John C. Maxwell - The 5 Levels of Leadership Lunch & Learn

ISBN: 9781483532752

How to Use this Resource

Purpose

Thank you for your desire to guide people in their personal leadership growth. As a facilitator of a weekly Lunch & Learn group, you will find great satisfaction in walking with others as you grow together. John Maxwell asserts that personal and organizational effectiveness is proportionate to the strength of leadership. In order to become better leaders, each of us must personally grow as leaders and, as a result, we help others to follow suit.

This Facilitator Guide is designed to help you steer the process, encourage discussion, and model effective leadership to your group. Whether you are new to facilitation or have extensive experience, it is important that you take time to read through this guide before beginning your weekly Lunch & Learn group.

There are two benefits from reading through this facilitator guide. First, you will see that a lot of the preparation has been done for you, and it will challenge you to think of other creative ways to facilitate the group. Second, if you decide to let others facilitate, which is strongly recommended, they can read the guide themselves to prepare for upcoming Lunch & Learn sessions.

Ultimately, Lunch & Learn groups are a great method for encouraging personal development and getting to know people in a setting you would not normally experience together.

Creating an Environment with Values, Goals, and Expectations

When you start your Lunch & Learn group, it is important that you create an environment built with values, goals, and expectations. People need to know what they are committing to, and they want to feel like they can contribute to the formation of the group. This will create a sense of ownership. As you begin to meet, its your responsibility as facilitator to outline expectations and form some of the framework for the group. From there, allow other members to make their contributions as well. Here are some of the core values, goals, and expectations you can include in your initial meeting before diving into the content.

Values

Relationship As the group meets, some great relationships will begin to be built. Challenge the group to realize that this is an opportunity to build and invest in one another during the length of the group, an opportunity they may not have otherwise had.

Respect During the time together, there will be great conversations and different points of view. This is okay and part of what creates a healthy dialogue. Every member of the group should feel that their input is respected and valued.

Value There will be different personalities in the group. Every person should be allowed to express their opinions and know it is place where they can do so. They should trust that nothing shared within the confines of the group will be met with hostility or aggression.

Safe group What is said in the group should stay in the group. Most organizations are forbidden by law to have employees promise confidentiality, but the group should commit to keeping its environment a safe place for discussion.

Other values Ask the group members if there any other values they would like to add to make the group their own.

Goals

Explore and integrate the content Each person should make a commitment to preparing for the group each week in an effort to become a better leader.

Ready for the discussion This is not a class, so it is vital that each person contribute, as the facilitators role is just to bring structure to the communicationnot to teach. The facilitator will at times ask probing questions, but group members are encouraged to ask their own questions as well.

Other goals Ask the group members if there are any other goals they would like to add to make the group their own.

Expectations

Commitment Each group member should make a commitment to the group and to themselves that they will actively participate in the group, be on time, come prepared, and engage in the discussion.

Time Decide on a consistent time and place to meet each week that will allow you to have a great discussion and eat within an hour.

Amount of Material to Cover Calculate how many weeks you will spend on this book and cover the appropriate number of chapters per week in order to finish the book. (Note: The Facilitator Guide builds out each chapter as a facilitation unit, but it is common that you will need to cover more than one chapter a week. Combine materials according to the number of weeks you have to cover the material.)

Communication Ask group members to e-mail you if they plan to be absent at any time so you can plan appropriately.

Facilitation We recommend that you give everyone a chance to facilitate, but you know the group best and can decide what might work well for your particular group.

Other expectations Ask the group if there any other expectations they would like to add to make the group their own.

Concluding Value

As you wrap up your discussion about values, goals, and expectations, it is extremely important to emphasize that the Lunch & Learn group is not a session for complaining. Instead, the sessions are to objectively talk about the subjects and how one can apply the subjects into ones life or team. By directing the discussion to be constructive and positive, it will help members focus on changing their immediate spheres of influence. The Lunch & Learn group is not a group to vent about people or problems. Yes, there will be discussions about the workplace and implementing the ideas into ones life, but everyone must be mindful to keep these conversations at an objective level instead of an emotional one. True leadership confronts issues and does not foster the growth of division and strife, so at times you will need to gently redirect the group to keep conversations from spiraling downward.

Facilitator Responsibilities

Lunch & Learn groups need some administration work for them to be successful. The facilitator should be responsible in the following areas:

Recruit people for the group if necessary.

Define with group members the structure and formation of the group in terms of values, goals, and expectations.

Be prepared to lead members through the agreed upon amount of material each week. Also, prepare your facilitation materials prior to the group meeting each week.

Coordinate a consistent time and place to meet. You will also need to communicate with the group from time to time for administrative reasons.

E-mailing the questions to group members prior to the Lunch & Learn session may help with group discussion.

Motivate group members toward self-examination, reflection, and action planning with respect to the topics.

If necessary, provide feedback on the Lunch & Learn group to other leaders within your organization.

Facilitation Tips

Here are several practices that may help your Lunch & Learn group.

Tips for good questions:

Ask open-ended questions, not those that can be answered with a simple, one-word answer.

Ask questions that evoke feelings, thoughts, and insights.