Reviewed Piece of SF work: Fiona Turner

Solution Focused Workshops for Small Teams

Our Team Workshops to date have had an immediate impact. A sense of hope and positivity can be felt amongst the team (Client), that wasn’t there before the workshops. The team have focused on moving forward with their sights set on solutions not problems. Almost as soon as we began the Team Workshops things began to noticeably change. Through individuals implementing small actions the little changes impacted on others causing more interactions in between team members resulting in greater changes and a greater feeling of positivity as a result. We have gone from two separate small teams working silently at our own work stations, to a group of connected colleagues who discuss, engage and meet regularly most mornings to discuss work priorities. Most pleasing is that all the suggestions for changing supporting structures for working more effectively, have come from the team themselves (The Client). For a full description of this project, you can read Fiona’s article in our InterAction Journal here.

Client Quotes:

“Fiona used effective processes to give all members of the team a voice. Affirmation strategies used in the process enabled team members to self-reflect and receive affirmation of their value to the team.”

Candidate’s Summary:

Focussing on what is already present in this case, (in the team), isn’t complicated and provides a useful launching pad for change. Within each workshop was an opportunity to focus on what was working even if it was something minor. This created momentum and made it easier for individuals not to have to feel like they had to search for what to put into action but rather make use of what good things were already in place.

I realised the need to take time on establishing The Platform for change. Ample time was given to exploring it. This was the opportunity to turn around any talk about ongoing, long held problems of the team and past failures, towards a solution, beginning our quest for what would work. Particularly useful was the exploration in pairs of who would benefit if we did become an effective team.

Reviewers Summary:

We (Nick Burnett and Annette Gray) were very impressed with the Solution Focused project that Fiona presented. It was simple, short and achieved the aim of helping the teams work better together and is still occurring! Her understanding and application of the SF clues was very comprehensive. The structure of the intervention was well thought through and responsive to what occurred during the workshops with workshop participants. We were very impressed with the short nature of the intervention (3 x 1.5 hr workshops requiring around 4.5 hours preparation time) and the lasting impact it has had on the team. The other outcome is that the team wants more workshops to help maintain the ability to work together.

• Lead Reviewer: Annette Gray
• Second Reviewer: Nick Burnett

About The Candidate:

Fiona Turner is working in education at Catholic Education Melbourne on a large-scale project.

As Product Owner, eLearn, Fiona works with teams delivering enterprise technologies to schools in Victoria. Her role involves liaising with school personnel and project teams to provide contemporary learning technologies for teachers to improve student learning.

Previously, Fiona had worked as a curriculum coordinator and teacher in primary schools in Melbourne. Fiona is an accredited coach with Growth Coaching International and has a certificate in Solution Focus Coaching.