Making Questions Work E-Book

Dorothy Strachan

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 284

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

This book is an invaluable desk reference for facilitators, leaders, coaches and anyone who wants to engage in more effective learning and decision-making conversations. It offers over 1700 rich questions that you can borrow or adapt to improve your inquiry skills, and provides clear frameworks that point to when, where, and why particular questions are most useful.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Praise

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Acknowledgments

The Author

Preface

Introduction

A QUICK LOOKUP RESOURCE

ABOUT WORDS

PART 1 - HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS

Chapter 1 - Questions That Work

PROCESS FRAMEWORKS

CONSCIOUS QUESTIONING

SKILLS FOR CONSCIOUS QUESTIONING

REMINDERS

Chapter 2 - Core Facilitation Values

VALUES INTO ACTION

INTEGRITY

AUTHENTICITY

MUTUAL RESPECT

LEANING ON VALUES

Chapter 3 - Follow-up Questions

PROMPT FOR CLARIFICATION

PROMPT FOR PERSPECTIVES

PROMPT FOR RATIONALE

PROMPT FOR OPTIONS

PROMPT FOR IMPLICATIONS

PART 2 - WHAT TO ASK WHEN

Chapter 4 - Questions for Opening a Session

PROCESS FRAMEWORK

GUIDELINES FOR QUESTIONS TO OPEN A SESSION

QUESTION BANK

COMMON CHALLENGES

Chapter 5 - Questions for Enabling Action

PROCESS FRAMEWORK

GUIDELINES FOR QUESTIONS TO ENABLE ACTION

QUESTION BANK

COMMON CHALLENGES

Chapter 6 - Questions for Thinking Critically

PROCESS FRAMEWORK

GUIDELINES FOR QUESTIONS TO ENABLE CRITICAL THINKING

QUESTION BANK

COMMON CHALLENGES

Chapter 7 - Questions for Addressing Issues

PROCESS FRAMEWORK

GUIDELINES FOR QUESTIONS TO ADDRESS ISSUES

QUESTION BANK

COMMON CHALLENGES

Chapter 8 - Questions for Closing a Session

PROCESS FRAMEWORK

GUIDELINES FOR QUESTIONS TO CLOSE A SESSION

QUESTION BANK

COMMON CHALLENGES

In Closing: About Questions—What I Know for Sure

References

CONTINUATION OF COPYRIGHT PAGE

More Praise forMaking Questions Work

“A powerful and practical book of guidelines, tips, and options for anyone who does facilitation and wants to learn and apply the skill of asking the right questions of the right people at the right time. This is a facilitation bible, a ‘musthave’ for thoughtful planning and addressing facilitation challenges.”

—Nancy Lalonde, director of organizational development, University of Ottawa, Canada

“For public-policy advocates and other such issue-strategists, Making Questions Work is a valuable exploration tool in the never-ending search for the solutions, compromises, and agreements that are the stuff of government and community decision making.”

—Sean Moore, partner and public policy advisor, Gowling Lefleur Henderson LLP, Ottawa, Canada

“If you design and facilitate workshops and meetings, you need this book in your library. This is not a book to read once; this is a valuable resource to return to over and over again. Whether you are a workshop facilitator or facilitative leader, Dorothy Strachan’s knowledge, experience, and insights will improve your meeting designs and save you time.”

—Brian Benn, regional manager, Centre for Leadership and Learning, Province of Ontario, Canada

“Whether you are a coach, trainer, facilitator, or leader, if you believe in the power of questions to inspire and transform people, Making Questions Work is the ultimate reference guide. The great thing about Dorothy Strachan’s book is that every time I pick it up I find new insights and new ways to craft questions.”

—Pierre-Claude Elie, change facilitator, Emergence Solutions Inc., Montreal, Canada

“Dorothy Strachan brings immense practical experience and tremendous insight into building teams and facilitating groups with her book Making Questions Work. This is an invaluable resource for anyone striving to help a group work together more effectively and perform at a higher level.”

—John Bales, chief executive officer, Coaching Association of Canada

“The ability to ask questions effectively is critical for me as a professional facilitator. I am thrilled to have a handbook that puts the emphasis on something so important to both my work and personal life. Thank you, Dorothy Strachan, for this terrific resource!”

—Carol Lauder, grant project manager, Texas Comptroller’s Office

“Dorothy Strachan uses simple but effective frameworks to support dynamic, results-oriented facilitation that helps keep groups on track and moving toward accomplishment. This is a clearly written, practical guide that should be on every facilitator’s bookshelf—better yet, keep it handy on your desk.”

