Barry -
Can you explain further what you mean by working "at the 'higher plane'"
in teams? Information sharing is initiated at the end of each meeting by
using the 4 W's and an H to force action planning. That is, a matrix is
visually created of WHAT has to be done; WHO is responsible for getting it
done; WHERE the task is to be completed (physical location e.g.
department, site, division, city, library, milling center, etc.); WHEN is
the task to be done e.g. within 24 hours, by the next meeting on the 28th,
by end of Q2, etc.; and HOW will the task be completed--resources needed.
Teams and organizations have a culture or a set of structures that are at
odds with the activities you describe. In phsycodynamic terms, they may
"cover up" harsh thoughts or feelings, hold back criticism, hold untested
attributions, and so on. Facilitation often enables a team to move to a
higher plane in one or more dimension. For example, consider the
following as planes in team communication:
Collaboration
Coordination
Communication
Information Sharing
Working with a team that has difficulty collaborating, we may see the team
work through its issues and actually begin to collaborate. But the
facilitator was an essential part of that movement to a higher plane, and
there is no assurance that the next time the team gets together without
the facilitator that it will again achieve collaboration.
-- Mike
--Michael Gort <gort@mail.com>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>