How do I identify the problem ?
Many of us spend a lifetime in pursuit of this question. I learnt it through an unconventional way.
Recently I was on the Google meet with my team. We are working first time on a project from five different locations. A colleague external to the team was present there. She was scheduled to help us all navigate some tough waters. To push aside a few conflicts and set the narrative right, she was wearing the hat of a moderator.
The meeting went on for sixty minutes. Each team member got to speak. The moderator could be seen writing notes on a paper. By the end of the meeting a few project related conflicts were converted into clarity with her support.
These roadblocks had persisted over some time. The team had veered into some setbacks. When I pressed the red button to close Google meet session that day, I saw them vanish like ice on a hot summer day.
Lessons
How to solve some team issues ?
Write the individual narratives on a paper under names of each person, one after the other. Connect the dots, and then re-tell the story to re-confirm the narrative. The process helps set things right. When the moderator showed calm and ease, it helped the team.
That is progress. A step ahead to identify the problem within the problem identification process. The step to begin writing the problem is by achieving a consensus about what each team member knows well about the issue. It also clarifies what we do not know. Write that down as well.
Take some time. Objectivity to each information is the key.
By the end I felt it was worth the effort we all put in.
I wonder : could the team have done the same without the moderator ? how much time could we have saved ? what more (or less) could we have learnt ?
I was able to love the process which I saw happen in front of my eyes nevertheless.
What next ?
I am heading another initiative to support my classmates for application of jobs and higher education. I am looking to stick with the idea. Affirming the same model for organisation could work out well in work-from-home situation in big teams.
Take away : Listen - write it down - narrate to the group - clarify each fact & suggestion and then confirm with the team whether you have heard it right. (Yup! moderator did it!) In the process negotiate the terms to come at a decision of where we stand.
Quote for Today : Believe in serendipity. Often help comes in a 'design' which you least expect.
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