Working Together
1|Working Together
A one-day workshop for Woodcraft Folk leaders
to go fast,
go alone.
to go far,
go together.’
african proverb
Working Together |2
Rationale
How can group leaders, helpers and other adult members in
the Woodcraft Folk work together in a more effective way? We
are very good at helping children to learn the skills of cooperation but sometimes struggle to reflect these in the
interactions between adults in the movement. This workshop
will cover both the attitudes and the skills needed to work
together not only co-operatively but also collaboratively.
What’s the difference? Well, co-operative groups, particularly
in learning situations, are often defined as ones where tasks
are divided up and everybody gets on with there own bits of
the work then comes back with their piece of the jigsaw to
contribute to the whole. It can be a relatively passive process
of ‘not getting in someone else’s way’ or obstructing their
efforts. Collaboration, on the other hand, literally means to
work alongside someone – to do the work together. It implies
a more active involvement and a strong wish to help each
other succeed.
The fundamental difference between collaboration and cooperation is the level of formality in the relationships between
agencies or stakeholders. Collaboration involves agencies
3|Working Together
(people) coming together and fundamentally changing their
individual approaches to a goal to allow for the sharing of
resources and responsibilities. Cooperation is an informal
arrangement in which the individual agencies or stakeholders
maintain their separate mandates and responsibilities, but do
some work together to meet a common goal.
So whilst we can operate on the basis of co-operation
between our members, we can achieve far more and far
better results if we can inculcate collaborative attitudes.
Aims
The aims of the workshop are to:
 Raise awareness of the contextual, cultural, and structural issues that must be addressed in order to maximise participation,
inclusion, and equity in collective decision making processes.
 Equip participants with the awareness and skills to address these issues.
 Promote positive, democratic, and inclusive approaches to collective decision making within the organisation.
Learning outcomes
After attending the workshop participants will be able to:
 Describe, giving examples, a range of structural, contextual, and cultural barriers and impediments to effective and inclusive
group decision-making processes.
 Explain at least five techniques to improve collective decision-making processes.
 Analyse a collective decision making scenario, identifying inherent structural and cultural issues, and suggesting ways in
which these could be overcome.
 Identify personal characteristics (in self and others) which contribute positively and negatively to the collective decision
making process.
 Produce a short personal action plan to improve their own effectiveness in collective decision making processes.
Working Together |4
Workshop agenda
10:00
Session 1
11:00
break
11:15
Session 2
12:15
break
12:30
Session 3
13:00
lunch
13:45
Session 3
continued
14:15
Session 4
Effective communication
15:15
break
15:30
Session 5
Collaborative attitudes and embracing diversity
16:30
Session6
Personal action planning and evaluation
17:00
depart.
5|Working Together
Introduction and scene setting
Creating a collaborative context
Creating collaborative structures
Session 1 – Introduction and scene setting
Time
Content
Activity
5
1
Introductions and
housekeeping
Allocate people to groups of 4.
10
2
Icebreaker/warm up
If this is the answer what was the question?
Answer: A banana
Resources
Evaluation
Drawing of a
banana on
flip chart
How did
people feel
about having
to strictly take
turns?
PPT with
aims and
learning
outcomes
Check
understanding.
Any
questions?
Rally Robin
Participants split into pairs and take it in turns
to suggest possible questions (sensible or
crazy!) with the answer: A banana
After 5 or 6 minutes, invite each person to
share their favourite question.
10
3
Overview of the workshop
Facilitator explains the aim and learning
outcomes, including the ‘co-operative learning’
methodology which will hopefully also develop
awareness of ways of ensuring everyone
shares in producing successful outcomes for
the whole group.
Intro will also cover the concept of
‘collaboration’ as distinct from co-operation,
Working Together |6
Time
Content
Activity
Resources
and the key ingredients of successful
collaboration.
30
4
Bridge Building
