Messages’ form.

Pass the form to the person on your left within your team of four.

Each person writes a positive message to the person whose form they have.

Pass the form on around the team until it reaches its original sender.

Parting messages forms

10 33 Evaluation Dartboard evaluations

Complete Co-operative College evaluation forms.

Sticky dots

Dartboards

Outputs of evaluation exercises


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