I suffer occasional migraines which can be quite debilitating, especially at work when you just can’t concentrate and you just want to lie down and close your eyes.
I now manage them overnight with some specific medication, but previously they would impact me when I was facilitating group work.
On one occasion I was working with a group and was keen to help them get a good outcome. I would usually ensure the process was well designed and organised, pay close attention to the relational dynamics, and intervene throughout to help them.
In this case, I woke with a migraine, and dragged myself to the meeting feeling pretty terrible. Given my state I did the minimum setup and just relied on the group starting the conversation about the topic. Feeling as I did I had no energy to intervene, so just had to sit there and let it happen around me.
To my surprise, I found the group functioned remarkedly well, and maybe achieved more in terms of both their relationships and the difficult topic than I could have hoped.
When I felt better, I reflected on my insight, and subsequently tested my hypothesis around intervening less.
My learning that day has helped inform my practice- that stepping back, intervening less, and trusting the group is powerful in getting better outcomes.
That doing less is actually more.