View Full Version : Facilitating high level military -- need advice
Hi,
I'm being hired to facilitate a group of high ranking military officers in a strategic planning workshop. Could use some advice if anyone has ever done anything like this. In the room will be at least one admiral and one general who are regional commanders, perhaps more, plus their senior team.
They have their own system which I will have to become familiar with, something similar to TQL — total quality leadership. After that, I'm told that it's just basic facilitating and keeping them on track.
In my experience with other military groups, that may or may not be true.
If you have any thoughts on dealing with this sort of group, including how to get their attention and keep it, I'd appreciate your thoughts.
I've worked with senior people in the private sector, and just wonder if there's a significant difference.
Thanks.
Mark_Edmead
12-03-2009, 02:14 AM
I've facilitated military/DoD personnel here in the U.S., Germany, and Japan. I've found that facilitating in a military environment is very different than in the private sector. The military is very much based on rank and protocol. If there is an Admiral it is very likely that some of the junior officers might not want to share as openly. Also, if you are going to have everyone introduce themselves, make sure to start with the highest ranking officer. And do NOT start the facilitation until they are present. I've also found that when addressing the participants, it is best to use their rank (i.e. "the Admiral asked about... or the Commander mentioned...").
Hope this helps.
Mark
Thanks, Mark.
In terms of getting underway did you do any kind of icebreaker, or just launch into the business.
I know none of these people and expect that my briefing will not shed a great deal of light on their personalities or how they conduct themselves in a work group.
When I did a little bit of acting the order of the day was "remember your lines and don't bump into the furniture." In a manner of speaking, is this what I'm after?
Since I have no idea what their "content" will be and I'm definitely not a subject matter expert on military issues and strategies, I will be walking in a bit blind. That's why any added info on how to conduct this will be helpful.
Thanks, again.
Jerry
Mark_Edmead
12-03-2009, 04:25 AM
Jerry:
As far as the getting underway, hard to determine if an ice breaker will be the right approach. In many cases it is the senior officer that sets the tone.
Will get a chance to meet/talk with the participants before the event? Maybe to inquire about their background and expectations?
Mark
I doubt that I'll get a chance to meet them prior to the first day of the session. I'll greet them as they come in and probably get a couple of minutes with each, but perhaps not even that.
Emily_Passino
12-03-2009, 03:29 PM
Ingrid Bens described a tool for this, she calls Targeted Norms. I'd like to quote from a handout she provided at the Atlanta IAF Workshop.
Targeted Norms are norms created to fit a specific situation in order to engineer a positive climate or to gain leverage . . . usually aimed at creating the kind of safety that people need in order to feel that they can be open and honest. Steps:
1. Name the challenging situation that exists or that could crop up at the meeting.
2. Make a statement that describes the problem situation in terms of a concern for the participants.
3. Ask a detailed question that engages people in identifying the rules that they are willing to follow in that situation.
Example: There are people of various ranks at the meeting. These ranks influence how people behave: senior people dominate and lower ranked people hold back.
The facilitator says:
1. I see that we have a lot of different ranks here today.
2. It's really important that you get the benefit of hearing everyone's opinions at this meeting.
3. What rules or guidelines can we all agree to that will encourage everyone to speak up? What will ensure that the ranks get left at the door?
When I worked with the command group of the state's highway patrol here (another highly rank conscious group), I didn't have this tool, but did try a similar approach, with mixed results. In my experience, there were two types of colonels - one who appreciated this "naming" of the situation, was relieved to have it stated and supported the dropping of ranks - particularly with the time-limited permission that this was just for the duration of our planning meetings. The second type was oblivious and arrogant and completely closed to relaxing any aspect of status. Thus I'd say, given your situation, if you have time to introduce this idea off line to the highest ranking member before the meeting actually begins, you can sense how safe it might be to openly develop targeted norms.
Gary_Boettcher
12-04-2009, 02:23 PM
As a Naval Academy graduate and US Marine Corps officer, my experience tells me the suggested techniques will have mixed results unless you have senior officer buy-in. Here is one way to get it.
Meet with each senior officer privately -- on the phone or in person -- and explain who you are and what your goals are. Tell them what the facilitative process is and why it works. Present Ingrid's concept (or your own modification to meet this particular process need) and ask them if they could support your plan. If yes, then the next step is most important. Depending on their personality/leadership style, one of two will work best:
1. The facilitator explains Ingrid's suggested method for group ownership of participation and then the senior officers publicly endorses the process; or
2. Have the senior officer present and make the plug for open participation and then the facilitator discusses the "details of the process" for open participation.
Ask the senior O's if they have a preference on how they want the open dialogue concept introduced; that is, do they want you to talk about it or do they want to initiate the concept?