Split participants into groups of five or six. Two Newspaper,
people should not be in the groups, but play the masking tape,
role of observers.
oranges.
Each group gets material (paper and tape)
which they will use to build a bridge. The bridge
needs to be strong enough to hold three
oranges! They have 15 minutes
The observers should take note of the
following:
 How do the groups work together?
 Who takes which roles (leader, builder,
giving ideas...)?
 Did they ‘co-operate’ successfully?
Debriefing:
First ask the participants to reflect on their
experienced during the activity:
 Were you satisfied with the work in your
group?
 What role did you take?
 Were you happy in this role?
 How were decisions made?
7|Working Together
PPT slide
with
debriefing
questions
Instruction
cards for
observers
Evaluation
Time
Content
Activity
Resources
Evaluation
Next, ask the observers to comment on their
observations.
Finally encourage a general discussion around
the following points:
 What would be a co-operative way to
take decisions?
 What roles and responsibilities needed
to be divided to accomplish the task?
 How can you find out about skills in the
group?
 How can you set rules for their group?
Take notes on a flip chart sheet of the points
arising from this discussion.
5
5
Summary of session
“We’ve already identified lots of things which
can go wrong in collective decision making
processes, and the task we have just
undertaken was quite trivial. During the rest of
the day we are going to explore how these, and
other, issues can be avoided or overcome.”
Working Together |8
Session 2 – Creating a collaborative context
Time
Content
Activity
Resources
5
6
Warm-up
Sing: “Who are these Folk?”
Songsheets,
guitar
5
7
Establishing
common,
understood, starting
points for
collaboration
We tend to make big assumptions that others share
the same motivations and interests as ourselves – that
we are all ‘singing from the same songbook’ – as
Woodcraft Folk members. We rarely bother to explore
the validity of these assumptions in any detail.
PPT slide:
10
8
Common starting
points (1)
Three part interview
Each group to assign the numbers 1 to 4 to its
members.
In pairs (within the groups) A will interview B for 2
minutes on the subject: “Why are you involved in the
Woodcraft Folk?” (for general groups) or “What do you
think is the most important aspect of the Woodcraft
9|Working Together
Evaluation
Creating a
collaborative context:
Agreeing common,
understood starting
points; clearly defined
objectives (which are
suitable for
collaboration); realistic
expectations; and
removing inappropriate
external pressures
PPT slide with
question:
Why are you
involved in the
Woodcraft Folk?
Or
What do you
think is the most
important aspect
Is numbered
person
prepared to
feedback?
Has each
group agreed
on a
‘surprising
thing’ to
feedback?
Time
Content
Activity
Resources
Folk’s work?” (General Council members/National
committee members/officers).
of the Woodcraft
Folk’s work?
Evaluation
Swap – B interview A.
Report back to the group of 4.
Each group should agree on the most surprising thing
to emerge from the interviews.
Facilitator chooses a random number between 1 and 4
and the person with this number reports back to the
whole group.
5
9
Common starting
points (2)
Recorded Rally Robin
Paper and pens
In pairs, taking turns, write down things we can do to
ensure that we all understand each others starting
points.
Lists
produced
Stick your list on the wall for others to review in the
break.
10
10
Clearly defining
objectives
PPT slide:
Educationalists and psychologists have, over the last
40 years, developed theories about the value of the
ability or tendency to set goals as a factor in learning
success.
SMART goals:
Specific: State exactly
what you want to
accomplish (Who,
What, Where, Why)
Measurable: How will
you demonstrate and
evaluate the extent to
Feedback of
specific
goals
developed.
W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r | 10
Time
Content
Activity
Resources
It is clear that the same applies to group success and
good collaboration relies heavily on clearly defined
goals and objectives.
which the goal has
been met?
SMART targets help avoid ‘mission drift’ which can
lead to conflict and people feeling excluded.
Ask if anyone in the group is familiar with SMART
goals and what context they have used them in.
Explain the acronym with the help of the powerpoint
slide.
Divide the group into pairs.
Ask each pair to choose one of the following vague
goals and turn it into a SMART goal:


