Facilitation of the Collateral Organization: Standard group management tools can be deployed in facilitating the operations of a collateral organization. These tools include those that encourage “out-of-the-box” thinking (so-called “divergent” methods)—such as brainstorming. They also include “convergent” tools that move a group toward consensus—such as the Delphi technique that provides progressive focusing of group members (through successively collated judgements by group members regarding a specific issue). Other traditional facilitation tools include the setting of ground rules, delegating roles, providing breaks, and taking notes (usually on a flipchart or through use of power point). Most importantly, group facilitation should include periodic review of ongoing group processes and meta-planning (finding ways to collect ideas for upcoming meetings that enable thoughtful consideration of each member’s ideas).
Even more powerfully structured modes of facilitation might be engaged to ensure that the collateral organization can operate in a truly unique manner. The talking stick (which was an aboriginal tool of democracy) might be used to ensure that everyone in the organization has an opportunity to be heard. Each person who has just spoken is “free” to hand the talking stick to anyone whom they invite to share their own perspective and contribute their own ideas. Variants on the talking stick include simply going “around the circle” with each group member providing their idea regarding a specific issue. This circle technique can be made more interesting if each member has to contribute a new idea that has not been previously mentioned. Several rounds will often produce very interesting results. This “divergent” technique is often preferable to brainstorming in that it ensures that creative thinking is not dominated by one or two group members.
An even more demanding tool can be engaged. This is a divergent process like brainstorming and the group circle process I have just described. Originally engaged by George Prince, this process (called spectrum analysis) is particularly well aligned with the purpose of collateral design. Through his organization called Synectics, Prince offered a spectrum perspective that might today be called “appreciative.” It is assumed in a spectrum analysis that there is at least the seed of a good idea embedded in everything that is suggested. All ideas can be placed somewhere on a line (spectrum) from great to poor—it is not either/or. This being the case, every person who speaks up must first indicate three reasons why the idea offered by the previous speaker can be viewed as a positive contribution. Frequently, when this restriction is imposed, the collateral participants end up building on each other’s ideas rather than offering opposing suggestions. If a diverse population of participants is invited to this collateral setting, the spectrum analysis is likely to yield particularly interesting, innovative—and even “break-through” outcomes.
We can offer yet another example of how a collateral organization might look quite different from a traditionally operating organization. In this case, the facilitation addresses the differing perspectives held by subgroups in the collateral organization. Originally used as a conflict-management tool, an intergroup perception process requires that a specific subgroup (I will call it “A”) produce a list of its own distinctive characteristics, a list of what it believes are the distinctive characteristics of the other subgroup(s) is (are) (Group B, C etc.) and a list of what it predicts the other subgroup(s) are likely to include on their list of Group A’s characteristics. The same assignment is given to each of the other subgroups. These lists are shared and discussed. In many ways, this process builds on the theory of mind I identified earlier in this essay. A much richer (and more accurate and constructive) theory of mind can be built collectively though the use of this process—especially if it is engaged early in the life of a collateral organization. This tool is of particular value when the collateral organization is composed of participants from different “camps” and polarizations.
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