The Hindu Business Line : Time is `gold dust'

Traditional management skills are becoming outmoded. Thus declares Esther Cameron in the third edition of Facilitation Made Easy, from Kogan Page (www.vivagroupindia.com).

"Until recently, managers have been encouraged to run things in a very linear fashion. Work was mainly done with a fixed team on a fixed project, and management involved setting objectives, planning, delegating, and monitoring."

Not any longer, because organisations have become flatter; and knowledge working thrives in an atmosphere of unpredictable and non-linear tasks. Cameron cites Peter Senge of MIT to emphasise how, though today everyone in business is into teams, `learning how to think together' is a high-level skill that few managers have.

"When groups of people get together in today's organisations, time is like gold dust," points out the author. "We all have to learn how to use this precious time to help people to think imaginatively, communicate clearly, learn from each other and come up with workable solutions to problems."

Cameron suggests the use of `facilitated workshop' in the place of the usual `stultifying format' of meetings. Such a workshop "is a method of allowing a group of people to work together to achieve a specific outcome," she defines.

One of the key skills a workshop facilitator needs is of listening. It is not just about nodding and giving airtime, says Cameron. "It is also about making sure you understand what the other person is saying. In a group situation, this is not normally done. People will compete for space to state their own opinions, but will rarely take the time to find out what is really meant by the previous speaker."

Managing time is another skill. "Manage the agenda in half-hour blocks with each block covering a specific area," counsels the author. "If you overrun in one section, you will have to curtail another section. Keep an eye on the clock, and if it looks as if you will overrun by more than ten minutes on one section, tell the participants." While interesting discussions should not be cut short for the sake of rigidly sticking to your preset agenda, you may sometimes "need to be firm about which parts of the agenda are negotiable and which are not."

Top team workshops need extra preparation. Because these teams bring together `bright, successful, highly competent people with strong agendas', and the agendas can conflict. "A top team workshop involves the most senior managers in an organisation sitting down together, creating a shared understanding of an issue and working towards decisions and action."

Senior groups of men can be quite brutal with each other, Cameron cautions facilitators. "This comes with the territory to some extent, so if you are faint-hearted then stand well back! The senior managers are pretty tough (usually) so do not be over alarmed on their account." Since senior managers bring a lot of experience and expertise, "they will challenge you and expect you to be expert and experienced in your own area." If you are well-prepared, you should be able to ride any criticism during the workshop of your own performance," assures the author.

Practical takeaways.

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