—Maureen Nyilis, Governor’s Office of Employee Relations, State of New York

“Making Questions Work will assist anyone who is thrust into the role of facilitator and challenged to lead a group to reach consensus and/or take action. I’m providing this book to all my staff and to HR or OD colleagues who want to make a difference in the work they do.”

—Tim Robinson, director, leadership and learning, Canada Post Corporation

“Making Questions Work is for every values-based leader and group facilitator. Its five process frameworks propel students of group dynamics to the graduate level of craft study. Dorothy’s chapters on questions for thinking critically and addressing issues offer a brilliant road map through the risky territory of intergroup tension.”

—Judy Fantham, manager of organizational learning and development, Health Professional Association, Ontario, Canada

“Our organization has had the privilege of experiencing Making Questions Work. Due to the clarity and precision of the complex medical questions we developed, our diverse group of health professionals moved toward collaborative national recommendations faster than ever anticipated. Because the questions were right on target, individuals were able to explore the issues confidently from their own perspectives—clear questions resulted in clear outcomes for everyone.”

—Kimberly Young, chief executive officer, Canadian Council for Donation and Transplantation

Copyright © 2007 by Dorothy Strachan. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741 www.josseybass.com

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Credits appear on p. 246.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Strachan, Dorothy, date.

Making questions work: a guide to what and how to ask for facilitators, consultants, managers, coaches, and educators / Dorothy Strachan.

p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7879-8727-5

1. Group facilitation. 2. Problem solving.

3. Questioning. 4. Critical thinking. I. Title.

HM751.S77 2007

658.3’14—dc22

2006028743

The Jossey-Bass Business and Management Series

For my family, who have weathered (often without complaint) so many, many questions over the years. I will continue to try to improve on our golden dictum: “No questions after 9:00 P.M.”

Acknowledgments

Many colleagues, clients, and process participants, both as individuals and as groups, have contributed in their own special way to this book. A sincere thank-you to all who have been part of a wonderful writing process over the past several years.

Special thanks go to Paul Tomlinson and Marian Pitters for their thoughtful and comprehensive reviews of early drafts; all those who contributed to an earlier version of this book, titled Questions That Work; and Ana Ruiz, for her patient and steadfast administrative support.

The Author

Dorothy Strachan is a partner in Strachan-Tomlinson, an Ottawa-based process consulting firm. Prior to founding Strachan-Tomlinson, she was involved in high school and community college education as a teacher and administrator. She has been working as a full-time process consultant and professional facilitator since 1974, serving clients across the public, nonprofit, and private sectors in several countries.

In addition to her consulting work, Strachan spends considerable time creating and delivering learning-centered training sessions in her field. Participants in her workshops on process design, facilitation, and dynamic questioning typically describe them as practical and immediately usable learning experiences.

Strachan is the author of several books and handbooks that focus on processes for leadership development, facilitation, workshop management, effective coaching in high-performance sports, working with volunteers, and strategic planning. (For more information, visit www.strachan-tomlinson.com.) A number of these publications reflect Strachan-Tomlinson’s special interest in health policy at all levels, from community-based organizations to national and international alliances.

Preface

Being a facilitator has consumed a good part of my life. I started out as a high school teacher and then moved into the community college system as a teacher and administrator, before venturing into professional facilitation as a principal in a small consulting firm.

Today I am a partner in Strachan-Tomlinson, an Ottawa-based process consulting firm. A large part of what we have been doing for the past thirty years focuses on design and facilitation of organizational processes in areas such as strategic planning, team development, policy development, knowledge translation, organizational change, and training for facilitators and process consultants. We work with a variety of clients in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors in local, regional, national, and international settings.

My business partner is Paul Tomlinson. Paul’s primary expertise is in gathering and developing the background information and concepts that inform our facilitation efforts. His background in adult education has been an important element in building our company’s learning-centered approach to group process and organizational change. The we in this book refers to Paul and me.

October 2006Ottawa, Canada

Dorothy Strachan

Introduction

Most facilitators spend considerable time looking for and thinking about questions for a particular topic in a particular situation with a particular group of people. Some questions work brilliantly with one group and not at all with another.

This book reduces the amount of effort and time required to find or develop these questions. The focus is on basic frameworks; on practical, proven, adaptable tools; and on a wealth of specific strategies and examples.