I've seen a third option work well, but it is highly dependent on the attitude of the senior officers -- not just THE senior officer. This concept also needs to be pre-briefed with the Senior "O's." Initially you may get some push back from the group, but after they see how effective it is they all normally join in. This method departs a bit from a previously suggested technique of calling everyone by their rank, e.g. Admiral, General, Captain, Lt.....That is a bit dangerous for a civilian facilitator unless they are intimately familiar with the rank structures across the different services. E.G. a Navy Lt. is senior to a USMC/Army/USAF Lt. A Navy Captain is much more senior than a Captain of all the other services, and a General is not always the General -- There is a distinct hierarchy in the senior officer ranks.
With that note, the third technique is "Leave the rank at the door." About half the time, the senior O's are willing to do that because they genuinely want to know what their subordinates think and want open contributions. If you use this process technique, then I strongly suggest you coordinate with the senior O's and ask them to be patient and contribute towards the end of each process session. The other piece of advice is to suggest to the senior O's (suggest not tell) not to comment after every person speaks. Folks will already be hesitant to speak because they don't want their evaluations to be negatively influenced. The goal is to have open and freewheeling dialogue which is not inherent in a military structure. A common phrase is "Permission to speak freely." I've had many conversations with senior officers using that technique. It allows one to speak with respect, yet engage with open and honest dialogue. To have the senior officer present say, "For the purposes of this facilitation session each participant has permission to speak freely. Today we are going to leave rank at the door." is extremely powerful. If that is done, don't expect the mid-level or junior ranks to immediately open up. They will test the process to see if the invitation is genuine.
Talk about these ideas with your hiring sponsor -- that person should have a good idea about how the senior offices will react to or which process they may be willing to engage in.
eric_brachhausen
12-04-2009, 06:03 PM
Greetings,
I wanted to add my two cents' worth of weight to the comments by Gary Boettcher. My experience with the military is not so extensive as Gary's, but probably like a lot of you I've been in situations where the presence of strong hierarchical leaders chills the discussion.
In the private conversations with the senior officers, it might be well to probe their thoughts on the idea of strategic planning via open-source thinking. Do the senior officers want a rich variety of options, or to just confirm their own top-down direction? If the former, they need to vocally support the freedom of interchange right from the very beginning, and if the facilitator starts to see either excessive use of authority or excessively deferential behavior in play, he or she needs a way to call it to the surface and deal with it before going further.
Best of luck with your assignment, and please let us all know what happens.
Regards,
Eric Brachhausen
This is all terrific advice and is giving me some things to discuss with the sponsor.
Talking with the high ranking officers in advance shouldn't be too difficult in this case, and that will tell me how to approach the session.
For anyone who has actually performed or been involved in a strategic planning workshop with senior officers, please feel free to share any other ideas you may have on how to open the session, how much of "me" should I toss into the mix — i.e., with business groups I might share a story at the open or as a reference when they hit a sticking point.
Is any of that advisable in this setting or should I just play it straight, do the introductions and get on with it, doing a vanilla flavor of facilitation?
You can tell from my questions that I've stepped out of my comfort zone with this.
Thanks.
eric_brachhausen
12-05-2009, 04:01 PM
Greetings,
For any group involved in strategic planning, I think you need to provide some context. Is this the first time this group will have ever met together? Is the meeting a continuation of prior efforts, like an annual update? If so, what happened with the last strategic plan produced? Was it ever implemented, and if so, was it judged "successful," whatever that may have meant? It would be particularly valuable to know whether the last similar effort was regarded as worthy, or whether it sank without a trace. So I think you need to set the stage here.
Another issue to consider is that all groups convened to produce some kind of work product, like a strategic plan, want to feel they have produced something of value together. It is important that they understand how their work product will be used. Will it be implemented straightaway, or referred to a higher level for final massaging, or be just one of a mix of options being created by other similar groups that will all be blended together?
As the group goes throught its deliberations, what will happen when opposing views are stalemated? Will we just record a major and minority opinion, or is the fallback authority present in the room?
What form will the end result take, when, and will the group members ever get to see it, which would allow them to see how much of their thinking seeped into the final product?
If you have relevant past experience to help create a positive climate of expectation, I would say by all means bring that to the table.
Continued best of luck with your planning.
Regards,
Eric
George_Smith
12-07-2009, 04:18 PM
In addition to being an IAF CPF, I am a retired Army Colonel with 30 years of military experience, 10 years of experience as a civilian with the Georgia National Guard. I have facilitated strategic planning for the Georgia Guard and the U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Hood Texas. I facilitated a session of 35 general officers for the Adjutant General of Georgia. First of all, the advice of Gary_Boettcher (http://www.iaf-forum.org/member.php?u=13) is sound and on target! I'll try not to repeat.
Interviewing the senior officer who is responsible for the outcome is paramount. Suggest everyone wear civilian clothes. Although I encourage and they have set the ground rule to leave rank at the door, they will not do so. Live with it. Suggest the boss speak first only to open the session; couch him/her to encourage candor; then suggest he/she let others speak first.
I have used the same process technique for military as for any other client. Be careful with the use of games or ice breakers - talk this over with the sponsor before the session. The officers tend to regard these as childish, although I have seen them have fun when the activity is competitive.
