60 minutes (5 minutes for individual work; 15 minutes for small-group work; 20 minutes for large-group discussion; 20 minutes for debriefing)
Adaptable L–M P, T, O, D, M
1. To assist participants in identifying how their values affect their unwritten rules for others
2. To make explicit values that may be implicit
3. To identify the ways these rules can create “insiders” and “outsiders
• Paper and pencils or pens
• Flipchart and marking pens
• Masking tape for posting small-group results
1. Introduction: Every group and organization has a set of rules or “commandments” that help regulate activity within the group or organization. Give the following instructions to the group: There are similar “shoulds” and “should nots” that each of us carries around (often unconsciously) by which we evaluate others. I’d like you to take the next five minutes to write down four or five commandments that you personally feel a member of any work group should follow.
Note: You may wish to give a few examples from your own valued “commandments” to get the group started.
2. Place participants in groups of 3–5 and ask them to share their commandments, identifying any that they have in common. Each group should identify three that they want to share with the larger group and list these on easel pages.
3. Ask all of the small groups to share their lists with the large group and to look for similarities and differences. Beginning with the most common “rules,” ask if it might be possible for someone to violate any of these rules without knowing it. Are there any individuals or groups that might feel like outsiders because of this commandment? How might the commandment be modified to be more inclusive?
Example: “Group members must not leave early—they owe the company a full day’s work.” This commandment could be a disadvantage for an employee who has day-care issues (either children or elderly). These people may be taking work home or coming in early to give the company a full day’s work. Modification could be “Group members give the company a full day’s work for a full day’s pay.”
1. Did you have any trouble identifying four or five commandments?
2. How easy was it to come to consensus in the small group regarding the three most important rules to share?
3. How did you feel during the discussions? Were there voices that did not get heard? How inclusive was the discussion; that is, did any individual(s) dominate the conversation?
4. What personal or organizational values were challenged during the discussions? How did that happen?
5. How can you apply what you have learned to your everyday work life?
1. Our values often translate into unconscious commandments to which we hold ourselves and others.
2. When those commandments are unwritten, the values and assumptions that they are based on cannot be examined.
3. When those unwritten rules become overt, they can be discussed and made more inclusive, based on group or individual needs.
© Executive Diversity Services, Inc., Seattle, Washington, 2002.