Identifying Dysfunction – The First Step
By Michael Wilkinson, Managing Director &, CEO
Conventional wisdom tells us that the very first step to solving a problem is to identify it. Do you know how to identify the many types of dysfunction that can occur in a meeting? Did you know that arriving late, or leaving early, is a sign of dysfunction that can lead to an even greater disruption of the meeting?
As the degree of the dysfunction increases, so does the severity of the disruption. For example, the early forms of dysfunction, such as dropping out and doing other work in the session, might not be that obvious. The middle forms, such as audible signs of displeasure and negative physical reactions, might be a bit irritating, but not completely disruptive. However in the later forms, such as verbal and physical attacks, the disruption is severe.
We often display dysfunctional behavior on a curve with increasing intensity.
The early forms of dysfunctional behavior can include such behaviors such as…
- Arriving late, leaving early
- Silence, lack of participation
- Folded arms, facing the door or window
The middle forms include :
- Side conversations
- Doing other work in the session
- Negative physical reactions to the discussion
- Audible sighs of displeasure
While the more intense forms include :
- Negative comments about a participant
- Verbal attack directed at a participant
- Leaving the room in disgust
- All the way up to: Physically attacking some
As the degree of the dysfunction goes up, so does the severity of the disruption, AND so should the intensity of your intervention. Addressing dysfunctions such as silence or side conversations is relatively easy. Handling the middle forms can be a bit more difficult. And as you can image dealing with the later forms of dysfunction requires much heavier interventions.
The good news is that people don't walk into a room, sit down, and immediately start going at each other's throats. What usually happens is that there is an escalation period in which people get increasingly irritated, increasingly stressed, increasingly inpatient, and more willing to allow their emotions to peek. They move up the dysfunction curve.
Therefore, as facilitators we must understand the nature of dysfunctional behavior and have tools for preventing it, detecting it and resolving it. Let’s start by defining what dysfunctional behavior is and examining how it works.
Dysfunctional behavior is any activity by a participant which is consciously or unconsciously a substitution for expressing displeasure with the session content, the facilitation process or outside factors. Dysfunctional behavior is a symptom, not a root cause.
This definition has three important implications.
- Behavior is dysfunctional not people. A person in one meeting may be actively and cooperatively participating; but in the next meeting the behavior may turn dysfunctional. In fact, the transition from functional to dysfunctional can occur in the same meeting, multiple times!
- The dysfunctional behavior may be conscious or unconscious. Often times, people exhibiting signs of dysfunction are not aware of the behavior. Other times, the behavior is intentional in an effort to bring about change, disruption or some other action.
- The dysfunction is a substitution for expressing displeasure related to the session content, process or an outside factor. For example, the content issue might be that a comment was made with which the participant strongly disagrees. If the displeasure is with the process, it might be that the participant feels that the pace is too fast or that the process is getting in the way of getting to the real work. If the displeasure is an outside factor, it might be that there is an issue in the participant’s personal life that has him distracted and unable to focus on the session.
Smart Facilitators treat dysfunctional behavior as a sign that the participant is asking for help. In essence, the participant is waving a red flag and saying, "I don't like what is going on, but I am not ready to tell you yet.” Of course participants may not verbally tell you until their degree of dysfunction has gone through the roof! As you will see, it is very important for facilitators to recognize dysfunctional behavior and address it in its early forms, before it does go through the roof.
A facilitator must also recognize that the dysfunctional behavior is a symptom that is masking the real issue (the root cause). The root cause is typically a problem with the information that is coming out of the session (content), the way the session is being run (process) or some outside factor that has nothing to do with the session.
If a dysfunctional behavior is not addressed, it tends to get worse over time. One reason is that the participant's level of impatience increases with every additional minute that she feels you are wasting her time. Therefore, if you ignore the dysfunction and hope it goes away, you are probably setting yourself up for a much larger problem later on. Fortunately, the earlier forms of dysfunction are much easier to address than the later forms.
In our new MP3, The Secrets to Managing Dysfunction, we cover many tips and techniques to manage dysfunction in meetings and even stop it before it starts. You can also find more helpful articles on this subject on our website www.leadstrat.com/.