This resource is designed for facilitators who have some experience working with groups and are interested in expanding their knowledge and expertise about how to make questions work well. This includes professional facilitators as well as managers, teachers, trainers, community organizers, project leaders, lawyers, executives, professors, health care professionals, mediators, negotiators, human resources professionals, politicians, coaches, social workers, and counselors. Many people do facilitation as a regular part of their work and yet don’t think of themselves as professional facilitators; this resource is also for them.

Regardless of your role, the right questions for the right people at the right time are at the heart of healthy group process—a top priority in effective and dynamic facilitation.

Making Questions Work is filled with hundreds of practice guidelines, tips, and suggestions for facilitators.

Part One, “How to Ask Questions,” explores some basic parameters for effective questioning.

Chapter One, “Questions That Work,” describes process frameworks for questions, how to construct questions, question types, conscious questioning skills, and some dos and don’ts.

Chapter Two, “Core Facilitation Values,” explores how your values guide the use of questions in support of healthy group process.

Chapter Three, “Follow-up Questions,” outlines a range of prompts to support deeper discussion.

In Part Two, “What to Ask When,” five chapters present some eighteen hundred sample questions that enable facilitators to meet common challenges with groups. Although each chapter is designed to stand on its own, it is also interrelated with the others. For example, the values described in Chapter Two are at the heart of what makes the framework in Chapter Four (on opening questions) work well, and the questions in Chapter Six (on critical thinking) may also be used to supplement the framework for addressing issues in Chapter Seven.

Nuance and context are the key. Although more than one chapter has questions focused on taking action, the questions in Chapter Five on this topic are for a context different from those in Chapter Seven. Getting the nuance appropriate to the context is what makes a question specific to a situation.

Each chapter in Part Two begins with a process framework, which acts as a general map of facilitation challenges for that chapter’s topic. This is followed by guidelines for developing and using questions and lists of questions divided into focus areas. Space is provided for you to write down additional questions so that you can make this handbook into a personalized question bank. At the end of each chapter, common challenges that facilitators face are presented as brief case studies.

Chapter Four, “Questions for Opening a Session,” outlines a process framework for participants to get to know one another, clarify expectations, and build commitment.

Chapter Five, “Questions for Enabling Action,” describes the “What?—So what?—Now what?” process framework, a three-step approach to outcomes-based facilitating.

Chapter Six, “Questions for Thinking Critically,” helps participants reflect on how and why things are done the way they are, an important skill for complex problem solving in groups.

Chapter Seven, “Questions for Addressing Issues,” lays out a systematic approach to six areas of inquiry related to issues analysis and management, a common element in many facilitated processes.

Chapter Eight, “Questions for Closing a Session,” includes a variety of options for challenges that facilitators face in concluding a process.

“In Closing: About Questions—What I Know for Sure” describes insights that are based on many years as a process consultant in a range of situations.

A QUICK LOOKUP RESOURCE

The Contents for this book is also the index. Skim the headings in the Contents to search for the type of session and question you want. Then go to that page and peruse the list of sample questions.

If you want to find a chapter quickly, hold the book in your left hand with the cover face down and put your thumb on the related chapter tab on the back cover. Thumb through the pages until you get to the matching gray strip for that chapter.

ABOUT WORDS

Here we explain what we mean by several words used frequently throughout this book.

• Client: The client is the person or group of persons with whom the process is developed and to whom the facilitator is accountable. The client may be a planning committee, an administrator, a board of directors, a manager, or another responsible person or group.

• Facilitator: A facilitator is someone who attends to group process. This includes professional facilitators as well as managers, teachers, trainers, community organizers, project leaders, lawyers, executives, professors, health care professionals, mediators, negotiators, human resource professionals, politicians, social workers, and counselors. Many people do facilitation as a regular part of their work and yet don’t think of themselves as professional facilitators.

• Group: Three or more people who want to accomplish something.

• Group members: Participants in a group process; this phrase is used interchangeably with participants.

• Participants: People who are participating in a group process; this word is used interchangeably with group members.

• Plenary: When all members of an assembly are present; for example, when a number of small groups are together in a meeting of the whole group.

• Process: A structured group experience; a process may happen in a variety of settings (work session, workshop, meeting, conference, roundtable).

• Prompt: A follow-up question designed to clarify a response or to get more information in a specific area.

• Session: A facilitated process that happens in a limited time period—a few hours, a day, a weekend, a week; may also be called a workshop, meeting, or conference.

By presenting what works for us, we hope that you will find some practical ideas and tools for asking people the right questions at the right time.

PART1

HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS