Three Activities

Brief
A statement that makes the situation clear.
“Here’s what’s happening, why it matters, and what we can do about it.”

Confirmation
A restatement of the brief in one’s own words.
“Here’s what I heard…”

Backbrief
The coordination of intentions through verbal rehearsal.
“Given the situation, here’s what I intend to do, and here’s the support I’ll need.”

Breakthrough 1: Shared understanding.

  1. You write your brief and deliver it to your peers or the people in your care.

  2. You request they share a confirmation.

  3. They humor you and restate the memorable parts of your brief.

  4. You realize that they didn’t hear half of what you were trying to say.

  5. You revise, sharpening it so the right things ring through.

  6. You re-brief them and again ask for confirmation.

  7. This time, they got more of it. Okay! We can work with that!

Breakthrough 2: Coordinated action.

  1. Next you ask them to backbrief, sharing what they intend to do next.

  2. They find this baffling. “We should do something?”

  3. “Yes!” you say, but then you realize the issue.

  4. You revise your brief again, wrestling with why any of it would matter to them.

  5. You re-brief them. It falls flat, but they see what you’re going for.

  6. You again ask them to backbrief, and they humor you, sharing timid intentions.

  7. You coach them, especially to coordinate with and help each other.

  8. Then you set intentions as a group to check back in on the action in a week.

  9. You recognize there’s much to learn about this kind of leadership.

Ben and David
StrategyTeaming.com