Collaboration assumes people have the capacity to contribute. That they have the time, can handle the mental load and are interested in contributing.
But teams are facing layoffs, staffing shortages and increasing workloads, with the refrain of "just put it in [your corporation's favourite LLM]". People are hanging on by a thread. And now you want to hold a workshop?
You need their knowledge and expertise, but asking for it is another request on their overloaded plate. You want to ask them to prepare, but preparation requires time they might not have. You can narrow the session scope, but the decisions still require several perspectives.
Is it reasonable to expect active, engaged collaboration when everyone is barely hanging on?
The World Health Organization has defined burnout as “A syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”
So what if this is exactly when collaboration can benefit teams? What if working together is a way to give and receive assistance without offloading work onto each other?
This is why I created the Unstuck Meeting: an opportunity to share the thinking work required to get a task unstuck.
How does it work?
Someone gets stuck. They book a 30-minute meeting with the subject Unstuck and invite everyone on the team. Attendance is optional, but those with time are expected to attend.
The person who needs help explains the issue. Everyone else asks questions and discusses openly until the 30 minutes are up, the person is unstuck or the group has identified a next step.
Check out the entire approach.
What keeps the commitment manageable?
Team members bring their brains and expertise to a specific problem; no additional prep work required. And no presentations!
The session excludes judgment; the goals are to understand the problem and explore possible solutions.
There is no pressure to solve everything, just to help get the person a little further than they were.
Participants are not assigned additional tasks. Their contribution is limited to the session, but highly valued.
The Unstuck meeting is not about distributing work. The requester retains the task, they don't have to figure everything out alone. Participants leave knowing they helped a colleague, and can ask for the same help when they need it too.
If your team is struggling with workloads and reluctant to ask for help for fear of imposing, the Unstuck meeting might be a low-risk, high-reward way to support each other.
The Workshop Workshop - on sale until October 19
The Workshop Workshop is back November 29th at a Europe-friendly time:
8:30am-12:30pm Eastern / 1:30-5:30pm British / 2:30-6:30pm Central European
Tickets are currently on sale: $199 CAD / $149 USD / 124 EUR until October 19.
Diagnose Why Your Workshops Aren’t Delivering
See if your team is Workshop Capable, Developing, or just Curious about real collaboration with my free Workshop Diagnostic Tool.
Visit spydergrrl.com for resources and services tailored to help you create engaging, effective workshops.
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