In the latest v9 deck for our Clean Language-inspired coaching game 15-minute FOTO, I’ve done a better job of integrating its Lite and Classic formats, reflecting how I’ve been facilitating both over recent weeks.
The word ‘formats’ is a big part of the change; after extracting what differs between the two and tidying up a bit, I’ve been able to combine the two sets of slides and remove the duplication. A refactoring!
So what is the same? Objectives, rules, and tips, two of each:
Overall objectives:
- To grow a list of outcomes, as many as you can in the time allowed
- Familiarisation with a curated subset of Clean Language questions
Rules:
- With an obstacle in play, ask only questions from the cue card
- For the placeholder X’s, use words captured previously, verbatim – your initial obstacles, responses, or fragments thereof
Tips:
- Be generous in the outcomes you accept – if it sounds like it might be an outcome, write it down
- If a minute passes without an outcome being captured, something is wrong – fishing for solutions, digging into obstacles, meta conversations
To give a little emphasis to that last tip: the “no wrong answers” principle applies, but mind your intent in your questioning. In this game, fishing for solutions and digging deep into obstacles are to be avoided.
The Lite and Classic formats, online and offline
In several workshops – notably Leading with Outcomes, Deep Dive (November!), Wholehearted:OKR, and Core – we play the game twice, and in this order:
- Lite format: Exploratory familiarisation in an inclusive, minimally-structured table group exercise
- Classic format: Structured exercise, rotating the roles of client, coach, scribe, observer in rounds of 3-5 minutes
Both formats work both offline (in room) and online. Some tips:
- Offline (in room): Always give everyone their own printed cue card (A5 size works well) and never show the full set of questions on screen.
- Online, and especially if you’re running multiple breakout rooms, everyone will need online access to everything they might need. I use a Google Doc workbook per breakout room; partners have access to my master copies for each online workshop.
Some slides in the deck apply to one format &/or medium only. Hide those you don’t need.
The debrief
For both formats, the post-exercise debrief is the same. We start with what worked well:
- When the outcomes are flowing well and you’re the client – answering the questions – what’s that like?
- When the outcomes are flowing well and you’re the – asking the questions – what’s that like?
- When the outcomes are flowing well and you’re the scribe or an observer – watching and listening to the conversation from the outside – what’s that like? And what do you notice?
Afterwards: What went less well? What was difficult? Any other observations?
Customisation
15-minute FOTO is released under a Creative Commons CC-BY-SA licence and customisations, adaptations, translations etc are warmly encouraged. The deck includes some notes on how to do that and remain in compliance with the licence, thereby encouraging others to experiment and contribute too.
More…
Check out the 15-minute FOTO page, agendashift.com/15-minute-foto, where you’ll find:
- A video
- How to obtain the materials
- Facilitation tips
Upcoming events
- 06 October, one 2-hour session, EMEA-friendly timing:
Probe! Stories, Hypotheses, Challenges, and Experiments (EMEA) - 20 October, Online, 10:00BST, 11:00CEST:
Free webinar: Good obstacle, bad obstacle (EMEA) - 17-20 November, 8 online sessions (2 per day over 4 days) of 120 minutes each, EMEA-friendly timing:
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