"Team MOT" - TCI-round after Ruth Cohn
Kate
MikeGoal
"In the past, we as a team did not talk openly enough with each other when problems arose!" This is one of the most frequent findings from team mediations. People often endure minor problems in silence. They hope it will pass. But the stronger the tensions become, the more difficult it is to talk about them. This is because the gap between the apparent harmony and the revelation of the differences becomes greater and greater. As a result, those involved in the conflict avoid each other and talk about each other behind their backs to relieve themselves, which further dampens the mood in the team. This is a vicious circle into which every team can easily fall. The team MOT helps to openly address professional and personal disagreements in the team so that they can be resolved promptly and do not develop into conflicts in the first place.
Overview
The team, (if appropriate, together with the responsible manager), meets regularly (every 1 - 3 months) for a fixed time (60-90 minutes, depending on the team size and needs) to openly discuss how they are doing here in the team. The team MOT is facilitated by the leadership or one of the team members.
Goal
- The team's ability to function is strengthened.
- Good atmosphere in the team
- Conflict prevention: irritations, conflict germs and small conflicts are recognised and resolved promptly.
- Conflict diagnostics: Conflicts are recognised and can thus be clarified in a different context.
- The team members are encouraged to cooperate "at eye level". The development of a "pecking order" is counteracted.
- Direct communication of appreciation and criticism is strengthened. The "back of the envelope" is counteracted.
- Team members and management practice an appropriately open approach to personal and private issues.
- "Personal issues" are irritation, reproaches and difficult feelings that arise directly during cooperation at the workplace: E.g. a colleague is angry because he has been badly informed.
- "Private issues" are irritation and difficult feelings that arise in an employee's private life and are so serious that they become noticeable in the workplace. For example, it can be good for a team member to tell others that his or her child is seriously ill. In this way, colleagues can develop an understanding for the fact that he is currently not 100% able to work under pressure.
Principle: Transparency of good and difficult things
Important for the effectiveness of the team MOT is the practice of being appropriately open about good and difficult things, both in terms of the team's perception and one's own state of mind. In conventional conversations in a professional context, the actors are often tempted to present their "perfect side". They want to be seen as competent, resilient, friendly and reliable. The question "How are you?" is answered with "Thank you, I'm fine! The trouble is that although it is relatively easy to put up this "façade of functioning", at the same time everyone feels their own inadequacy in certain situations. When you look around at your colleagues in such a "conventional" working atmosphere, it can seem as if you are looking at a flawless marble façade. You can get the impression that only you have faults and limitations. This makes people feel inferior. They therefore try all the harder to hide their shortcomings. People try to outdo each other. This promotes a pecking order and an internalisation of difficulties - which in the long run can lead to violent conflicts or an icy group atmosphere.
It is therefore part of the idea of TCI to consciously make one's own feelings of inadequacy and failure available (to an appropriate extent) and thus contribute to a human atmosphere. Of course, it is essential for the leader to talk about his or her own limits first. Surprisingly, one gains the respect of the team if one is open about one's own limits. It comes across as human and sovereign at the same time. It is called "second-order sovereignty". Of course, this respect only arises if one is fundamentally able and willing to fulfil one's tasks.
Attachments
Instructions
The thematic fields
In the team MOT, team members and management discuss the following topics:
- I
- How am I feeling right now?
- Where have I reached my limits at work recently?
- Where did it feel like failure?
- We
- What is the atmosphere like for me here in the team?
- People leadership of the team: How does the team leader ensure a good working atmosphere in the team? ("good shepherd")
- Topic
- How am I doing at work?
- Professional leadership of the team: How does the team leader support the colleagues? ("Conductor")
- Globe
- What happens outside the workplace that prevents me from being here with full attention?
Setting
- The team sits in a circle of chairs without a table
- There is a flipchart with pens in the middle
- There is a flipchart behind the facilitator
Procedure
- The facilitator introduces or reminds the participants of the team MOT (objectives, background, principle).
- The facilitator writes down the four topics and the corresponding questions on a flipchart as well as the three work phases: "Warm-up/leader", " Topsy-turvy", "What needs to be agreed? If the physical condition of the facilitator allows, he/she should write on the flipchart while sitting/kneeling on the floor. This signals to the participants: "Now we are talking at eye level from person to person. We all have faults and shortcomings and are sometimes weird. That's normal." This intervention also includes the facilitator drawing the leader and the horse in a rather shirt-sleeved, imperfect way - even if he could draw well:
- The facilitator states the time frame
- The facilitator introduces the warm-up round:
- "We now come to the first round, the warmers. The warmers help us to establish a good discussion atmosphere by saying something about all the questions on the flipchart. It is not enough for them to say: 'All is well! Rather, they should say a few sentences about each point. They are welcome to name things that are going well. Above all, however, it is important that the difficulties are also expressed as the respective supporter sees them or experiences them internally... "
- "Who would like to start as an warmer today?"
- After the first warmer has spoken: "Which direction do you want to go? You decide!"
- Facilitator counts in the direction mentioned (every second, third or fourth person goes on as a warmer, depending on the size of the group): "OK, then you are the next warmer."
- Until the warm-up task has gone around once.
- The facilitator introduces "Topsy-Turvy":
- "Thank you very much Katrin, Franz and Heike for being our candidates today! Now we are entering the 'topsy-turvy' phase. Now everyone can say something. You can react to what has been said before, add to it, confirm it, contradict it. But you can also talk about completely different things that have not yet been mentioned. In any case, when you speak now, you should not say something about all the points mentioned here on the flipchart. Rather, you can highlight the topics that are particularly important to you."
- In this round, the participants are taken in the order in which they report. This may cause the discussion to jump thematically. Participants who want to respond to what has just been said are referred to the order in which they reported.
- If there are only about 20-30 minutes left and there is no sign of an end to the contributions, the moderator should work towards a gradual closing of this round:
"Looking at the clock, we are now slowly coming to the end of 'Topsy-Turvy'. Does anyone have anything important to say?" - Facilitator introduces "What to do":
- "OK, then I would like to end 'Topsy-Turvy' now. Let's see what we want to agree with each other now. I have written down the following points on which we seem to need agreement:
- Clarification of the question of how our coffee fund will be managed in future.
- Organisation of the joint outing
- Card for the birth of Anna's child
- Talking to the customer service about more regular maintenance of the photocopier. - Have I missed something? Why do we need another agreement?
- The facilitator moderates the conversation about the listed questions and writes down the agreements on the flipchart (or someone else writes them down).
- The facilitator closes the session on time at the agreed time. If points remain open, it is agreed beforehand who will talk about them with whom and when.
Background
The methodological basis is theme-centred interaction according to Ruth Cohn. "Team MOT" approach by Tilman Metzger. Foto by Tilman Metzger.
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