Leading for Impact: Classroom facilitation guide
Project Lead Working Session #3
Revised July 2016
Session overview: 1 hr 00 – 1 h 15 mins total time:
Sections
Time
Cumulative time
Welcome
:05
:05
Presentation and group discussion on hitting
data obstacles
:25-30
:30-35
Working time with coaches
:30-40
1:00 – 1:15
Note on customization by cohort / city
Facilitators should adapt the balance of full group discussion, peer pairings (of two client teams with similar
projects and a coach), and 1-on-1 client-coach pairings based on group dynamics and number of Bridgespan
coaches. In general, the Project Lead Workshops begin with a group discussion, cover project-related content, and
then wrap-up with coaching time (either with one Bridgespan coach and one client or with a pair of client teams).
For the final exercise, most groups should find the final prompt helpful, but for teams that are not experiencing
data issues, coaches should use the time to engage on more critical project issues.
Slide
Title
Reminder:
This is the
3rd project
lead
working
session
Notes
Content
 Welcome
 Option to do a check-in question depending on the vibe of the
group (e.g., What is one thing about your project that’s gone really
well in the past month?)
 Calendar slide
Agenda slide
 In our first session, we discussed hypothesis trees and how to use
these to identify the data you need to test your most important
assumptions. During the March session, we discussed datagathering. Because data is rarely perfect, we discussed some ways
to get creative in pulling together the right amount of information
needed for decision-making.
 During this session, we’ll revisit some of the takeaways from
March’s training on turning data into insights, and then go over
some tips on how to turn those insights into an action plan.
 Clarify insights vs. facts: Before we go further, though, I’d like to
take a moment to get clear on what is meant by “insight”.
 If I say, “X is a really insightful team member”, what do I mean by
that? [Consider asking rhetorically or waiting for response,
depending on tempo of the group]. What I don’t mean is “X knows
a lot of information.” What I mean is, “X is good at making
meaning from the information – at seeing the patterns, the
themes…”
 Insights are your observations and interpretations of your data.
Rather than stating facts, take it a step further and think about
why you’re seeing a certain pattern or a particular set of results.
And in this project, what do those patterns tell you about what
actions you may want to take?
Project
completion
template
 Note that the focus today links closely to the content you’re
drafting for the Project Completion Template. You should have
already completed parts 1 & 2, your starting question and how
you’re answering it. <- This may not be true for all teams – edit
appropriately
 Later this afternoon, you’ll have time to focus on 3 (insights) and 4
(actions) with your full team. So think of this morning’s
conversations as laying the groundwork for the team time later
today.
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Quick recap
of data
collection
best
practices
 At our last session we discussed two guidelines for making the best
of limited data…1) Triangulate different data sources 2) Determine
what is good enough
Group
discussion:
Where are
you in your
data
collection?
 Before we dive into insights and potential actions, let’s hear from
some of you where you stand in your data collection. Does anyone
have a good example of how you’ve triangulated to get around
road blocks or gone for “good enough”?
 Note: Have a few examples in mind from current projects
 For each client example, ask: how did you start to make sense of
the data and what are you finding?
 Point out, if not already clear from client examples: You certainly
don’t have to wait until all of your data is collected to begin this
process. It’s good to start pulling out insights as you gather
information, and you can modify your data collection based on
what you’re learning.
When
making
sense of
data, anchor
in the
questions to
be
answered
 * Facilitator note on language* since the hypothesis tree
framing/terminology resonates with some teams but not with
others, vary the language used to cater to both groups.
 As data comes in, it can be overwhelming to think about what the
messages are because there can be so much in front of you. Step
back to remember what you were trying to do in the first place,
and think back to the hypothesis tree or question that you’re trying
to answer with this analysis.
 Then look for directional trends related to that question; themes
that seem to be surfacing
 Make room for the blips – the discrepancies – because you
sometimes may find an insight there (e.g., we’re seeing strong
program outcomes from every site except one…what’s happening
in the one?)
 But – to get back to any anchoring hypothesis you had- does the
data align to what you expected or not?
 Translate all of this in key takeaways – the “insights” that will
ultimately help you make decisions.
Group
exercises
can help
your team
develop key
takeaways
 You have a few tips and framing questions, but what’s the actual
process?
 As an individual, you might have an idea of what you think the key
insights or most important takeaways are. However, it is important
to get input from your team and larger organization, especially
those directly involved or affected by any action plan, early in the
process. Part of the goal of this exercise, and in creating an action
plan, is to make decisions and identify key priorities as a group.
 With that in mind you might try an approach like this “Sticky Note”
exercise (For explaining this, it works best to model out the activity
3
with actual stickies live – Tell group they can refer back to the
detailed slide if they want to try this with their team).
 Some teams here have already gone through this exercise. [Ask a
team to share their experience with this tactic or others]
 Depending on group’s level of engagement and previous
experience, consider asking, “Are there other effective methods of
synthesizing data or drawing out insights as a group that you’ve
seen used?”
Group
discussion
Beginning to
think about
key insights
 Option here to run this as an small group exercise also
Translate
key
takeaways
into actions
and goals
 Let’s say you have a set of insights that highlight the common
themes and key takeaways from your data. Now what? We need to
turn those takeaways into a set of actionable goals that you can
implement.
 What did your insights tell you about areas of improvement or
refinement in your organization? These may be relatively focused
if your research question was focused [Insert example]. Or it may
have broad implications for various aspects of the organization
[example?]
 What are the types of actions you might take in those areas?
Don’t be afraid to throw new, more creative ideas out there; it’s
much better to start with a list of potential actions and hone in on
the important ones later vs. constraining yourselves to a few
obvious steps
 Of course, you do then need to narrow yourself down to what’s
manageable to accomplish. To do that, you might consider two
criteria…
When
developing
action plan,
assess “doability”
 The first criteria is impact…what effect will this action step have in
helping to achieve my goals – maybe it’s very important, a
requirement. Or maybe it’s a lower priority, a nice-to-have but not
need-to-have
 The second criteria is resource/capacity requirements – what kind
of time, talent, money will be required to get this done…how big of
a change will it be?
 In deciding which ones to actively pursue, think about this list of
“do-ability” criteria.
 This is a great tool you might use as a team to brainstorm around
the list of actions you might pursue.
Exercise:
Think about
your action
plan
 Explain prompt
 Customize breakouts according to group dynamics in the cohort
 Some teams may benefit from coaching on other aspects of the
project besides this prompt
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Your role
 Later today, there will be an hour-long Project Working Session –
and we will ask you to lead your teams in completing sections 3
and 4 of the project completion template, focusing on the insights
and potential actions from your data collection. In addition to
sharing the tips, exercises, and suggestions from this training, feel
free to discuss some of the draft answers that you may have
developed today with your peers and Bridgespan coaches.
 We’re also talking about Change Management this afternoon – and
in the team time we’ll ask you to think about how you can
effectively manage any change that will result from your project
work
 In our next and final class session in June, your team will have a
chance to share updates on your projects to others, focusing on
the insights and action steps resulting from your project. You will
then draft a milestone plan that will help bring structure and
accountability to each of the potential actions and goal areas you
identified.
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