Excited to see this post! I really appreciated the slides you shared (so pretty!), and that the workbook includes a completed example, plus that you shared that copy that you yourself actually used.
In the workbook, I like that the order of prompting gets people to first reflect on their stage, uncertainties, and goals, before trying to select activities. I think getting people to actually chain backwards like this helps cut unnecessary steps and focus on what actually matters, and having that process be visible to group organizers so it can inform their programming & prioritization seems quite valuable.
I’m curious if you have a more step-by-step recommendation for how organizers should integrate this into their programming? One approach I imagine might work that organizers could consider:
In the end-of-intro-fellowship survey or at the start of a new semester, organizers ask participants if they’d like to have a 1-1 chat with an organizer about their takeaways from the program and potential next steps.
When booking these chats, organizers send participants this template and ask that they fill it out in advance of the meeting (if they’re interested in discussing next steps).
Ideally, the organizer also sends them a version of the workbook that they themselves have already filled out, as an example!
Part of this chat is then spent reviewing the plan, and booking a 2 month and 4 month out 15 minute follow-up check-in to see how things are going.
Organizer leaves the chat with notes about how they want to motivate & enable this group member to achieve their goals.
Participant leaves the chat with a more refined plan that’s been red teamed a bit, and they’re feeling excited and well supported towards achieve their goals.
However I could also imagine it working well to use your slides to present to a bigger audience (do you have a full presentation people could use?), or just focusing on using this workbook for people in the leadership team, or making an group-wide shared Google Drive folder where everyone creates and shares a workbook.
Sounds like this tool is still in experimental development so I wouldn’t expect a definitive recommendation—perhaps the more concise question I can ask is: “What seem to be (or have been) the most likely failure modes a group organizer may encounter when trying to implement this, and do you have any anecdotal advice or lessons-learned about overcoming these?”
Thank you for the thoughtful feedback and suggestions, Alex! Great points about the ordering of the workbook, and the proposed implementation steps. Those resonate with me as well, and I think it’s likely I’ll actually try a couple of those ideas!
So far we have done the 1:1 chat at the end of the fellowship and this has felt useful for guiding members through using it, and helping them to further fill it out. I have also gotten feedback that sharing our own completed workbooks as examples has definitely helped make it a little less intimidating for members, so glad you pointed that out as well.
Regarding failure modes, it’s still early days for us trying it out, but there’s a few ones I might expect could happen:
1. Timing issues: Introducing the workbook when members are overwhelmed (e.g., exam periods for students, etc.) might lead to low engagement. It could make more sense to prioritize the workbook at the beginning of the Introduction Fellowship or at the start of a new semester when people are naturally in a planning mindset.
2. Accountability gap: Not having a structured follow-up process could mean workbooks get filled out but not acted upon. Something like the 2-month and 4-month check-ins you suggested could be useful.
3. Excessive formality: The full workbook intimidating. It may be possible to create a “lite” version for those who prefer a more casual approach, which might increase participation among less committed members.
4. Organizer bandwidth: Tracking and supporting every member could become overwhelming for a small team. Potential solutions could be:
- Creating peer accountability pairs/groups
- Training more experienced members to conduct some of the follow-up conversations
- Using a batch approach where we focus on helping 5-8 members at a time
Excited to see this post! I really appreciated the slides you shared (so pretty!), and that the workbook includes a completed example, plus that you shared that copy that you yourself actually used.
In the workbook, I like that the order of prompting gets people to first reflect on their stage, uncertainties, and goals, before trying to select activities. I think getting people to actually chain backwards like this helps cut unnecessary steps and focus on what actually matters, and having that process be visible to group organizers so it can inform their programming & prioritization seems quite valuable.
I’m curious if you have a more step-by-step recommendation for how organizers should integrate this into their programming? One approach I imagine might work that organizers could consider:
In the end-of-intro-fellowship survey or at the start of a new semester, organizers ask participants if they’d like to have a 1-1 chat with an organizer about their takeaways from the program and potential next steps.
When booking these chats, organizers send participants this template and ask that they fill it out in advance of the meeting (if they’re interested in discussing next steps).
Ideally, the organizer also sends them a version of the workbook that they themselves have already filled out, as an example!
Part of this chat is then spent reviewing the plan, and booking a 2 month and 4 month out 15 minute follow-up check-in to see how things are going.
Organizer leaves the chat with notes about how they want to motivate & enable this group member to achieve their goals.
Participant leaves the chat with a more refined plan that’s been red teamed a bit, and they’re feeling excited and well supported towards achieve their goals.
However I could also imagine it working well to use your slides to present to a bigger audience (do you have a full presentation people could use?), or just focusing on using this workbook for people in the leadership team, or making an group-wide shared Google Drive folder where everyone creates and shares a workbook.
Sounds like this tool is still in experimental development so I wouldn’t expect a definitive recommendation—perhaps the more concise question I can ask is: “What seem to be (or have been) the most likely failure modes a group organizer may encounter when trying to implement this, and do you have any anecdotal advice or lessons-learned about overcoming these?”
Thank you for the thoughtful feedback and suggestions, Alex! Great points about the ordering of the workbook, and the proposed implementation steps. Those resonate with me as well, and I think it’s likely I’ll actually try a couple of those ideas!
So far we have done the 1:1 chat at the end of the fellowship and this has felt useful for guiding members through using it, and helping them to further fill it out. I have also gotten feedback that sharing our own completed workbooks as examples has definitely helped make it a little less intimidating for members, so glad you pointed that out as well.
Regarding failure modes, it’s still early days for us trying it out, but there’s a few ones I might expect could happen:
1. Timing issues: Introducing the workbook when members are overwhelmed (e.g., exam periods for students, etc.) might lead to low engagement. It could make more sense to prioritize the workbook at the beginning of the Introduction Fellowship or at the start of a new semester when people are naturally in a planning mindset.
2. Accountability gap: Not having a structured follow-up process could mean workbooks get filled out but not acted upon. Something like the 2-month and 4-month check-ins you suggested could be useful.
3. Excessive formality: The full workbook intimidating. It may be possible to create a “lite” version for those who prefer a more casual approach, which might increase participation among less committed members.
4. Organizer bandwidth: Tracking and supporting every member could become overwhelming for a small team. Potential solutions could be:
- Creating peer accountability pairs/groups
- Training more experienced members to conduct some of the follow-up conversations
- Using a batch approach where we focus on helping 5-8 members at a time
To answer your question about presentations—yes, I do have a deck that could be used (it’s actually where some of the images are from). It can be found here: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGXSf3cBKc/IJQCkVazb5_vNzWbrHypPw/edit?utm_content=DAGXSf3cBKc&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton