Encyclopedia of Leadership

PROCESS STEPS

228 SECTION 7 TOOLS FORPROBLEMSOLVING, DECISIONMAKING, ANDQUALITY

❑ Lots of 4 ×6- inch Post-ItNotes; felt pens; flip chart sheets; a large, clear wall surface.

❑ E.g., “What must we focus on over the next three years in order to be leaders in our

field?” or, “What information do we include for customer use in our new handbook?”

❑ If you are experiencing difficulty formulating this frame question, see ☛7.1 Problem

Framing.

To solicit data, here are two common ways to generate ideas for the affinity diagram.

i. Ask participants to reflect privately, then write their thoughts on the Post-itNotes.

ii. Use the brainstorming process (ground rule: no judging or evaluating), with people

calling out ideas that are immediately recorded on Post-ItNotes. [☛6.9

Brainstorming]

❑ When posting data, the rules are:

One idea per Post-ItNote, each more than one word but no more than one sentence.

Write with a felt pen, neatly enough for others to read it.

Ensure that the sticky part of the Post-ItNote is at the top (upper horizontal) side.

❑ When everyone’s ideas are captured on Post-ItNotes, have people place all their

Post-ItNotes in random fashion on the wall.

❑ Everyone moves along the wall, reading all the notes in silence.

❑ The task is for people to cluster or group Post-ItNotes, together with others they

consider to have something in common—a natural affinity. Explain the rules. This

process is done in complete silence. (Some claim that using the unpreferred hand

physiologically forces one to think more consciously and less automatically!)

❑ If you see a Post-itNote that you believe fits better in another grouping, remove it and

place it in that other grouping, being conscious of your own reasoning for doing so.

Another person who disagrees may move it again.

❑ When the activity stops (like popcorn popping stops), the group works with the leader

to clarify how many clusters have been created. Create a vertical column out of each

cluster, spacing them out to clearly identify the groupings. Leave the orphans—lone

Post-ItNotes—alone.

❑ Asking “What is the name that best describes this grouping?” read all the notes in the

cluster aloud. Of the various suggestions, the group itself will usually acknowledge the

best name with a loud “Yes!”

❑ Using a different colored pen, write the name of the cluster on another note and post it

at the top of the vertical column. (Sometimes, the best name is actually one of the

notes.)

A verb + noun format will often better suggest action; e.g., Accelerate Skill Development

instead of Training.

❑ Continue this process until all the groupings have been named. During this process, the

group will often decide that a note fits better into a new grouping, or that two

groupings belong together. Lone notes will also find a home.

❑ Connect the focal questionto the names and the groupings. For instance, using our

example focal question, you might say, “So, through this process, we are saying that if,

for the next three years, we focus on (heading one, heading two, heading three, ... etc.),

we believe we will become leaders in our field.”

❶Materials

❷Develop and post a

clear, focal

question.

❸Generate ideas

(if data is not already

available).

❹Display and read

Post-ItNotes.

❺Cluster the Post-It

Notes.

❻Name that cluster!

❼Reflect on the

names.

Step Specifics