Vague: Get in shape for the summer.
Vague: Own a home.




10
11
SMART
consequences
11 | W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r
Possible answers:
Specific: Join a hot yoga studio and practice 4 times a
week over the next 3 months.
Specific: Put 50% of income into savings account for
the next 12 months and talk to a mortgage broker.
Achievable: Based on
the present restrictions
such as your schedule,
workload, and
knowledge, do you
believe you can attain
the objective you set? If
not, then set a different
goal, one that is
attainable for you in the
present.
Realistic: a goal must
represent an objective
toward which you are
both willing and able to
work. A goal can be
both high and realistic;
you are the only one
who can decide just
how high your goal
should be.
Timely: One or more
target dates, the ‘by
when’ to guide your
goal to completion
(including deadlines,
dates, and frequency).
Now give out the SMART goal handouts. Ask each pair Smart goal
to discuss and agree on a general objective or goals
handouts
for a Woodcraft Folk District (or General Council).
Evaluation
Time
Content
Activity
Resources
They should write the goal at the top of the sheet and
then pass it clockwise to the next pair who will make
the goal ‘Specific’. Repeat until the sheets have been
completed.
Pens
Evaluation
Pass the sheets back to the original owners of the
objective. They should review the re-formulated goal.
Is it SMARTer than the original?
10
12
Realistic
expectations
In considering whether our SMART objectives are
achievable we should have thought about whether we
have the resources, skills, and experience to
accomplish them. As individuals we are not, however,
always realistic in our expectations of ourselves or
others.
Pair share
Tell your partner about something you have been
involved in which did not ‘live up to expectations’. What
do you think were the reasons for this? Was it because
of:





Lack of clarity about the task
Timescale – (too long or too short)
Lack of commitment from people involved
External pressures
Inadequate resources
PPT slide:
Realistic
expectations:
Lack of clarity about the
task
Timescale – (too long
or too short)
Lack of commitment
from people involved
Feedback
External pressures
Inadequate resources
Lack of appropriate
skills
W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r | 12
Time
Content
Activity

Resources
Evaluation
Lack of appropriate skills
Review the SMART target you developed in the last
exercise and identify any potentially unrealistic
expectations.
Make suggestions about what can be done to mitigate
these.
If there is sufficient time, allow all pairs to feedback. If
not, just select one or two.
5
13
Inappropriate
external pressures
What sort of things can interfere with the context for
good collaboration? How can we plan to avoid of
reduce these?
External
pressures
recording sheet
Rally Robin
Each partner takes it in turn to suggest an ‘external
pressure’. Their partner must respond with a
suggestion for what could be done about this.
Record these on the worksheet and post these on the
wall for others to read in the break.
13 | W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r
Lists on
worsksheets
Session 3a – Creating collaborative structures
Time
5
14
Content
Activity
Resources
Evaluation
Energizer
Play 4-Up.
none
Participants
contributions
to the
discussion
Debrief the game with a short discussion about
how it relates to the idea of creating a collaborative
context.
Emphasise that the game demonstrates the cooperative value of self-responsibility which is
closely linked to the concept of accountability. It
requires every to participate, to concentrate on
what is happening, and to ensure that their actions
fit closely with those of other people in order to
achieve the objective.
W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r | 14
Time
15
15
Content
Activity
Resources
Collaborative
structures
Play the Results Driven Structure game:
Lego or building bricks.
Half of the group is sightless. (Ask them close their
eyes or provide blindfolds). The sighted half is
without speech but each person can make a
unique noise (e.g. one person may snap their
fingers, another may clap, another may thump
their cheek, another may whistle, etc.). A structure
is built quickly by the facilitator in the middle of the
room. The speechless members may study it for
up to one minute and then the facilitator will
disassemble the structure and place the pieces
around the room. The sightless team members
may touch the building materials and may speak.
The speechless team members may see and
make noises, but may not touch the sightless
persons nor the building materials. The team is to
reassemble the structure as it was originally built
by the facilitator.
Blindfolds
Discuss:



15 | W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r
What was this like in your
life/job/organization?
How did it feel to be without sight/speech?
How did the team reach the solution?
Debriefing questions on
PPT slide:




What was this like in
your
life/job/organization?
How did it feel to be
without
sight/speech?
How did the team
reach the solution?
Who took the lead
and what did they do
that was most
effective?
Evaluation
Time
Content
Activity

Resources
Evaluation
Who took the lead and what did they do that
was most effective?
A results-driven structure means that group
norms are designed with the group's goal in mind.
The team process is matched to the overall logical
demands of the work. The second most important
factor after a clear, unifying goal, is that the
structure of the ‘team’ must be appropriate to
achieving the desired results.
Some of the components of a results-driven
structure are:




