ABSTRACT

This chapter is concerned with tackling, as it arises in the moment, behaviour that seems to disrupt the work of the group. But ‘problem’ behaviour offers teams golden opportunities for learning. We consider how to deal with anger, distress, domination, silence, and other challenges. The additional learning opportunities for a team are described fully in the section on dealing with anger, and can then be inferred for the remaining topics. This chapter contains:

When a highly task-focused team cannot collaborate

Process breaks and process skills

Developing skilful discussion

Dealing with overt anger in a group

Holding the group or team through conflict and struggle

When someone is crying or distressed

Dealing with people who are dominating

When someone is silent or over-quiet

When someone is playing ‘yes but’

When someone’s contribution is always boring

When someone cannot acknowledge anything but logic

When someone is so self-centred they cannot work on the task