Team Building Facilitator Tips - Silence - the hammer in your toolbox

Recently I was facilitating a team of 15 participants - the group wanted to improve their team skills by creating a culture of empowerment. As I progressed through the training I saw that when I asked a question and asked the team to spend some 'time (typically 3-5 minutes) planning how to solve the team building activities - everything I've heard was silence. Then, after about 10 seconds their manager would jump in and tell the group what to do, assign roles and tasks delegated. During the break, I met with the manager and informed him that he was creating a team of Learned-helplessness. Whenever things got tough and the team was forced to decide, if you wait long enough to know the manager and he jumped and save the team struggling.

The manager said: "It's not my job to save them from fighting and to ensure that you understand what to expect from them?". I replied, "No, I said that this team does not assume responsibility for their results and that the production and morals have dipped. If you continue to give them the solution as part of the responsibility that is supposed to have? Will only continue to say - It 'was an idea that management knew it would never work - they have no idea how to work it out Let the fight when the team returns to work after a break with your self-restraint and let the work team solutions, when you feel the need to jump .. and take to drive. Stop-work listening sit-out the task "

He did it - the time has come when I asked the team to establish a goal for themselves. Silence - awkward silence for a good 5 minutes. I could see the sweat dripping off of the face manager, remained silent. More silence now 7 minutes - then one of the participants said: "What is our goal, what are we doing?" Then the dam broke! The team has struggled, had conflicts, discussed and agreed a time. The mood shifted from one of the lessons-powerlessness to empowerment. They not only achieved the goal that has improved by 2 seconds.

During the session processing activities - the team has talked about how they set the goal, achieved and improved their purpose, how they were surprised that it worked. The team met with their manager and I facilitated a plan for the team to start taking key decisions within their team.

Silence - just when you feel that you need to jump in and save the team, which is when you need to be a true leader and get away. The teams are responsible only if you plan to be responsible - to put the power which belongs in the hands of your teams...