10
16
Information
Clear roles and responsibilities
Effective communication
Monitoring performance and providing
feedback
Fact-based judgements
Rally Robin
Post-it notes
With a partner, think of as many ways as possible
for gathering the necessary information to make
good decisions.
pens
Write each one of a post-it note and stick these up
on the wall for others to review during the lunch
break
W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r | 16
17 | W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r
Session 3b – Creating collaborative structures
Time
15
17
Content
Activity
Resources
Evaluation
Roles and
accountabilities
Most of you who are in work will have a job description
which sets out what you are responsible for, what you
are expected to achieve, who you are accountable to.
But we are rarely as clear about defining responsibilities
in our voluntary work. This can lead to ambiguity about
roles.
Function cards:
Quality of
role
descriptions
In pairs, write a role description for the role on the card
you are given.
10
18
Time management
Think back to the bridge building activity at the start of
the day. Do you think your group used the time you had
effectively? With the benefit of hindsight, allocate time
to each of the following tasks:






District treasurer
National Council
member
Regional committee
chair
Elfin Group leader
Regional DF
committee rep
KP
Worksheet for
time allocation
Finding out what skills people in the team have
Agreeing on a shared understanding of the
problem
Sharing ideas on how to solve it
Evaluating the ideas and reaching agreement on
the best one to use.
Allocating tasks to members of the group
Constructing the bridge
W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r | 18
Session 4 – Effective communication
Time
15
19
Content
Activity
Resources
Dialogue or debate
There is a clear difference between collaborative and
competitive dialogue (Copeland, 2005). While
competitive dialogue has a place in our world – we all
need to be persuasive at times – collaborative dialogue is
often more productive. People engaged in collaborative
dialogue see one another as learning partners instead of
opponents– members of the same team exploring topics
together. They value one another’s contributions even
when they disagree.
Projector, laptop
and speakers to
play video.
Worksheet,
pens
In a 2011 debate sponsored by CNN, Mitt Romney and
Rick Perry – two presidential candidates – got into an
argument with one another about what America should
do about immigrants who come to our country illegally.
Watch their exchange (http://bit.ly/romneyperrycnn).
While watching, check off each of the terms in the
checklist in the workbook (p??) that accurately describes
the candidates’ conversation behaviors.
With a partner, discuss the ‘reflection questions’ on the
worksheet
5
20
Listening skills (1)
19 | W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r
Good listeners
Worksheet,
Ask all members of the group to write down the names of
three people they consider to be good listeners. Then
pens
Evaluation
Time
Content
Activity
Resources
Evaluation
ask the group if anyone has written down the name of a
person they don’t like. They very rarely do.
Next, ask if they either like, love or respect the three
people they have named. The answer is usually yes.
Follow this by asking them what they think they have to
do, to be liked, loved or respected by others. They see
the point that they need to be good listeners.
10
21
Listening skills (2)
Give the group a topic to discuss. At various points the
None
trainer says “stop”, at which point the next delegate in line
must continue the previous delegate’s sentence, starting
with their last few words.
Once the group gets the hang of this, instead of following
the pattern of delegate one to two to three to four etc, the
trainer names who has to continue the next part of the
statement. This forces all delegates to listen closely to
what everyone is saying instead of just the person before
them.
10
22
Listening skills (3)
Witness statement
Witness
Read out a witness statement from a realistic but fictitious statement –
Bryan Adams
crime, in the role of witness rather than police officer.
At the end, ask the group who tuned into the facts (i.e
remembered the details), who picked up on the feelings
W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r | 20
Time
Content
Activity
Resources
(e.g distress, anger, anxiety etc) and who focused on
intent (what was unsaid, motives etc).
The exercise shows that many of us have a preferred
“frequency” that we listen on.
In pairs, discuss what you would say to or ask the
witness if they were interviewing them after the crime.
Then point out whether this is a fact, feeling or intent
comment/question.
The aim is to demonstrate that listening is not just about
active listening and recall, but about getting the whole
message.
15
23
Seeing things
differently
One important aspect of effective communication is the
recognition that we don’t have all the answers, can learn
