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Facilitation Ideas Tip Sheet

(for use of the enclosed Square Wheels One illustration)

Square Wheels illustrations have been shown to top executives world-wide as part of a process of problem identification, creativity training and team building. We have also used the concept for executive and organizational development, linking it to the critical need for shared Visions, Missions and Values.

The illustrations generate the ah ha's! about issues of change management and give people a clearer understanding of how change is best implemented and how to minimize resistance to new ideas. Square Wheels have also been used at the lowest levels of organizations as a way of communicating goals and expectations and as a tool for generating ideas for action learning and participative involvement. Reactions have been highly positive and uniformly supportive.

Square Wheels -- Setting the Stage for improvement

Square Wheels One is the core illustration of our Square Wheels cartoons. You can use it to discuss many common issues and opportunities and concepts including leadership, team support, systems, processes, round wheel new ideas, isolation, vision, goals, etc. People can link their perceived realities to these concepts, share their common basis of experience, and generate ideas for improvement.

This illustration can be used to brainstorm and discuss ideas and beliefs as well as illustrate how a diversity of opinion generates the best ideas and perspectives for improving the journey forward.

Suggestions for use: Organize your session into small groups of 4 to 6 people per table. Avoid lecture or "classroom style" facilitation where one person dominates the discussion . The best results occur when people discover key ideas through group discussions.

It has been our experience that you should not attempt to get closure on the ideas or implementation strategies in your first session; innovation and creativity take time to develop so let people play with the ideas first.

We introduce the illustration by saying, "We have recently discovered a concept that illustrates many of the ways most organizations really operate..." or something similar. Do not start with a statement such as "Here's how your department works" as this may put people on the defensive.

Allow the groups 5 minutes to "Identify as many of the key points of the illustration as you can." Let them discuss ideas, be actively involved and develop ownership. Then, ask people to share their thoughts. Use watercolor marker pens and write directly on a clear overlay on the transparency to capture ideas, circling and highlighting major ideasand key points of the illustration as they are mentioned.

After small group discussion, you might prompt learning with a series of questions:

How many of you identify with this cartoon? (Raise your hand and prompt them to raise theirs as a participative gesture.)
Who might be represented by the person at the front? (Leadership or people who pull ahead or look forward. Top Management. My boss.)
Who are the people at the rear of the wagon? (The people who support leadership. The people who push the organization ahead. Me. Us.)
What might be represented by the wagon itself? (The wagon could represent the organization, the structure or its purpose--what it was designed to do.)
What might the Square Wheels represent? (The old ways of doing things, the systems and procedures that don't work all that well, the ways we've always done things, etc.)
What might be represented by the rope at the front? (The tendency for leadership to be somewhat isolated from what is really happening to the wagon.)
What might be represented by the pushers' hands? (They are the only people who are "hands-on" the issues. They feel every thump and bump encountered.)
What might the Round Wheels represent? (Ideas from the organization, the ideas that already exist but aren't being used, the better way and so forth.)

I believe management tends to become somewhat isolated by the rope they use to pull and they are thus insulated from the reality of the journey forward. Most top managers generally don't have much direct contact with their wagon, unlike the wagon pushers who are hands-on and feel the "Thump, Thump" of the Square Wheels.

To stimulate ideas for improvement, use the framework that the Square Wheels do work, but not very smoothly and you can easily get your group discussing things in need of improvement in an objective way.

Generally, I would propose that you do not get into long discussions and long lists of wheels at this time but merely establish the language among the group. At a followup session, they can then discuss the Round Wheels.

Remember: Round Wheels are already in the wagon!

There are many ways to incorporate this illustration into your training. Other illustrations (over 300) in our various Square Wheels Toolkits can also enhance your training and organizational development. The engaging and humorous aspect of the illustrations generate active involvement and help change the language of performance, causing the learning process and awareness to grow. These illustrations have created humor and ah ha's! world-wide.

Performance Management Company retains all rights to the concept and illustrations and requires that the Square Wheels One illustration not be duplicated. Copyright and servicemark must be respected. Your organization will need prior written permission to use this illustration in any other form or format such as newsletters or other communications.

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