"This Workshop is Pointless"
Zunaid Osman
Solving problems with holistic solutions | Service Design Lead | Consultant | User Researcher ??
Have you ever had to deal with a difficult workshop participant? Of course, you have. They’re part of the beauty of workshops.
Disagreeing and differences of opinion aren’t bad things in a workshop. In fact, it’s quite the opposite — studies have shown that cognitive diversity is crucial when problem-solving in order to produce valuable ideas1. At the same time, there needs to be some conformity to get through the workshop. How can this conformity be achieved?
Before getting into more detail, a general tip would be to talk to participants before the workshop begins. This allows facilitators to get a sense of what the participants are like and gives a head start on planning how to work with them.
Below are some archetypes created based on several years of experience facilitating design thinking workshops. Each of these includes what might be influencing their behaviour, some identifying traits, and tactics to help channel each archetype.
LERa the Leader
Influencing factors: Motivating their team, maintaining their reputation as a ‘leader’ They are extroverted, and “naturally take over the situation”
This archetype usually tries to take over the session. You might hear them ask ‘Can I clarify something?’
They’re likely to be a senior member of the team, and they’re used to being important. More than that, there’s an expectation that they should be leading sessions given their position in their organisation. They want to engage their team and achieve their tasks while maintaining their respect and reputation. They don’t want to look like they’re taking a backseat.
Tactics: Give them something to do, e.g. let them be the decider on a task or lead a subgroup. Tap into their skills and channel them into meeting the aims of the workshop. Call them on for their point of view, actively bringing them into conversations.
￡lued up Connor
Influencing factors: A passion for learning, being recognised as knowledgeable Traits: they’re keen to learn new things, looking for mistakes
Connor may start off as a ‘good’ participant, being engaged and contributing to the group, but as time goes on they interrupt the flow more often to ask questions and give their opinion.
Tactics: This archetype is driven by information and knowledge, and they likely have valuable insight. Let them know that you’ll call on them during the workshop so they can present to the group. Doing this will help to reduce interruptions and maintain the flow of the session.
!ntroverted Isaiah
Influencing factors: Social anxiety, being criticised for their contributions
Isaiah is a good follower and takes more of an observer role.
Isaiah’s not trouble-making and they’re happy to take part. So what’s the problem? Live and let live, right?
The problem arises when you ask for their opinion. All of a sudden, eye contact drops and they’re really interested in the ceiling. The thought of sharing their ideas with a group they don’t know very well gives them anxiety.
Tactics: Employ empathy, reassure them that there aren’t any right or wrong answers (even if there are wrong answers), and establish an environment of psychological safety. Let them know their contributions are valued and won’t be judged negatively.
This is particularly important for any workshop, not just this for this archetype. Thapa et al’s study describes how feeling socially, emotionally, intellectually, and physically safe is a primal human need2. Harsh or overly critical feedback intimidates, preventing further input and sharing in the future3.
As a facilitator, this needs to be avoided at all costs. To combat this, consider setting some clear ground rules at the start of a workshop to make participants feel more comfortable. One of these rules could be using ‘yes, and…’ rather than a ‘no, but…’ when contributing to other participants’ ideas.
Hesitant H@nz
领英推荐
Influencing factors: Not wanting to fail, a limited understanding of design thinking They avoid and delay making decisions.
Hanz will start out as a good team member, but when decisions are needed they ask for more time or more input from the facilitator. This is fine, but it can’t continue forever.
Tactics: Similar to Isaiah, Hanz needs reassurance. Unlike Isaiah, however, Hanz doesn’t need help contributing; they struggle with making decisions. They’re scared of getting it wrong and ‘failing’. They may not be familiar with design thinking, so the concept of failing cheap and learning fast isn’t familiar to them.
Put your empathy hat on (maybe don’t take it off). Let them know that whilst important, these decisions aren’t life or death. They don’t have to be perfect. Let them know they’re in a safe place.
Give them as much content and information as they need to feel safe and help them commit to making choices.
Consider sharing some examples of companies learning from their ‘failures’. Take Airbnb — did you know they almost failed in their very first year??
(No, Zunaid, please tell us more!)
I’d love to.
The founders didn’t realise that nice, glossy pictures of their listings would make the difference between a user making a booking and leaving their site. By embracing this initial failure and employing design thinking, Airbnb has become a household name and a billion-dollar business.
Sc3ptical Saira
Influencing factors: Negative past experiences, being unfamiliar with design thinking Saira questions the value of the workshop, you may hear them say “This isn’t going to work” or “We’ve done this before”.
These individuals may come across as very negative to your workshop. They may take all the wind out of your sails. Don’t take it personally.
They’ve probably had bad experiences in the past. Maybe their great ideas weren’t actioned. This is very common — only 10% of innovation projects are successful?. Saira might think that because her contributions didn’t lead to tangible benefits, her time is better spent elsewhere.
Tactics: Ask them for their opinion. If they say something won’t work, ask them why and work with them to figure out what might. Make them an expert on a particular topic. This will help to channel them productively.
Consider providing leadership/management with some context before or at the beginning of a workshop. This can help set the scene and mitigate any frustrations.
In this context setting, tie in the value of design thinking and lean experimentation — just because a new solution wasn’t created off the back of previous work doesn’t mean that will be the case this time, and even if it does that’s still good; helping a business to avoid costly ventures that later fail is one of the key benefits of design thinking.
Disclaimer
It’s important to note that these archetypes are based on past experience, and won’t cover EVERY potential participant. Employing empathy, creating a psychologically safe environment and trying to understand the WHY underneath difficult behaviour will help if you ever come across someone similar to ￡lued up Connor or Sc3ptical Saira.
About the Author
Zunaid is a Business Designer and Service Designer. He’s the founder of Black Dog Innovation and has worked with the likes of Bupa, Google, The Economist and Simple Health. If you’d like to learn more get in touch.
Sources
1. The linkage between cognitive diversity and team innovation: Exploring the roles of team humour styles and team emotional intelligence via the conservation of resources theory. Nguyen, PT, Sanders, K, Schwarz, GM, Rafferty, AE (2022)
2. A Review of School Climate Research. Thapa, Amrit, Jonathan Cohen, Shawn Guffey, and Ann Higgins D’Alessandro (2013)
3. Psychological safety in innovative learning environments: planning for inclusive spaces. Jennifer Charteris, Joanna Anderson & Angela Page (2021)