The Core Features of AMBIT suggest that taking measures that support a Keyworker well-connected to wider team are important.

Teams or larger groups can often inhibit some people from expressing their thoughts views experiences, which means that the Team's understanding of itself is always at risk of being defined by those team members who are louder, more confident at speaking in larger groups, or writing things in the team's manual!

The Exercise

• The large team (or group of teams) divides into a number of smaller groups in order to discuss a specific issue.
• The size of these groups will be determined by the overall numbers, etc, but ideally they will be intimate enough so that every member of those small groups will feel able to talk freely.
• In each of these small groups one person will be the nominated "consultant".
• Who gets to be the consultant will be determined by circumstances...
• Some situations will allow someone from a separate team to fulfil this role
• Alternatively, someone who does not work so directly with the other members of that small group would be appropriate.
• Alternatively, some team members may wish to volunteer or agree to being "volunteered".
• After discussion for an agreed period of time, the separate small groups return to the large group setting.
• At this point a single "fishbowl discussion" is set up, between just the consultants, who discuss their experiences and thoughts about what it was like to be in their separate small groups, whilst the rest of the large group listen, without interrupting
• After a set period of time, there may be scope for some reflection in the larger group about what they have heard.

Why?

The point of this is:

• To sift a wider variety of viewpoints that may not ordinarily get heard in the larger group
• To stimulate reflection (Mentalization) on the viewpoints of others
• To generate a clearer shared understanding of what the shades of opinion and beliefs are in this team - to which it is intended that individual will be well-connected.
• More generally, this is a good exercise to help discussion about an issue that may raise strong feelings and differences.

What then?

• If some consensus or learning points are generated from this discussion, then this might well be an ideal opportunity to move to Manualization of these points.