Drawing on the workshop leader’s extensive experience and research in the practice of asking better question, diagnosing people systems. and the neuroscience of making better decisions, this one-of-a-kind and highly praised workshop delves into the key areas and competencies essential for making better choices. Join this hands-on and engaging workshop–designed and led by a teacher with more than 30 years of experience in assisting teams across different industries–to learn how to leverage the potential of your team’s thinking and achieve better results.
Workshop Details
WORKSHOP FORMAT
This two-day workshop includes classroom instruction, paired exercises to apply new learnings, and a 30-minute practice facilitation exercise for each participant. These practice sessions are based on real-life case studies or specific situations currently faced by participants. During these practice sessions, other class members are given roles, allowing the designated group leader to apply their new skills while handling typical group dynamics. Participants are given personalized feedback at the end of their practice sessions.
WORKSHOP MODULES
Day One
Module 1: Explore the influences of social dynamics on team performance. Learn questions and tools that mitigate predominant cognitive and motivational biases. Practice questioning methods that increase engagement and foster balanced and insightful discussions.
Module 2: Learn how to design the purposeful meeting by “thinking about the thinking.” Practice designing a strong and succinct meeting focus through the use of better questions and the Discussion Framework.
Module 3: Discuss why teams naturally tend to speak in solutions before framing the problem to be solved–and how to use this to your benefit instead of instructing them to just “trust the process.” Practice tools that frame messy situations and produce alternative problem statements. Discuss methods to uncover underlying assumptions or predetermined outcomes that block innovative thinking.
Module 4: Introduction to the workshop leader’s extensive research and practice of asking the better question. Discuss the neuroscience behind why certain questions work the way they do. Learn six powerful question structures that identify underlying drivers, promote innovation, challenge assumptions, and create richer discussions regarding alternatives.
Day Two
Module 5: Supercharge your listening skills. Learn to hear the inner workings of conversations and practice diagnostic techniques to gain insight into what is really being said.
Module 6: Improve your innovation efforts with the power of question-storming. Learn why brainstorming fails to deliver when seeking to innovate. Review the neuroscience research on the challenges to thinking creatively. Discuss and demonstration of the question-storming technique.
Module 7: Explore the common pitfalls when making choices or assessing risks. Ask the better question to elicit and ensure alignment on decision criteria. Understand how objectives are different from decision criteria. Practice questions that dealing with differences when evaluating options.
Supportive workshop materials designed to be referenced long after the class is completed.
Workshop Workbook
Topics covered include a discussion of the biases and social psychology of groups, principles of robust meeting design, question dos and don’ts, the difference between compliance and commitment, why brainstorming does not work (and what to do instead), the power of using a small wins approach during implementation, and over 100 examples of questions to ask during each phase of the discussion process.
The Ultimate Tool Kit
Contains over 25 creative thinking, decision-making, engagement, and problem-solving tools. Provides tool purpose, constructions steps, and tips for use. Select tools include an audio file for a more in-depth discussion of tool usage.