Show respect but respect all participants. Be confident in your ability as a facilitator.
Good luck.
John_Butcher
12-08-2009, 02:18 PM
Hello: While I am not an active participant in these discussions, I have followed this latest exchange around facilitating high level military personnel (and presumably other organizations in which rank is central to the culture) with great interest. The sensitivities involved make these sessions feel that they are very nerve-wracking both for the facilitator and the participants. It seems difficult to have an effective and efficient conversation when so many other currents (aside from the usual ones whenever groups of people get together) are flowing in the room.
Having said that, the bulk of my work is with associations (professional and business) in which no one can really tell anyone else what to do, and when having just a tiny bit more command and control at certain(infrequent) times might be quite useful. But, on the whole, my antennae are probably not sensitive enough to handle the nuances in the situations in which George, Gary, Eric, Emily and others work. So, if I am ever invited to work with military personnel, I shall now know to defer to more skilled colleagues in IAF.
Best wishes.
John
Greetings,
For any group involved in strategic planning, I think you need to provide some context. Is this the first time this group will have ever met together? Is the meeting a continuation of prior efforts, like an annual update? If so, what happened with the last strategic plan produced? Was it ever implemented, and if so, was it judged "successful," whatever that may have meant? It would be particularly valuable to know whether the last similar effort was regarded as worthy, or whether it sank without a trace. So I think you need to set the stage here.
From what I was told it was shelved. The facilitator and the commander didn't hit it off and the planning session morphed into a venting exercise, then went down in flames.
Another issue to consider is that all groups convened to produce some kind of work product, like a strategic plan, want to feel they have produced something of value together. It is important that they understand how their work product will be used. Will it be implemented straightaway, or referred to a higher level for final massaging, or be just one of a mix of options being created by other similar groups that will all be blended together?
Whatever is generated will quickly be transmitted up the chain to the next level. I don't know if they'll play with it for a few days beforehand.
As the group goes throught its deliberations, what will happen when opposing views are stalemated? Will we just record a major and minority opinion, or is the fallback authority present in the room?
It looks like I'll have the opportunity to meet for a few minutes with the commander this next week, and I'll broach the topics of leaving rank at the door, resisting making comments after every point raised, wearing civilian clothes, etc. At the same time I'll ask about who breaks the ties if we have any. [/quote]
What form will the end result take, when, and will the group members ever get to see it, which would allow them to see how much of their thinking seeped into the final product?
If you have relevant past experience to help create a positive climate of expectation, I would say by all means bring that to the table.
Continued best of luck with your planning.
Regards,
Eric
I don't know how soon everybody will see the final results but I'm thinking they will — or at least a summary.
Thanks for your input.
Interviewing the senior officer who is responsible for the outcome is paramount. Suggest everyone wear civilian clothes. Although I encourage and they have set the ground rule to leave rank at the door, they will not do so. Live with it. Suggest the boss speak first only to open the session; couch him/her to encourage candor; then suggest he/she let others speak first.
Yes, I sense this is huge. I'll be asking for all of it when I meet with him.
I have used the same process technique for military as for any other client. Be careful with the use of games or ice breakers - talk this over with the sponsor before the session. The officers tend to regard these as childish, although I have seen them have fun when the activity is competitive. Well, there's goes my idea of "If you were a dog, what kind of dog would you be?" :)
I agree, George. Especially since this is my first time with this group. Also, I just learned that I was the desperation choice, the "Hail Mary" pass, if you will. Apparently, the top guy wanted to bring in a highly experienced man he's worked with before but it couldn't come together. So, with little time left on the clock they went for the "local" guy.
Show respect but respect all participants. Be confident in your ability as a facilitator.
Good luck.I've facilitated a fair number of business groups in various activities, but nothing like this with all the other complexities. I'm a reasonably effective facilitator who believes in the Phil Jackson (Lakers coach) theory that when the team is in trouble, to let them work themselves out of it as it makes them stronger. He only calls for a timeout when they can't do it. This has served me well over the years.
I am not an expert in the area of strategic planning, which I've told the people who hired me. This part of it is making me a bit nervous. The strategy sessions I've done were far less formal and less structured than what this looks to be.
Is there a resource I can access that will show me various methods of conducting a strategic planning workshop, all the way from setting the agenda to configuring the room, what should and shouldn't be in the Powerpoint, etc?
They have bought into a proprietary system so that's set. It's how to do all the rest that's concerning me. As stated, I think I can handle the relationships in the room and help them get the work done. It's just the format and the cosmetics that I'm unsure of. I want this to look and feel like something they've seen before so they don't immediately become uncomfortable.
I've got 8-10 hours to deliver the product, not three days. Thus, if we get into mission and vision and spend any time at all on those, we'll really be squeezed. My sense of this is that I need to eliminate as many things as possible and just get to the assumptions and aligning with the next level's mandated goals, then getting the participants into teams and getting on with it.
I really appreciate this valuable feedback.
Thanks again.