3.1: Characteristics of Process Leadership

A good process leader notices group dynamics and takes action to improve them. That person notices who is speaking who is disengaged. They notice how the situation feels and they work to make the feelings better. They notice what is getting accomplished and where there are gaps in the work. They figure out how to fill those gaps. 

People stay in an organization when it feels good to them and they build meaningful relationships. They also stay when they feel that their time is being used well and that the organization is accomplishing its goals. Sometimes organizations are so focused on process and relationship that they don't get much done. Other organizations are so focused on outcomes that they don’t pay attention to relationships. They can develop toxic cultures or lose people because those people don’t feel valued or seen. Healthy organizations find ways to balance the needs of process and productivity. 

A great facilitator can do a lot to make a process positive. They can be welcoming and encouraging of people who are hesitant to speak. They can set gentle but firm limits on people who dominate or act in ways that are unhelpful to a group. They can structure agendas in ways that encourage participation, honesty, and a sense of belonging. They can get the group to spend just the right amount of time checking-in and breaking the ice. They can close a meeting by asking everyone to share something they appreciated, which makes people leave a meeting feeling good.

Everyone in a group can be a process leader. If you are not in charge of a meeting, you can still make suggestions to the facilitator. You can encourage others to speak. You can affirm the comments of people who are hesitant to speak. You can interrupt when something harmful is happening and ask that it be addressed right away. You can facilitate from behind, by gently filling in gaps and moving things to closure or moving them along when the facilitator does not do those things well. 

Outside of meetings you can follow up with people individually and ask them about themselves and about their experience with the group. You can help them find the right place so they feel useful and fulfilled by their work with the organization. A good process leader will also pay attention to the things getting in the way of people getting along well and will figure out ways to address those things, 

When things go wrong in an organization some people prefer that it not be mentioned and hope that the problem will go away on its own. On the opposite side, some people like to call people out and criticize them for doing things they see as bad for the group. The concept of “calling in” is intended to encourage people to make note of a problem but in a way that does not shame the person being addressed. Finding just the right balance of slowing down to build a culture that works for everyone, addressing problems early, while also not making people worry that they will be judged, requires skill. It also requires a culture that values positive relationships. Adrienne Maree Brown says that organizations must “move at the speed of trust.” That is, it is important that processes be slowed down to build strong and trusting relationships. 

Organizations work well when people treat each other with kindness and respect. It is very important for an organization to have space in its process for addressing problems and for self correcting. There are many ways that organizations can build into their formal structures time for reflection, evaluation, and ways to continually improve.

Activity \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Respond in a few sentences or a short paragraph to each of the questions below. The writing does not have to be formal or polished, It can be like journal writing. If you have not been in an organization or on a team, you can use your team in this class, or this class as a whole as your example. 

1. What are some things you like a facilitator to do?
2. What do you do when you see a problem in your organization?
3. Do you just jump into a situation and begin to contribute or do you hang back and watch?
4. Do you think your leadership would be improved by you doing more of one or the other?
5. What are the kinds of things that trigger you when working in a group?
6. What do you do to manage your emotions when you are triggered by something happening in a group?
7. How have you seen people work actively to make a process better?
8. Share an example where you have seen people facing unhelpful behavior in an organization, where they either ignored it, called it out, or called it in? What did you like or not like about how it was dealt with? What lessons do you draw from what you saw?