By Nuno Delicado
This LOLA is based on three important principles:
1. We can tap into the experience and expertise of a diverse group of people.
2. Teams can outperform individuals.
3. The best way to handle an overwhelming task is to divide it into smaller tasks.
Read about an application of this LOLA to the task of creating a 4 x 8 table dealing with negotiation elements and cultural dimensions. You can use this LOLA to encourage teams to tackle other complex challenges.
Synopsis
Divide the participants into teams and ask each team to complete a small section of a larger table. Ask all teams to contribute simultaneously to different sections of the same table. When the table is completed, ask everyone to stop and look at what they have achieved together.
Purpose
To rapidly produce a reference table leveraging the joint effort of the whole group.
Time
15 to 45 minutes
Handout
Prepare a blank 4 x 8 table on a shared online document (such as Google Docs).
Label the four columns with the following negotiation elements (if you have a very large group you may consider adding also Options, Legitimacy, and Alternatives):
A. Relationship
B. Communication
C. Interests
D. Commitment
Label the rows with the following cultural dimensions (feel free to add others):
1. High Power Distance
2. Low Power Distance
3. High Individualism
4. Low Individualism
5. High Uncertainty Avoidance
6. Low Uncertainty Avoidance
7. High Context for Communication
8. Low Context for Communication
Technology
Audio
Video
Breakout rooms
Google Docs or a similar collaborative tool
Flow
Brief the participants. Display the blank table on the screen and share the link to it with participants. Ask the participants to click the link and follow along. Briefly explain the labels for the four columns and the eight rows. Announce that the participants will complete this table by typing the content for each of the 32 cells. Acknowledge this could be an overwhelming task. Reassure the participants by saying you will organize them into teams and give each team a small section of the table to complete.
Form teams. Organize the participants into a number of equal-sized teams, each with two to eight members.
Assign tasks. If you have four teams, assign a different column to each team. If you have eight teams, assign a different row to each team. If you have some other number of teams, assign equal-sized sections of the table as in this example. Make sure all the cells are covered:
1. Team 1: Cells A1, A2, B3, B4, C5, C6, and D7
2. Team 2: Cells B1, B2, C3, C4, D5, D6, and D8
3. Team 3: Cells A3, A4, B5, B6, C7, and C8
4. Team 4: Cells A5, A6, B7, B8, D1, and D2
5. Team 5: Cells A7, A8, C1, C2, D3, and D4
If the task assignments are complicated, make sure that before beginning the LOLA you distribute the task assignments to each participant through email or file sharing. Alternatively, you can write the team number on the cells of the table that each team needs to work on.
Send the teams to breakout rooms. Explain that the members of each team will be working on the same large table on a Google Doc (or a similar collaborative tool). However, each team will work only on the cells of the table assigned to it. Encourage all participants to type simultaneously on the table. Optionally, if you feel the process can get too chaotic, you can ask each team to appoint a scribe who will the appropriate information called out by the other members of the team. Then send the teams to breakout rooms.
Monitor the teams. Visit each breakout room, help clarify any question and watch the team members shouting out suggestions and typing furiously, energized by the healthy competition from teams working on the neighboring cells of the same table.
Conclude the activity. When the table seems completed indicated by less typing as participants exhaust their ideas, announce the end of the activity. Bring everyone to the main room and invite all the participants to review the document. Encourage them to admire the amazing table they have built in such a short time.
Debrief the participants. Ask the participants to discuss the similarities and differences among the cells. Invite and implement suggestions for revising the table to make the language more consistent.
Also ask the participants to comment upon the power of teamwork, dividing an overwhelming table into smaller sections, and tapping into the wisdom of the teams.
Play Sample
Recently we conducted Class Sourcing in my class of 32 participants. You can review the final table completed by 16 teams of 2 participants each in this web page:
https://bit.ly/2AIZouE
Game Plan
The following steps reveal the structure of Class Sourcing:
1. Prepare and distribute a blank table.
The facilitator prepares a blank table with labels for columns, rows, and cells.
The participants receive a copy of this table through the chat feature, email, or file sharing.
2. Brief the participants.
The facilitator works through the table and explains what the participants will do.
The participants ask questions to clarify their task.
3. Form teams.
The facilitator assigns the participants to different teams.
Each participant identifies his or her team.
4. Assign tasks.
The facilitator assigns a section of the table to be completed by each team, making sure the entire table is covered.
The participants study the section of the table assigned to their team.
5. Send the teams to breakout rooms.
The facilitator sends each team to a different breakout room or conducts this activity without breakout rooms.
All the team members write at the same time on the shared document or they select a scribe for their team.
6. Monitor the teams.
The team members work on the task.
The facilitator observes each team at work.
7. Conclude the activity.
The facilitator announces the end of the activity when the table is completed.
The participants review the completed table.
8. Debrief the participants.
The facilitator conducts a discussion about the information on different cells and about the power of teamwork.
The participants take part in the discussion.
Reuse This LOLA
We have used Class Sourcing with different tables related to different training topics. Here are some recent topics incorporated in this LOLA:
SWOT Analysis. Columns: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Rows: Information about the organization
Project Management. Columns: Technical, Commercial, Legal, and Marketing. Rows: Brainstormed ideas for moving the project forward in each dimension.
Critical Thinking. Columns: Fundamental Attribution Error, Confirmation Bias, Halo Effect, Group Think. Rows: Framing a Decision, Generating Alternative, Selecting the Best Alternative, Implementing the Decision.
Team Development. Columns: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing. Rows: Leader Behavior, Facilitator Behavior, Follower Behavior.