A process break allows a team or group, time out to review how they are working together to achieve the task as well as working directly on the task. Use it with teams who need to communicate more openly, and invoke it when something seems to be getting in the way of the task, either something unspoken or some eruption of apparently inapposite emotion. The process break gives teams permission to speak about and make use of emotional and non-conscious information (see ‘Communication’ in Chapter 3), and so is a useful device in training them to do so. If necessary, stress that it is in the service of the task. As teams develop more robust communication, the process break more rarely needs to be invoked. In a team that has learned to value fuller feedback as part of its collaboration on shared tasks, it becomes automatic to share thoughts and feelings in the course of the work, including sharing questions and disagreement in a robust way. With task-focused groups, simple conceptual frameworks can spell out the ‘how’ (what is involved in collaborating effectively), or can underline its importance. The box shows one simple but flexible collaboration framework with many uses. It sets out desirable collaborative behaviour with two levels of ‘how’, task-directed and team-maintenance-directed, when engaged in a group discussion task. Some points are directly task-directed, and some help the task by improving group process. This distinction in itself may be news to some clients.

This tool can be used in a variety of ways to educate task-oriented groups, highlighting the value of better-quality interactions, and of attending to personal feelings, in making progress on the task. Use it early in the coaching relationship to set parameters. It can be used as a tool within process breaks. It can be shared with a group at the start of a session, and used for a group evaluation towards the end. Using the simple form overleaf, you can set up a ‘fishbowl’ exercise with part of the group participating in the discussion and part observing, with a plenary discussion to improve understanding of the behaviours. You can use it over several sessions to focus on improving collaboration skills.