from others. Being open to changing our views revising
our thinking is critical.
Zoom
Hand out one picture to each participant, making sure a
continuous sequence is being used. Explain that they can
only look at their own pictures and must keep the picture
hidden from others. Each picture contains important
information that will help them solve the problem of
putting them into order. The ultimate goal is for the group
to place the pictures in sequential order without looking at
one another’s pictures. The participants can talk to each.
21 | W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r
Zoom cards
Evaluation
Session 5 – Collaborative attitudes and embracing diversity
Time
5
24
Content
Activity
Resources
Energizer
Zigzag circle
None
Evaluation
Everyone stands in a circle and tightly holds
hands. Every second person “falls” backwards while the
other players “fall” forwards. Then, players switch
directions. The feet remain in a standing position and
don’t move. Goal: Trust that the decision works.
10
25
Trust and respect
Trust comes from people knowing that you do what you
say you will do, and that if you say you can do
something you can do it.
Worksheet to
make notes
Quality of
examples
Respect comes from people observing your behaviour
and seeing that you don’t always compromise on your
personal values, the things that you believe in. If you
believe in something, you are not afraid to say what you
believe in, and you act in ways that show what you
believe in.
Rally Robin: With a partner, share examples of
behaviour which has led you to trust or respect
someone.
Chose one example of each for your pair to share with
the whole group.
W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r | 22
Time
10
26
Content
Activity
Resources
Evaluation
Shared leadership
In a group of 4, look at the ‘Geese’ handout.
Geese handout.
Feedback
Agree on 3 lessons about leadership which can be learnt
from the behaviour of the geese.
Share these lessons with the whole group.
10
27
Conflict resolution(1)
Pretending that conflicts never arise within teams and
Conflict
amongst groups of people working together is shortresolution styles
sighted. Of course, the potential for conflict can be
handout
greatly reduced by having all the key principles of good
collaborative team-work in place: a common goal,
results-driven structure, shared leadership, enough time
and information etc. But there will still be times when the
group has to deal with conflict.
With a partner, look at the grid of ‘Conflict resolution
styles’ on p.?? of the workbook. Decide where you think
your own position in the grid would be, and discuss with
your partner what characteristics you have that made
you choose that position. For example, you might have
decided you are a teddy bear because you are
unassertive and play down your rights.
23 | W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r
Time
5
28
Content
Activity
Resources
Evaluation
Conflict resolution
(2)
In groups of 4, put the Group Conflict Resolution
Strategy cards into the correct order.
Group Conflict
Resolution
Strategy cards
Ability to
explain
chosen
order
2 Donkeys
handout
Ideas
shared in
feedback
Embracing
diversity
worksheet
Ideas
shared in
feedback
Feedback the order to the whole group.
10
29
Conflict resolution
(3)
Look at the 2 Donkeys cartoon on p?? of the workbook.
In pairs, work out a strategy – a series of actions you
would take – to help the donkeys get fed more quickly.
In your group of 4, compare the strategies both pairs
have come up with. Are there similarities? What are the
differences? What are the pros and cons of each
strategy?
As a group of 4, agree on the best strategy – you can
combine elements from both if you want to.
Share the strategies each group have come up with.
30
25
Embracing diversity
We claim to respect diversity and empower everyone to
make a contribution. But it is easy for less ‘powerful’
voices not to be heard.
Rally Robin
In pairs, make a list of techniques for ensuring that
everyone’s ideas and opinions are elicited, encourage,
and welcomed.
W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r | 24
Time
Content
Activity
Feed back your favourite 2 ideas to the rest of the group.
25 | W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r
Resources
Evaluation
Session 6 – Personal action planning and evaluation
Time
Content
Activity
Resources
10
31
Personal Action
Plans
Complete the worksheet. This is entirely private and
confidential – you don’t have to share it with anyone –
so try to be honest with yourself, and realistic too.
Worksheet.
10
32
Parting messages
Write your name at the top of the ‘Parting Messages’
form.
Parting
messages forms
Evaluation
Pass the form to the person on your left within your team
of four.
Each person writes a positive message to the person
whose form they have.
Pass the form on around the team until it reaches its
original sender.
10
33
Evaluation
Dartboard evaluations
Sticky dots
Complete Co-operative College evaluation forms.
Dartboards
Outputs of
evaluation
exercises
W o r k i n g T o g e t h e r | 26